The Justice Department uncovered more evidence of Rep. Scott Perry's (R-PA) involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S Capitol and the attempt to overthrow the 2020 election, according to court filings revealed this week.
Speaking to MSNBC on Thursday, former House Select Committee investigator Tim Heaphy explained that they were able to obtain a lot of information on Perry through other sources, but that the lawmaker fought cooperating. He explained that there was no choice but to simply move forward. Perry was called, but so was Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH), who also refused. Others, such as Steve Bannon and Mark Meadows were accused of contempt of Congress.
Under the power of the DOJ, however, special counsel Jack Smith has been able to go beyond the info and obtain damning information about the sitting lawmaker.
"There is direct evidence of what we found circumstantially — that Scott Perry was right in the middle of the effort to install an acting attorney general who was prepared to take action without basis in fact or law," Heaphy explained. "There are some texts from Perry to Meadows which we received from Mark Meadows. So, we were aware of his involvement in this single prong of the multipronged plan to disrupt the transfer of power by using the Justice Department."
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In June 2022, Rep. Madeline Dean (D-PA) told Raw Story that Perry was terrified about the Jan. 6 committee and walked through the information she knew.
What happened this week, however, is Perry's direct communications have been unsealed, showing who was involved and how.
He was "dictating messages to the president from Jeffrey Clark," Heaphy explained. "It puts the president himself in the middle of this misguided plan and shows that Perry was the orchestrator. So, I think it's very significant. And it shows that the Justice Department has tools that we didn't have. They can get Scott Perry's phone. They imaged it. They found these texts. We subpoenaed Scott Perry, and he said I'm not coming."
"The special counsel, however, obtained it through a subpoena. So, Jack Smith is using a tool at his disposal to get additional information beyond the circumstantial evidence that we found, not just about Scott Perry, but about a lot of things."
Heaphy explained that Smith and the prosecutors will likely use what they've uncovered to get Perry to cooperate as a witness. At the very least, Smith can use the story to show that the former president had direct knowledge of the plot to overthrow the Justice Department.
"Jack Smith has to prove that the president specifically intended to disrupt the joint session," he continued. Trump's "use of the Justice Department and contemplation of personnel change, Jeff Clark, remember, was prepared to send a letter to state legislatures essentially asking them to hold special sessions and put forth these alternate fake slates of electors, and publicly declare that the Justice Department had serious concerns about election integrity without factual foundation."
Despite many Republican lawmakers saying that there was no basis for the federal government to get involved in the scheme, it nearly happened because Clark and Perry were working together with Trump, Heaphy recalled. It was stopped because the entire Justice Department threatened to resign.
"It bears directly on the president's intent, and that's why it's important evidence for the special counsel," he closed.
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J6 investigator: We had some evidence on Rep. Scott Perry — but the DOJ has the goodswww.youtube.com
