WASHINGTON (thehill): Newly revealed documents obtained by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform reveal that former President Trump and his allies pressured the Department of Justice (DOJ) to back his unproven claims of election fraud in the days and weeks before the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The documents, released publicly on Tuesday, show Trump, his then-chief of staff Mark Meadows and outside allies putting pressure on senior DOJ officials to probe claims of voter fraud in December 2020 and early January 2021.
Emails provided to the committee revealed that Trump sent allegations of election fraud to top DOJ officials minutes before he announced their promotions, which were sparked by the resignation of then-Attorney General Bill Barr.
Approximately 40 minutes before Trump tweeted that Barr would be stepping down and that then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and then-Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue would be promoted, his White House assistant sent Rosen an email with the subject “From POTUS,” which contained materials alleging voter fraud in Antrim County, Mich. The email also included “talking points” that claimed “a Cover-up is Happening regarding the voting machines in Michigan” and “Michigan cannot certify for Biden.”
Trump then sent the same documents to Donoghue, according to the committee.
The documents also revealed that Trump used official White House channels and a private attorney to urge the DOJ to file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court that asked the court to declare that the Electoral College vote in six states Trump lost cannot be counted, and request a special election to vote for president.
Additionally, the documents illustrated attempts by then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to ask DOJ officials on at least five occasions to pursue claims of election fraud.
“These documents show that President Trump tried to corrupt our nation’s chief law enforcement agency in a brazen attempt to overturn an election that he lost,” Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), who chairs the Committee on Oversight and Reform, said in a statement.
“Those who aided or witnessed President Trump’s unlawful actions must answer the Committee’s questions about this attempted subversion of democracy. My Committee is committed to ensuring that the events leading to the violent January 6 insurrection are fully investigated,” she added.
The document dump, first reported by The New York Times, was provided to the committee in response to a letter sent to the DOJ requesting records related to Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election prior to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, according to the committee.
It comes hours before the committee is scheduled to hold its second hearing on the events of the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
The Hill has requested comment on the released documents from Trump’s office.
