The Jan. 6 Select Committee has received text messages that midstate Pennsylvania Republican U.S. Rep. Scott Perry sent to White House staff, confirming Perry’s direct involvement in the Trump administration’s plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election.
In one exchange, on Dec. 26, 2020, Perry texted former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows: “Mark, just checking in as time continues to count down. 11 days to 1/6 and 25 days to inauguration. We gotta get going!”
Perry encouraged Meadows to talk to Jeffrey Clark, an assistant attorney general at the Department of Justice who was sympathetic to Trump’s voter fraud lies. The two planned to advocate for Clark’s promotion to attorney general. A U.S. Senate report said Clark planned to say the DOJ was investigating Georgia’s election results, despite no evidence to warrant a probe.
That message was one of multiple Perry sent to Meadows revealed in a filing Friday in federal court by the Jan. 6 Select Committee. The back-and-forth sheds light on Perry’s involvement in Trump’s plan to overturn the legal election results and remain in power despite his loss.
Trump met Clark at the White House the following week and discussed elevating him to attorney general, but didn’t move forward after Justice Department officials and White House lawyers threatened to resign.
But Perry’s texts to Meadows came while that plan was still active.
“Mark, you should call Jeff,” he wrote about Clark. “I just got off the phone with him and he...
Welcome to Reality Check, NewsGuard’s nonpartisan newsletter that tracks the false claims and conspiracy theories that shape our world — and who’s behind them. Please support us by becoming a premi...