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Washington, D.C. (June 15, 2021)—
Today, Rep.
Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released
new
documents showing President Trump’s
efforts to pressure the Department of Justice (DOJ) to overturn the lawful
results of the 2020 presidential election. At 2:00 p.m., the Committee
will hold its second hearing on the events of January 6, 2021, in which
insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt a joint session of
Congress convened to count Electoral College votes.
“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,” Chairwoman Maloney said. “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.”
On May 21, 2021, the Committee sent a letter to DOJ requesting documents relating to President
Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election prior to the
January 6 attack.
Documents obtained by the Committee in response to this letter show that
in December 2020 and early January 2021, President Trump, his Chief of Staff,
and outside allies repeatedly put pressure on senior DOJ officials to
challenge the results of the presidential election and advance
unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud, with the apparent goal of keeping
President Trump in power despite losing the 2020 election.
President Trump Sent Bogus Election Fraud Claims to Top DOJ
Officials Minutes Before Announcing Their Promotions to the Top Two Spots in
the Department
- On December 14,
2020—the day electors in each state certified the Electoral College
votes—President Trump’s White House Assistant sent an email with the
subject “From POTUS” to then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey
Rosen. The email attached materials about alleged voter fraud in
Antrim County, Michigan, including “talking points” that asserted, “a
Cover-up is Happening regarding the voting machines in Michigan,” and,
“Michigan cannot certify for Biden.”
- Just two minutes after
President Trump’s assistant sent these documents to Mr. Rosen,
then-Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue,
through his assistant, sent the same documents to the U.S. Attorneys for
the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan.
- Approximately 40
minutes after sending this phony voter fraud information, President
Trump tweeted that Attorney General Barr—who had said publicly that he
had not seen widespread election fraud—would be stepping down, that Mr.
Rosen would serve as Acting Attorney General, and that Mr. Donoghue
would serve as Acting Deputy Attorney General.
President Trump Used Official White House Channels and a Private
Attorney to Pressure DOJ to Urgently File a Supreme Court Lawsuit to Nullify
the Election
- On December 29, 2020,
President Trump’s White House Assistant emailed Mr. Rosen, Mr. Donoghue,
and Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall, attaching a draft legal brief
to file in the Supreme Court. She wrote, “The President asked me
to send the attached draft document for your review,” and provided
a phone number so they could contact the President directly.
- The draft 54-page
complaint demanded that the Supreme Court “declare that the Electoral
College votes cast” in six states that President Trump lost “cannot be
counted,” and requested that the Court order a “special election”
for president in those states.
- On the very same day,
a private attorney, Kurt Olsen, contacted multiple senior DOJ officials
on President Trump’s behalf to urge them to file this complaint.
In one email to Mr. Rosen’s Chief of Staff, he wrote: “As I said
on our call, the President of the United States has seen this complaint,
and he directed me last night to brief AG Rosen in person today and
discuss bringing this action. I have been instructed to report
back to the President this afternoon after this meeting.” In a
separate email to the Acting Solicitor General, Mr. Olsen added, “This
is an urgent matter.”
- Emails indicate that
Mr. Rosen discussed the filing with Mr. Olsen on or around December 29,
2020, and asked Mr. Olsen to send him Supreme Court precedent supporting
the arguments in the complaint. Mr. Olsen previously represented
Texas in its failed lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2020
presidential election.
President Trump Enlisted Assistant AG Jeffrey Clark in an Attempt
to Advance Election Fraud Claims
- Emails confirm that on
December 31, 2020, and January 3, 2021, President Trump met with Mr.
Rosen, then-Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark, and other DOJ
officials. During these meetings, President Trump reportedly
pressured them to challenge the results of the 2020 presidential
election.
- On January 1, 2021,
White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows directed Mr. Rosen to have Mr.
Clark look into “signature match anomalies in Fulton county, GA.”
Later that day, Mr. Rosen sent Mr. Clark the cell phone number of
then-U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung J. Pak
with the subject line “atlanta.” That day, Mr. Clark also
emailed Dustin Carmack, Chief of Staff to the Director of National
Intelligence, to request a call.
