Rep. Scott Perry, R-Pa., announced Tuesday that he is declining a request to appear before the House Select Committee probing the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.
Perry made the announcement on his Twitter account.
“I stand with immense respect for our Constitution, the Rule of Law, and the Americans I represent who know that this entity is illegitimate, and not duly constituted under the rules of the US House of Representatives,” he wrote in a tweet.
In a followup tweet he added: “I decline this entity’s request and will continue to fight the failures of the radical Left who desperately seek distraction from their abject failures of crushing inflation, a humiliating surrender in Afghanistan, and the horrendous crisis they created at our border.”
The panel on Monday had requested an interview with Perry. It is the first time the committee has publicly looked to gain information from a sitting member of Congress, according to Reuters.
In a letter released by the Jan. 6 Select Committee, the panel asked Perry to voluntarily turn over emails and texts, including communications with former President Donald Trump and his advisers, and to sit for an interview in late December or early January.
The panel wants information from Perry about Trump’s reported efforts to push out Jeffrey Rosen, the acting head of the U.S. Justice Department, during the final weeks of his presidency, and replace him with Jeffrey Clark, an official at the time who had attempted to help Trump overturn his election defeat, according to Reuters.
“We have received evidence from multiple witnesses that you had an important role in the efforts to install Mr. Clark as acting Attorney General,” said Rep. Bennie Thompson, a Democrat from Mississippi and the select committee’s chairman, in a letter.
The committee had proposed scheduling a Perry appearance either on Dec. 28, Dec. 29, Jan. 3, Jan. 4, or the week of Jan. 10.
CNN noted Perry’s decision to turn down the committee’s request for an interview raised the question whether the panel will issue a subpoena requiring him to testify.
