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New documents released by Democrats to the House Oversight and Reform Committee, Tuesday, show the extent of efforts by former President Donald Trump to push the Department of Justice to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Representative Carolyn Maloney of New York, the committee’s chairwoman, announced the release of the documents ahead of a hearing on the January 6 attack on the US Capitol by a violent mob of Trump supporters seeking to cancel the presidential election. Rioters swept through the Capitol as lawmakers and former Vice President Mike Pence met to finalize the Electoral College results.
“These documents show that President Trump attempted to corrupt our country’s law enforcement agency in a brazen attempt to nullify an election he lost,” Maloney said in a statement. “Those who aided or witnessed President Trump’s unlawful actions should answer the committee’s questions about trying to undermine democracy. My committee is committed to ensuring that the events leading up to the violent January 6 insurrection are fully investigated.”
Before the January 6 attack, Mr. Trump repeatedly refused to recognize the election and falsely claimed that the election had been stolen, even as his campaign failed in dozens of lawsuits alleging failed voter fraud. After the uprising, his case was brought by the House of Representatives for sedition, but the Senate acquitted him. And Senate Republicans last month blocked a bill to create an independent, bipartisan commission to investigate the attack.
In light of newly obtained documents, the House Oversight and Reform Committee is seeking written interviews with several former Trump administration officials, including former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, who has repeatedly lobbied the Department of Justice to investigate the allegations. Unfounded election fraud, according to the emails.
In addition to showing the reach of Mr. Trump’s attempts to reverse his electoral loss to President Biden, the emails also show that the former president sent at least one outside lawyer pushing false election allegations to work alongside senior Justice Department officials, including representation. Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, acting attorney general Jeffrey Wall and John Moran, Rosen’s chief of staff, challenge the results of the race.
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An email dated December 29 from Mr Trump’s aide to Rosen, then deputy attorney general, and Wall and Richard Donoghue, then principal assistant attorney general, included a draft 54-page complaint being submitted to the Supreme Court raising cases with findings Elections in six states are a major battleground where Mr. Trump lost.
“The president asked me to send in the attached draft document for review,” the aide wrote, adding that the document was also shared with Meadows and White House adviser Pat Cipollone.
Additional emails from Kurt Olsen, a special counsel who worked with Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton in his failed bid to get the Supreme Court to overturn the election results, indicated that Mr. Trump directed him to discuss further efforts in the Supreme Court with Department of Justice officials.
Referring to the unsuccessful application in the Supreme Court by Texas, Olsen emailed Wall on December 29 saying, “The President directed me to meet with A.J. Rosen today to discuss similar action that the United States would introduce.”
“I couldn’t reach him despite multiple calls/texts,” Olsen wrote. “This is an urgent matter.”
He reached out to Moran separately that day, noting that the two had spoken, and said that Mr. Trump “directed me last night to brief AG Rosen in person today to discuss taking this action. I have been instructed to report to the President this afternoon. Following this meeting.”
Moran sent several emails to Rosen repeating his conversations with Olsen, who also asked him to give the acting attorney general a letter on December 28 from a Pennsylvania senator claiming fraudulent votes were cast in the state.
The documents also reveal that Meadows has asked the Justice Department to look into unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud at least five times. On December 30, Meadows asked Rosen to look into “alleged fraudulent activity only” in Georgia, and sent an email from attorney Clitta Mitchell alleging that there were “video issues” involved in vote counting in Fulton County. Mitchell later took part in a call with Mr. Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Ravensberger, during which Mr. Trump asked Ravensburger to “find” enough votes to annul Biden’s victory in the state.
Later on December 30, Meadows also sent Rosen an email with translation of a message from an individual in Italy claiming to have “direct knowledge” of a plot in which an Italian facility altered election results “in coordination with senior US intelligence (CIA) officials” and “loaded with information technology on military satellites. He claimed the data showed Mr Trump was the “clear winner” of the election.
Meadows emailed Rosen three times on January 1 asking the attorney general to investigate several conspiracy theories about the election, including sending a YouTube link addressing the bizarre Italian conspiracy allegations.
Rosen sent one of Meadows’ letters alleging wrongdoing in Georgia to Donoghue, writing, “Can you believe this? I will not respond to the letter below.”
“It’s better than before, at least,” Donoghue replied, “but that doesn’t mean much.”
Donoghue also described the allegations in the YouTube video circulated by Meadows as “pure insanity,” while Rosen told him that he had been asked to interview the FBI with Brad Johnson, who was interviewed in the video about the baseless allegations about Italy.
Rosen said Johnson was also working with Rudy Giuliani, Trump’s special counsel who has been a central figure in promoting false claims that the election was stolen. The acting attorney general indicated that he refused a request to facilitate the meeting between the FBI and Johnson.
“When asked if I would reconsider, I flatly refused, said I would not give any special treatment to Giuliani or any of his ‘witnesses’, and reiterated that I would not speak to Giuliani about any of this,” Rosen said.
Documents released by Congressional Democrats also provide a window into the involvement of Jeffrey Clark, a former assistant attorney general. The New York Times reported in January that Mr. Trump conspired with Clarke to oust Rosen amid the election controversy.
Clark and Rosen exchanged several emails in early January. In one, Rosen shared the mobile phone number of B. J. Buck, the former US attorney general for the Northern District of Georgia who resigned on January 4. In another clip titled “Atlanta,” Clark told Rosen, “I spoke to the source and I’m with the guy who took the video now. Working on it. Do more due diligence.”
Several congressional committees continue their investigations into the events leading up to January 6, despite the prohibition of establishing an independent commission. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may also choose to create a specially selected committee to investigate the attack.
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