“From an Intel friend: The DNI must instruct the NSA to seize and immediately seek international Dominion communications,” Perry wrote to Meadows on November 12, just five days after the Joe Biden election was called.
In an unreported text, Perry appears to have called on Meadows to get John Ratcliffe, then director of national intelligence, to order the National Security Agency to investigate refuted allegations that Dominion voting machines had been hacked by China.
Perry, a five-term congressman, is a retired brigadier general with nearly 40 years of military service, including flying combat missions in Iraq. Given his extensive experience, he is probably familiar with the internal workings of government intelligence.
So far, Perry has refused to cooperate voluntarily with the House of Representatives’ elected committee, and in a previous statement called the committee illegitimate.
On Tuesday, Perry declined to answer several questions from CNN in the Capitol about his texts to Meadows.
It is unclear whether Meadows responded to Perry’s November 12 text. A source familiar with the situation told CNN that Meadows had not approached Ratcliffe for what Perry had asked.
Last year, the Senate highlighted Perry for his role in promoting Trump’s election fraud conspiracies. Meadows’ lyrics provide new details of his behind-the-scenes efforts. In particular, the texts show how Perry, now the leader of the House of Representatives’ caucus on freedom, was one of the most vocal advocates of recruiting senior government officials to investigate baseless allegations of voter fraud.
Perry wrote to Meadows again on November 12, claiming that the “British” had conspired to manipulate voting machines in the United States and that then-CIA Director Gina Haspel was helping to cover it up.
“And Gina is still running around the Hill, covering up the British who helped the quarterback of this whole operation,” Perry wrote. “DNI should be tasked with auditing its overseas accounts with the CIA – and their National Endowment for Democracy.”
More than a month later, Perry sent Meadows a link to YouTube detailing another conspiracy theory: the voices were altered by Italian satellites.
“Why can’t we just work with the Italian government?” Perry wrote. According to text diaries, Meadows did not respond to the announcement, with emails released by the Senate Justice Committee last year showing that he forwarded the same video link to then-Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen hours later.
Rosen later declined to comment further, saying he would not have any special treatment for Giuliani or any of his “witnesses,” according to an electronic discussion between the acting attorney general and emails from senior Justice officials.
Pure Madness, another former Justice Department official, Richard Donohue, told Rosen about the allegation.
New lawsuit
A new case file also reveals how Perry played a key role in devising a strategy with Trump’s allies to cast electoral votes in states that Trump lost. In a statement released Friday, former Trump White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson told House investigators about Perry’s role in White House strategic sessions.
“Mr. Perry is the one who immediately comes to mind when I remember being physically there and then backing off,” Hutchinson said, describing how the Pennsylvania Republican clashed with Trump’s White House adviser. whether the state’s plan to present an alternative voter list was legally viable.
On November 21, Meadows also traveled through Perry to contact local lawmakers in his state.
“Can you send me the number of the spokesman and the leader of the PA legislature. POTUS wants to talk to them, “Meadows wrote to Perry.
More than a month later, Perry sent an SMS to Meadows, stressing the need for urgency, as Jan. 6 and Biden’s inauguration were fast approaching.
“Mark, I’m just registering while the time goes by. 11 days to 1/6 and 25 days to take office. We have to go! ”He wrote to Meadows on December 26.
On five occasions, according to text messages reviewed by CNN, Perry sent an SMS to Meadows to request that the call be moved to the Signal encrypted messaging app or to alert Meadows to a message he sent to the encrypted platform.
Such a move could put the exchange out of the reach of the committee, as Signal does not collect or store user data, making it difficult to provide this information to outside entities, including law enforcement and congressional investigators, even on summons.
Earlier, the committee released a text message from Meadows on January 5, received by an unidentified member of Congress, saying, “Please check your signal.”
CNN confirmed that the message came from Perry.
Recruitment of employees of the Ministry of Justice
The texts also show that Perry acted as a conduit between Meadows and Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark, a relatively obscure official who appears to be a central figure in Trump’s election gambit after the former president almost called him acting attorney general for days. before the uprising in the US Capitol. The communications create a direct link between Perry, Clark and Trump’s White House-led efforts to bring in the Justice Department to help cancel the election.
Since the end of December, after senior Justice Department officials refused to interfere in the election process on Trump’s behalf, Perry has repeatedly urged Meadows to appoint Clark to the top of the department and give him “the power to impose what he needs to do.” done ”, the texts show.
“Mark, you need to call Jeff. I just spoke to him on the phone, and he explained why the deputy chief would not work specifically with the FBI. ready, “Perry sent Meadows on December 26, days before the heated meeting in the Oval Office, at which Trump raised the idea of replacing the then Attorney General with Clark.
“Understood. I think I understand. “Let me work in the alternate position,” Meadows replied.
Nearly a week later, Perry sent a message to Meadows again about Clark.
“Please call me as soon as you call Jeff,” Perry wrote to Meadows on January 2, referring to Clark.
In January 2021, Perry admitted to being the link between Trump and Clark.
“For the past four years, I’ve been working with Assistant Attorney General Clark on various legislative issues. When President Trump asked me if I would make a presentation, I made a commitment,” Perry said in a statement to a local Pennsylvania office in January 2021.
Perry’s role in the campaign against pressure on Justice Department officials in December 2020 was detailed in a Senate Judiciary report published last year. But the report also acknowledged that his findings were incomplete, citing Perry as one of Trump’s three allies, whose ties to Jan. 6 require further investigation by the House of Representatives election commission. The committee asked Perry to talk to them voluntarily, but so far Perry has refused.
“I have great respect for our Constitution, the rule of law and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate and not properly established under the rules of the US House of Representatives,” Perry wrote in a statement on Twitter. commission in December.
California lawmaker Zoe Lofgren, a Democrat on the committee investigating the uprising, told CNN that they had not ruled out calling lawmakers, including Perry. Lofgren noted that because Perry had vowed to abide by the Constitution as a member of Congress, he was “legally obliged” to speak to the committee.
“We can do different things to try to force him, but the main thing is for him to come in, not try to hide the truth,” Lofgren said. “We need to get to the bottom of this to protect our constitution and system of government.”
This story was updated with further details on Tuesday.
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