Supporters of former President Donald Trump take part in a rally in Washington, DC, near the White House on January 6, 2021 (John Minchillo / AP / File)
With public hearings starting today, a House of Representatives election commission investigating Jan. 6 is focusing on former President Donald Trump and preparing to use his platform to argue that he is responsible for serious abuses of power that nearly destroyed American democracy.
Here’s a breakdown of what the group – and the press – found out about Trump’s leadership role in the anti-democratic scheme and how it fits into ongoing criminal investigations:
Trump’s election subversion before January 6, 2021: The Commission interviewed officials from Michigan and Georgia, among other states, where Trump unsuccessfully tried to trick local officials into revoking Biden’s vote and calling him the winner. Trump has also sought to enlist senior Justice Department officials to help with those efforts.
Lawmakers also delved into the “fake voter” conspiracy led by Trump campaign officials in an attempt to undermine the Electoral College process in December 2020.
Congressional investigators have received hundreds of emails from right-wing attorney John Eastman, who has directly advised Trump to use legally questionable methods to stay in office. This included a plan by then-Vice President Mike Pence to postpone the election to Trump on January 6 while he chaired a joint session of Congress to attest to the victory of Biden’s Electoral College.
In another victory for the commission, Eastman’s civil judge said on Tuesday that a potentially criminal scheme between Trump and Eastman to obstruct Electoral College proceedings was formed in December 2020, weeks earlier than previously established. The decision paved the way for the panel to receive additional emails, which Eastman tried to keep secret.
Trump and his allies continued their efforts to promote the Big Lie, even after senior officials, including then-Attorney General Bill Barr, told him that the election results were legitimate and that he had lost. Even Eastman admitted in emails at the time that his plans were not legally valid. Lawmakers said this suggested that Trump had a corrupt state of mind.
“The data will be convincing from the committee,” former Denver MP Riggleman, who was a Republican adviser to the committee, told CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 ° last week. “I think it’s up to the American people, once it’s presented, to come out – using facts, not fantasies or opinions – to blame the president and the people around him.
Trump, Eastman and other Republican figures involved have denied any wrongdoing. Trump’s spokesmen did not respond to a request for comment on the story.
Neglect of Trump’s obligations during the Capitol uprising: After Trump failed to stop states from certifying their results, he began to focus on January 6, 2021, as his last chance to seize power. The facts of this tragic day are well known, but the committee will try to bring a clear account of the chaos: Trump knew his supporters could be violent, but he pushed them and was abandoned when he did not. try to stop the violence.
“They were warned that Jan. 6 could and is likely to turn into violence,” Wyoming Republican Deputy Chair Liz Cheney said at a committee hearing in March.
Pence officials were so concerned before January 6, 2021, that they warned the US secret services that Trump could provoke violence against him because he does not want to cancel the election, according to The New York Times. (Since then, the Secret Service has said there is “no knowledge” of the conversation.) Some of Pence’s senior advisers who cooperated in the commission’s investigation could potentially be called as witnesses during the public hearings.
Prominent Republicans and right-wing media figures knew in real time that only Trump could repeal the mafia and end the deadly Capitol massacre, according to text messages sent by Trump’s allies to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows on Jan. 6. . CNN received his texts after he partially complied with the summons to deliver the messages.
Despite these requests, according to committee members, Trump spent 187 minutes during the riot watching TV and working on the phones, looking pleased with the way his supporters are fighting for him in the Capitol. He responded favorably when he learned that some of the rebels were chanting “Hang Mike Pence,” according to testimony received from a panel by Meadows’ aide.
To focus on these crucial White House hours, the panel interviewed people who were there with Trump that day, including his daughter Ivanka Trump and his son-in-law Jared Kushner. Clips from their videos are likely to be released to public hearings for the first time – just some of the unprecedented details that lawmakers have been annoyed by.
Read more about the investigation here.
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