Lawmakers investigate U.S. Capitol uprising Trump’s “brazen” efforts to turn the Justice Department into his “personal” law firm came to light on Thursday. in order to nullify the election in which he was defeated by Joe Biden.

(Also read: Why will they suspend hearings against Trump for storming the Capitol?)

In the fifth hearing of its year-long inquiry into the deadly riots on January 6, 2021, the House panel detailed Trump’s pressure on officials as part of his campaign to falsely claim that the presidency had been stolen by widespread electoral fraud.

“Donald Trump didn’t just want the Justice Department to investigate, he wanted it to help legitimize his lies, baselessly labeling the election as corrupt,” committee chairman Bennie Thompson said.

Lawmakers reviewed tensions between government lawyers the weekend before the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising, when Trump tried to place one of his men as head of the department.

“It was a brazen attempt to use the Justice Department to advance the president’s personal political agenda,” Thompson said.

The committee heard from Jeffrey Rosen, who became attorney general after Bill Barr resigned, and who quickly found himself at the center of Trump’s efforts to undermine confidence in the election.

(Also: Trump: How are Nixon’s assault on Capitol Hill and Nixon’s Watergate alike?)

highlighting the Trump’s intense pressure on the departmentRosen said the president contacted him almost daily from late December 2020 to early January 2021.

“On one occasion he raised the possibility of having special legal counsel for election fraud. On other occasions he suggested that I meet with his campaign manager, Mr. (Rudy) Giuliani,” Rosen said.

“At another point, he asked if the Department of Justice would take legal action to the Supreme Court. At a few points there were questions about the possibility of making public statements or holding press conferences. “

The Justice Department received a flood of fraud allegations, but Rosen said he did not present officials with evidence.

At that time, Trump initiated the rise of a little-known mid-level official named Jeffrey Clark, who embraced the incumbent president’s theories.

(Keep reading: Trump and the Fake Ghost of Voter Fraud Mark the Republican Agenda)

Showdown in the Oval Office

During the hearing, it was discussed that Clark had prepared a letter to the Georgia State Assembly stating that the department had found evidence of widespread voter fraud, but other officials declined to comment. sign it. Other letters addressed to other States were also prepared.

Trump’s White House attorney Eric Herschmann told the committee through video testimony that he had informed Clark that his plan would amount to “committing a felony.”

Trump was planning to install Clark as attorney general to replace Rosen and thus get him to overturn the official finding that there was no evidence of fraud, allowing him to overturn the election.

But Trump was forced to drop his candidacy by a rebellion among department leaders, during a January 4 meeting in the Oval Office of the White House that was described in detail by witnesses.

Rosen, his deputy Richard Donoghue, another senior official named Steven Engel and White House attorney Pat Cipollone threatened to resign en masse, warning they would take federal prosecutors with them if Trump goes ahead with his plan.

(In other news: Donald Trump hits out at committee investigating Capitol Hill assault)

“I pointed out that Jeff Clark is not even qualified to serve as attorney general. He has never been a criminal defense attorney. He has never conducted a criminal investigation in his life,” he said. reminded Donoghue of what he told Trump.

Donoghue said he told Clark, “You’re an environmental lawyer. Why don’t you go back to your office and we’ll call you if there’s an oil spill?”

Amid live questioning, Donoghue confirmed he pushed back against Trump when the then-president insisted the department could just ‘say the election was tainted’ and ‘leave the rest to me. “.

In addition to this episode which made the headlines, on Wednesday federal investigators raided Clark’s home.

The U.S. attorney in Washington did not comment on the reasons for the raid, but the Center for Renewing America, where Clarks works, confirmed the raid, calling it a “militarization of government.”

To add to the spectacle, Hollywood actor Sean Penn was seen at Thursday’s hearing as a guest of former police officer Michael Fanone, who was seriously injured during the storming of the Capitol that left five dead and testified last year.

(Also: The evidence hanging over Trump in a US ‘coup attempt’)

“I’m just here to observe, like any other citizen,” Penn told reporters.

Thompson told reporters that “significant new streams of evidence necessitated changes to the committee’s hearing schedule, including the possibility of additional hearings“.

The new evidence includes footage of documentary filmmaker Alex Holder, who had access to Trump and his family before and after Jan. 6.

AFP

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