Trump’s closest advisers viewed efforts to halt certification of election 'nuts' and 'crazy'
A committee investigating the 6 January Capitol insurrection in Washington on Thursday revealed the extraordinary efforts President Donald Trump and his team pursued in an attempt to overturn his 2020 election defeat to Joe Biden.
Testimony on Thursday showed Trump pressuring Vice President Mike Pence in vulgar private taunts and public entreaties to stop the certification of Biden's victory in the run-up to the 6 January Capitol insurrection.
The panel also revealed how Trump put his vice president's life in danger as Pence was presiding over a joint session of Congress. Rioters came within 40 feet of the place where Pence and others had been evacuated.
“He deserves to be burned with the rest of them,” one rioter is heard saying on video as the mob prepares to storm the iconic building.
The committee is pulling together a dark portrait of the final days of Trump's presidency, as defeated Republican were left grasping for alternatives as courts rejected dozens of lawsuits challenging the vote.
Witness testimony on Thursday showed how Trump’s closest advisers viewed his last-ditch efforts to halt congressional certification of his loss as “nuts,” “crazy” and even likely to incite riots if Pence followed through.
A text message from Fox News’ Sean Hannity to Trump’s chief of staff Mark Meadows about the plan in the run-up to 6 January read: "I’m very worried about the next 48 hours."
Trump aides and allies warned bluntly in private about his efforts, even as some publicly continued to stand by the president's false election claims. Nine people died in the insurrection and its aftermath.
The committee has said the plan was illegal, and a federal judge has said “more likely than not” Trump committed crimes in his attempt to stop the
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