Pa. Rep. Perry confirms talks with Trump, DoJ lawyer, stays mum on calls for resignation, report

By: John L. Micek - January 25, 2021 3:25 pm

WASHINGTON, DC – JANUARY 14: Members of the National Guard prepare to distribute weapons outside the U.S. Capitol on January 14, 2021 in Washington, DC. Security has been increased throughout Washington following the breach of the U.S. Capitol last Wednesday, and leading up to the Presidential Inauguration. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds/Getty Images)

Facing calls for his resignation, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry, R-10th District, has confirmed that he introduced a Justice Department lawyer to former President Donald Trump, as Trump pushed ahead with abortive plans to fire his acting attorney general.

The New York Times reported late Saturday that Perry, a member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus, made Trump aware of Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark, “whose openness to conspiracy theories about election fraud presented Mr. Trump with a welcome change from the acting attorney general, Jeffrey A. Rosen, who stood by the results of the election and had repeatedly resisted the president’s efforts to undo them.”

Perry, of York County, said in a statement that “throughout the past four years, I worked with Assistant Attorney General Clark on various legislative matters. When President Trump asked if I would make an introduction, I obliged.”

Report: Pa. Rep. Scott Perry ‘played key role’ in Trump plot to oust acting attorney general

He added: “My conversations with the President or the Assistant Attorney General, as they have been with all whom I’ve engaged following the election, were a reiteration of the many concerns about the integrity of our elections, and that those allegations should at least be investigated to ease the minds of the voters that they had, indeed, participated in a free and fair election.”

The central Pennsylvania Republican’s comments were first reported by WITF-FM in Harrisburg, which obtained the statement.

The statement, according to WITF-FM, is silent on Democratic calls for Perry’s resignation. Perry was one of eight Republican members of Pennsylvania’s Capitol Hill delegation who objected to the results of last November’s general election.

In a statement, the Cumberland County Democratic Party said the Times’ revelations had made it clear that “Perry does not serve his constituents and does not have the best interests of the Nation at heart. This is unacceptable and dangerous. He must no longer serve.”

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John L. Micek

A 3-decade veteran of the news business, John L. Micek is the Pennsylvania Capital-Star's Editor-in-Chief. An award-winning political reporter, Micek’s career has taken him from small town meetings and Chicago City Hall to Congress and the Pennsylvania Capitol. His weekly column on U.S. politics is syndicated to 800 newspapers nationwide by Cagle Syndicate. He also contributes commentary and analysis to broadcast outlets in the U.S., Canada and the U.K. Micek’s first novel, “Ordinary Angels,” was released in 2019 by Sunbury Press.