Details emerging from Rep. Scott Perry’s text messages have shed new light on efforts to overturn Donald Trump’s defeat in the 2020 election. The revealed messages, unveiled in court filings, expose Perry’s discussions with Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, a Trump appointee sympathetic to contesting the election. These communications, spanning late December 2020 to early January 2021, reveal Perry’s involvement in Trump’s strategies, including Clark’s potential appointment as attorney general.
In the texts, Perry conveyed Trump’s satisfaction with Clark’s response, affirming, “POTUS seems very happy with your response. I read it just as you dictated.” Clark expressed nervousness about his role, to which Perry reassured him, declaring, “You are the man. I have confirmed it.” This exchange provides unprecedented insight into Perry and Clark’s discussions regarding Clark’s increasing influence within Trump’s inner circle amid efforts to challenge the election outcome.
The messages extend into 2021, outlining Perry’s assistance to secure a security clearance for Clark, enabling access to election intelligence. Perry instructed Clark to ensure the intelligence chief provided the necessary information, and Clark sought Perry’s help in obtaining classified information from Trump, indicating a continued collaboration.
Perry’s texts also reveal his broader attempts to question the election results. He sought Senate support against perceived fraud, shared “credible information” about Pennsylvania ballots with a Trump campaign attorney, and discussed voter fraud in Michigan and Georgia with fellow lawmakers. Messages from a former colleague suggested Perry’s involvement in altering debate rules around the electoral college vote.
Additionally, Perry communicated with his chief of staff about initiating an audit of county election systems. The disclosed texts offer a glimpse into the behind-the-scenes discussions as Trump mobilized allies across the federal government to contest the election results.
These revelations were part of federal District Judge Beryl Howell’s December 2022 opinion, referencing Perry’s texts and cell phone records. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals briefly made Howell’s opinion public before retracting it.
Perry’s attorney, John Rowley, characterized the text message disclosure as “unfortunate,” emphasizing their confidentiality and their relevance to understanding real-time information about the 2020 election. Howell had previously deemed Perry’s interactions as a “proactive, persistent, and protracted” effort to influence executive branch officials regarding the election.
Howell privately examined over 2,000 documents that Scott Perry had attempted to shield from investigators following the confiscation of his cell phone last summer, encompassing text messages. Howell determined that these messages should be accessible to special counsel investigators scrutinizing the endeavors of top government officials to challenge Trump’s election loss. However, the appeals court restricted some of the information available to investigators regarding Perry.
Court records reveal that Perry had endeavored to influence executive branch officials regarding the election, employing tactics characterized by Howell as “proactive, persistent, and protracted.” The judge further described Perry’s phone records as a “multi-pronged push for Executive Branch officials to take more aggressive action.”
Despite the court’s decision to limit investigators’ access to some of Perry’s records, the text messages contribute to the ongoing scrutiny of government officials’ efforts to contest Trump’s election loss.
