CNN:

Newly obtained text messages and recent court filings fill in significant gaps about the key role a little-known Pennsylvania Republican congressman played at almost every turn in scheming to reverse or delay certification of the 2020 election.

The texts, which were among those selectively provided by Donald Trump’s former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to the House select committee, show Rep. Scott Perry pushing to have the nation’s top intelligence official investigate baseless conspiracy theories and working to replace the US acting attorney general with an acolyte willing to do Trump’s bidding.

“From an Intel friend: DNI needs to task NSA to immediately seize and begin looking for international comms related to Dominion,” Perry wrote to Meadows on November 12, just five days after the election was called for Joe Biden.

In the text, which has not been previously reported, Perry appears to be urging Meadows to get John Ratcliffe, then-Director of National Intelligence, to order the National Security Agency to investigate debunked claims that Dominion voting machines were hacked by China….

Last year, the Senate singled out Perry for his role in promoting Trump’s election fraud conspiracies. The Meadows texts provide new details into his efforts behind the scenes. In particular, the texts show how Perry, now the head of the House Freedom Caucus, was one of the most vocal advocates for recruiting top government officials to investigate baseless claims of voter fraud.