Representative Scott Perry of Pennsylvania, who worked with Donald Trump in an effort to overturn the election results last year, called the panel illegitimate.
Representative Scott Perry speaking at a “Stop the Steal” rally in Pennsylvania last year.
WASHINGTON — Representative Scott Perry, a Pennsylvania Republican closely involved in former President Donald J. Trump’s effort to overturn the 2020 election, said on Tuesday that he was refusing to meet with the House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, joining a small group of Mr. Trump’s allies who have stonewalled the panel.
Mr. Perry, the incoming chairman of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus, called the committee “illegitimate.”
“I decline this entity’s request and will continue to fight the failures of the radical Left who desperately seek distraction from their abject failures of crushing inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, and the horrendous crisis they created at our border,” Mr. Perry wrote on Twitter.
The committee sent a letter on Monday seeking testimony and documents from Mr. Perry, the first public step the panel has taken to try to get information from any of the Republican members of Congress deeply involved in Mr. Trump’s effort to stay in power.
The committee asked Mr. Perry to meet with its investigators and voluntarily turn over all “relevant electronic or other communications” related to the buildup to Jan. 6, including his communications with Mr. Trump and his legal team as well as others involved in planning rallies on Jan. 6 and the objections in Congress to Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory.
Understand the U.S. Capitol Riot
On Jan. 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol.
- What Happened: Here’s the most complete picture to date of what happened — and why.
- Timeline of Jan. 6: A presidential rally turned into a Capitol rampage in a critical two-hour time period. Here’s how.
- Key Takeaways: Here are some of the major revelations from The Times’s riot footage analysis.
- Death Toll: Five people died in the riot. Here’s what we know about them.
- Decoding the Riot Iconography: What do the symbols, slogans and images on display during the violence really mean?
To date, the panel has been reluctant to issue subpoenas for information from sitting members of Congress, citing the deference and respect lawmakers in the chamber are supposed to show one another. But Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi and the chairman of the panel, has pledged to take such a step if needed.
“Representative Perry has information directly relevant to our investigation,” said Tim Mulvey, a committee spokesman. “The select committee prefers to gather relevant evidence from members cooperatively, but if members with directly relevant information decline to cooperate and instead endeavor to cover up, the select committee will consider seeking such information using other tools.”
In refusing to meet with the committee, Mr. Perry joins a small number of witnesses who have not cooperated with the panel. More than 300 witnesses have met with investigators, most voluntarily without receiving a subpoena.
There have been consequences for those who refuse.
The House has voted twice to hold allies of Mr. Trump in criminal contempt of Congress, referring those cases to federal prosecutors. A grand jury indicted the former Trump adviser Stephen K. Bannon — facing charges that carry up to two years in jail and thousands in fines — while Mark Meadows, the former White House chief of staff, awaits a decision from federal prosecutors.
Mr. Meadows and Mr. Trump have sued to block the release of thousands of records, after the former president asserted executive privilege over a vast array of documents.
Some key witnesses have settled on the tactic of invoking their right against self-incrimination to avoid answering questions. Jeffrey Clark, a Justice Department lawyer who participated in Mr. Trump’s plans to overturn the election, has said he would invoke the Fifth Amendment in response to questions.
John Eastman, a lawyer who wrote a memo on how to overturn the election, also has cited the Fifth Amendment, and a third potential witness, the political operative Roger J. Stone Jr., invoked his right against self-incrimination last week to every question the committee asked.
Others interviewed by the committee have turned to the courts to block its subpoenas for data about their phone calls and text messages. Four witnesses who were involved in organizing the rally that preceded the violence — Justin Caporale, Maggie Mulvaney, Megan Powers and Tim Unes — filed suit against Verizon, trying to prevent the company from turning over cellphone data to the committee. Mr. Eastman also sued, claiming “a highly partisan” invasion of his privacy.
Key Figures in the Jan. 6 Inquiry
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The House investigation. A select committee is scrutinizing the causes of the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, which occurred as Congress met to formalize Joe Biden’s election victory amid various efforts to overturn the results. Here are some people being examined by the panel:
Donald Trump. The former president’s movement and communications on Jan. 6 appear to be a focus of the inquiry. But Mr. Trump has attempted to shield his records, invoking executive privilege. The dispute is making its way through the courts.
Mark Meadows. Mr. Trump’s chief of staff, who initially provided the panel with a trove of documents that showed the extent of his role in the efforts to overturn the election, is now refusing to cooperate. The House voted to recommend holding Mr. Meadows in criminal contempt of Congress.
Scott Perry. The Republican representative is among a group of G.O.P. congressmen — including Jim Jordan, Andy Biggs, Paul Gosar, Louie Gohmert and Mo Brooks — who were deeply involved in efforts to overturn the election. Mr. Perry, the first House member the committee has sought information from, has refused to meet with the panel.
Phil Waldron. The retired Army colonel has been under scrutiny since a 38-page PowerPoint document he circulated on Capitol Hill was turned over to the panel by Mr. Meadows. The document contained extreme plans to overturn the election.
Fox News anchors. Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Brian Kilmeade texted Mr. Meadows during the Jan. 6 riot urging him to persuade Mr. Trump to make an effort to stop it. The texts were part of the material that Mr. Meadows had turned over to the panel.
Steve Bannon. The former Trump aide has been charged with contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a subpoena, claiming protection under executive privilege even though he was an outside adviser. His trial is scheduled for next summer.
Jeffrey Clark. The little-known official repeatedly pushed his colleagues at the Justice Department to help Mr. Trump undo his loss. The panel has recommended that Mr. Clark be held in criminal contempt of Congress for refusing to cooperate.
John Eastman. The lawyer has been the subject of intense scrutiny since writing a memo that laid out how Mr. Trump could stay in power. Mr. Eastman was present at a meeting of Trump allies at the Willard Hotel that has become a prime focus of the panel.
Ali Alexander, a conservative activist and rally organizer for the “Stop the Steal” movement who turned over thousands of pages of documents to the committee, accused the panel in a lawsuit of issuing “an unlawful and overbroad subpoena” that violated his rights to free speech and privacy.
In his suit, Mr. Alexander said he was in contact with Representatives Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs of Arizona and Mo Brooks of Alabama, all Republicans, in the buildup to Jan. 6.
“In January, Mr. Alexander held an organizing call where members of Congress might have been present, and some were invited,” Mr. Alexander’s suit states. “He doesn’t recall who was in attendance because there was no roll call of attendees because the call was so large.”
Mr. Perry joined Mr. Gosar, Mr. Biggs and Mr. Brooks in a campaign to fight the results of the election.
In the weeks after the election, Mr. Perry compiled a dossier of voter fraud allegations and coordinated a plan to try to replace the acting attorney general with Mr. Clark. Mr. Perry also introduced Mr. Trump to Mr. Clark and was communicating with Mr. Meadows via an encrypted app, Signal, the committee said.
Source: nytimes.com
