Several PA GOP Members Receive FBI Subpoenas: Reports

HARRISBURG, PA — Several Republican members of the Pennsylvania state legislature were handed subpoenas by the FBI this week, according to media sources and officials. It's the latest development in a recent string of federal investigations into the 2020 election and former President Donald Trump's connection to the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

The subpoenas were related to U.S. Rep. Scott Perry and his efforts to use fake electors for Trump in Pennsylvania, according to a PennLive report. These are allegations closely tied to those made against gubernatorial candidate and State Sen. Doug Mastriano, who left a hearing before the Jan. 6 Congressional committee earlier this week without answering any questions.

It's not yet clear exactly which lawmakers received subpoenas. Republican leadership in Pennsylvania said they were unaware of such activity, but noted the typically private nature of subpoenas. In a statement, the office of State Senate President Pro Tempore Jake Corman said that they "have no indication that any of our members are targets of any FBI investigation."

"Federal subpoenas typically request confidentiality from the witnesses being subpoenaed in order to avoid impediment to the ongoing investigation, so it would be inappropriate to comment on whether members have received subpoenas or not," the statement continues. "If subpoenaed as witnesses, our members will certainly comply with requests for documents or information not covered by an applicable privilege."

At least some of the Pennsylvania Republicans subpoenaed this week were not the target of an investigation, but simply were believed to have relevant information, the report states.

The subpoenas come days after Trump's estate in Mar-a-Lago, Florida was raided by the FBI.

Former FBI agent and Georgetown University professor Peter Strzok noted that the speed with which the series of recent searches and raids have taken place was impressive.

"While we were all occupied punditing about Mar-a-Lago, the FBI was apparently quite busy in Pennsylvania," he said on social media. "Respect to the relentless pace."

Perry said that the FBI used a search warrant to seize his phone Tuesday morning. According to a CNN report, the search warrant said the phone would be taken to the inspector general's lab in Northern Virginia, where a forensic examination would be conducted. The inspector general is a Justice Department watchdog office that led investigative work following June searches of Jeffrey Clark and former Trump attorney John Eastman.

According to a report by The Associated Press, former Justice Department officials have testified that Perry had "an important role" in Trump's effort to appoint Clark as the acting attorney general. Clark was among several top officials pushing Trump's baseless election fraud claims.

Perry was also among 11 Republicans who attended a December 2020 meeting with Trump to discuss ways to overturn the election.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Megan VerHelst