US congressman Scott Perry said his phone was seized by the FBI two days after a team of law enforcement officials raided former president Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Florida.
Mr Perry, a Republican ally of Mr Trump, has been investigated and has given evidence in the continuing probe into the January 6 storming of the US Capitol last year, during which five people died.
Three agents seized his phone while he was travelling with his family, said an “outraged” Mr Perry. However, he did not reveal why the device was confiscated.
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'There will come a day when Donald Trump is gone, but your dishonour will remain.' Congresswoman and January 6 committee vice chairwoman Liz Cheney to Republican colleagues who have defended Mr Trump's claims of election fraud. AFP -
'January 6 was the culmination of an attempted coup - a brazen attempt, as one rioter put it shortly after January 6 - to overthrow the government.' Committee chairman Bennie Thompson. EPA -
Mr Trump 'was willing to sacrifice our republic to prolong his presidency. I can imagine no more dishonourable acts by a president.' Republican Congressman Adam Kinzinger. AFP -
Donald Trump had this 'arsenal of allegations. I went through them piece by piece to say, no, they were not true'. Former acting deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue. EPA -
'There were no votes to find.' Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger after Donald Trump asked him and his deputy, Gabriel Sterling, to 'find 11,780' votes that could flip Georgia in the president's favour. AFP -
Competing against Donald Trump’s lies was like a 'shovel trying to empty the ocean'. Gabriel Sterling, Georgia Secretary of State chief operating officer. AFP -
'As an American, I was disgusted. It was unpatriotic, it was un-American. We were watching the Capitol building get defaced over a lie.' Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to then White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, speaking about the insurrection. AFP -
!['I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/RLINK2AWKRFONAWRZ7TNQF6VI4.jpg?smart=true&auth=898bee20e87c352f4801c4275eab58720719d25c3b0343a94bb0b4d88c1d38f4&width=400&height=225)
'I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP -
'I respect attorney general Barr. So, I accepted what he was saying.' Ivanka Trump, former White House senior adviser. AP -
'We fight like hell. And if you don't fight like hell, you're not going to have a country any more.' Donald Trump on January 6, 2021. Reuters -
A Confederate battle flag that reads 'Come and Take It' and shows a military-style rifle flies as rioters storm the Capitol on January 6, 2001. Reuters -
A Trump supporter sprays smoke. Reuters -
Police attempt to push the mob back. AFP -
The pro-Trump mob swarms the Capitol as police release tear gas. Reuters -
Protesters clash with police. Reuters -
Pro-Trump protesters storm into the US Capitol. Reuters -
A police flash-bang blast lights up the Capitol. Reuters -
Before the insurrection, Mr Trump is seen on a screen speaking to supporters during a rally to contest the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results. Reuters -
People march with those who say they are members of the Proud Boys as they attend a rally in Washington in support of former president Donald Trump. AP
!['I told him [Donald Trump] that the stuff his people were shovelling out to the public was bull***t.' Former attorney general William Barr. AP](https://www.thenationalnews.com/resizer/v2/RLINK2AWKRFONAWRZ7TNQF6VI4.jpg?smart=true&auth=898bee20e87c352f4801c4275eab58720719d25c3b0343a94bb0b4d88c1d38f4&width=800&height=450)
A Justice Department representative declined to comment.
“They made no attempt to contact my lawyer, who would have made arrangements for them to have my phone, if that was their wish,” Mr Perry said, according to a Fox News report.
“My phone contains info about my legislative and political activities, and personal/private discussions with my wife, family, constituents and friends. None of this is the government's business,” he said.
Mr Perry, who helped to spread the former president's electoral fraud claims, was in contact with the Trump White House in the weeks before the assault on the Capitol.
During a congressional hearing in June, politicians heard evidence that the politician sought a pardon from Mr Trump. Mr Perry has denied seeking a pardon.
However, he acknowledged introducing Mr Trump to Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department lawyer and Trump loyalist.
Mr Clark wanted Jeffrey Rosen, acting attorney general at the time, to send a letter to the state of Georgia, falsely claiming the department had uncovered voter fraud.
When that failed, Mr Clark sought to have Mr Trump install him as acting attorney general.
In June, federal agents seized Mr Clark's electronic devices from his suburban Virginia home.
The news of Mr Perry’s claimed encounter with the FBI comes at a time when Mr Trump is dealing with the fallout from the bureau’s raid on his oceanside Florida mansion, reportedly to remove 15 boxes of documents he took from the White House, in breach of US law, which says presidential records belong to the public.
Mr Trump tried to paint the search as a politically motivated move by President Joe Biden's administration.
The former president is playing a key role in Republican primaries to pick candidates for the November midterm elections that will determine control of the US Congress.
“They are trying to stop the Republican Party and me once more,” Mr Trump said in a fundraising email on Tuesday. “The lawlessness, political persecution and witch hunt must be exposed and stopped.”
Mr Trump set up his Save America political action committee days after losing the 2020 election to Mr Biden. It has more than $100 million in the bank, a formidable war chest.
