Congressman Scott Perry Cell Phone Seized By FBI

Andrew Donaldson

Born and raised in West Virginia, Andrew has since lived and traveled around the world several times over. Though frequently writing about politics out of a sense of duty and love of country, most of the time he would prefer discussions on history, culture, occasionally nerding on aviation, and his amateur foodie tendencies. He can usually be found misspelling/misusing words on Twitter @four4thefire and his food writing website Yonder and Home. Andrew is the host of Heard Tell podcast. Subscribe to Andrew's Heard Tell SubStack for free here:

Related Post Roulette

4 Responses

  1. Philip H says:

    “This morning, while traveling with my family, 3 FBI agents visited me and seized my cell phone. They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone if that was their wish. I’m outraged – though not surprised – that the FBI under the direction of Merrick Garland’s DOJ, would seize the phone of a sitting Member of Congress.”

    If only there were precedents . . .

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convicted_of_crimesReport

    • Kazzy in reply to Philip H says:

      Is it customary for the FBI or other LEO to alert subjects of search warrants? On the one hand, obviously doing things with a level of collaboration is better than not having that. On the other, that’s basically asking the guy to delete anything potentially incriminating off the device.

      But I’m less concerned with whether politicians have committed crimes and more concerned with “precedent” in terms of how such searches are typically handled. If this guy wanted special treatment because he’s a Congressman, he can kick rocks.Report

      • Philip H in reply to Kazzy says:

        The few LEOs I know – and the even fewer feds – always say surprise is your friend with a search warrant. I have never heard any of them describe any sort of warning, but it’s a very small sample size.

        We know from media reports the FBI told the secret service they were coming to Mar A Lago but I suspect that’s a professional courtesy to avoid a gun battle.

        My gut is this guy, like Trump, believes his office affords him some sort of special deference. For which I too believe he can pound sand.Report

  2. CJColucci says:

    If the FBI can do this to Trump or Perry, then they can do it to me!
    What? . . . They can do it to me? . . . And always could?
    Never mind.Report