Why is the Jan. 6 commission so interested in PA Rep. Scott Perry?

U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, a once-obscure GOP congressman from York County, has emerged as a target of the Jan. 6 House select commission investigation, with evidence showing he played a significant role in backing former President Donald Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 elections.   

And this week, FBI agents carrying a search warrant took possession of the congressman's cell phone — although the reasons behind the seizure weren't immediately clear.

Here's a rundown of how Perry became such a central figure in the "Stop the Steal" effort and its aftermath: 

Meeting with Donald Trump's team

Shortly after the 2020 election, Perry was part of a meeting with top White House officials at the Trump campaign headquarters, The New York Times reported. It was there that the group hammered out a strategy that centered on casting doubt on the election results and challenging Trump's loss in court.

The Jan. 6 committee has also heard testimony that the congressman met with former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows following the election, according to Politico. A former Meadows aide told the committee that she witnessed her boss burning documents after the conversation with Perry. 

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Dossier of alleged voter fraud

Perry created a dossier of unsubstantiated voter fraud claims from Pennsylvania, then called a top justice department official and demanded that the agency review the allegations, The New York Times has reported. The department forwarded the compilation to a Pennsylvania-based U.S. attorney, who concluded the fraud reports were "not well founded," according to the paper.

Effort to remove the attorney general

Perry has acknowledged that he introduced Trump to Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who became an important ally in the former president's effort to reverse the 2020 election results. 

The Pennsylvania congressman also advocated for replacing the acting attorney general when the Justice Department refused to help Trump to overturn the election outcome, The New York Times has reported. Perry was a proponent of elevating Clark, who was supporting Trump's claims of election fraud, to the department's top post.

The former president was reportedly eager to make the switch but refrained after justice department officials threatened mass resignations. 

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Conspiracy theories

Text messages between Perry and Meadows show the congressman was also pushing baseless election conspiracy theories — insisting that the Italians were using satellites to tamper with the vote count, according to CNN. In another text to Meadows, the congressman claimed that "the Brits" were running an operation to interfere with the election and that the CIA director was complicit in the plot.

Perry also urged the former White House chief of staff to enlist the NSA to "immediately seize and begin looking for international comms related to Dominion," a company that sells voting machines and software.

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Vote certification

Perry urged Congress to delay certifying the election results, writing in a tweet that if state lawmakers are concerned about the vote tally, it is "my DUTY to have concerns, too." On Jan. 6, when Congress convened to certify the election outcome, he objected to accepting the results from his home state.

A presidential pardon?

After the attack on the Capitol, Perry was among the Republicans to seek a presidential pardon, according to testimony presented to the House select committee investigating the insurrection. Perry has denied requesting a pardon for himself or any other member of Congress. 

January 6 committee subpoena

The House Jan. 6 committee investigating the Capitol insurrection subpoenaed Perry in May, but he has so far refused to appear for questioning. He's derided the committee as an "illegitimate body" and accused it of carrying out a "political witch hunt."

FBI visits the Pennsylvania Capitol

This week, FBI agents delivered subpoenas to several Pennsylvania lawmakers and visited others, PennLive has reported. The investigators were reportedly seeking information related to Perry and Trump's efforts to reverse the 2020 vote results with the use of "fake electors," the outlet said.

In a statement posted Thursday on his campaign Facebook, Perry said Justice Department representatives have told his attorneys that he's "not a target of its investigation."

"I’ve directed them to cooperate with the Justice Department in order to ensure that it gets the information to which it’s entitled, but to protect information to which it’s not - including communications that are protected under the Speech and Debate Clause of the United States Constitution," the statement continued.