- On January 2, 2021,
Mr. Rosen followed up with Mr. Clark regarding his call with Mr.
Pak. Mr. Clark replied, “I spoke to the source and am on with the
guy who took the video right now. Working on it. More due
diligence to do.” Later that day, President Trump referred to Mr.
Pak as a “never-Trumper U.S. Attorney” while discussing two videos
purporting to show fraudulent votes in Fulton County with Georgia
Secretary of Secretary Brad Raffensberger.
- The January 3 meeting
was described in press reports as an “Apprentice”-like battle during
which President Trump considered “whether to fire Mr. Rosen and replace
him with Mr. Clark” who was sympathetic to the President’s election
fraud claims. After the meeting, Associate Deputy Attorney General
Patrick Hovakimian reported to his colleagues: “it sounds like
Rosen and the cause of justice won.”
- Later that evening,
Mr. Donoghue emailed Mr. Pak with the subject line “Please call
ASAP.” Mr. Pak resigned less than 10 hours later, reportedly under
pressure from the Trump White House.
The White House Chief of Staff Pressured DOJ to Investigate
Conspiracy Theories At Least Fives Times
- Newly released
documents substantiate recent reports that former White House Chief of
Staff Mark Meadows pressured DOJ officials—on at least five occasions—to
investigate baseless claims of election fraud or put pressure on other
officials to pursue these claims.
- On December 30, 2020,
Mr. Meadows forwarded Mr. Rosen an email from Cleta Mitchell, a Trump
advisor who later participated in a January phone call with Georgia
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. During that call,
President Trump reportedly asked Georgia election officials to
“find” enough votes to declare him the winner of the state. The
December 30 email contained allegations of “video issues in Fulton
County.” Mr. Meadows wrote to Mr. Rosen: “Can you have your
team look into these allegations of wrongdoing. Only the alleged
fraudulent activity.”
- Later on December 30,
2020, Mr. Meadows emailed Mr. Rosen a translation of a document from an
individual in Italy claiming to have “direct knowledge” of a plot by
which American electoral data was changed in Italian facilities “in
coordination with senior US intelligence officials (CIA)” and loaded
onto “military satellites.” This individual claimed that the true
data, as well as sources within the conservative wing of the Italian
secret service, confirmed that Donald Trump was “clearly the winner” of
the 2020 election.
- On January 1, 2021,
Mr. Meadows emailed Mr. Rosen on three separate occasions to provide
unsubstantiated claims about election fraud or ask him to take direct
action to change the results:
- At 3:08 p.m., Mr.
Meadows sent Mr. Rosen a YouTube link referencing the Italy conspiracy,
labeled “Brad Johnson: Rome, Satellites, Servers: an
Update.” Mr. Rosen forwarded the email to Mr. Donoghue, who
responded: “Pure insanity.” Mr. Rosen explained to Mr. Donoghue
that after receiving the message, he was asked to have the FBI meet
with Brad Johnson, who Mr. Rosen learned “is working with Rudy
Giuliani.” Mr. Rosen said he refused the request.
- At 4:13 p.m., Mr.
Meadows sent another email to Mr. Rosen, writing: “There have
been allegations of signature match anomalies in Fulton county,
Ga. Can you get Jeff Clark to engage on this issue immediately to
determine if there is any truth to this allegation.” Mr. Rosen
forwarded this email to Mr. Donoghue with the comment: “Can you
believe this? I am not going to respond to the message
below.”
- At 6:56 p.m., Mr.
Meadows forwarded Mr. Rosen a document alleging voting irregularities
and problems with Dominion machines in New Mexico and asking Mr. Rosen
for his “team to review the allegations contained herein.”
Requests for Transcribed Interviews
In light of these new documents, the Committee has requested that the
following officials appear for a transcribed interview regarding any efforts
by President Trump and others to advance unsubstantiated allegations of voter
fraud or seek to overturn the 2020 election:
- Former White House
Chief of Staff Mark Meadows
- Former Acting Deputy
Attorney General Richard Donoghue
- Former Assistant
Attorney General Jeffrey Clark
- Former Associate
Deputy Attorney General Patrick Hovakimian
- Former U.S. Attorney
for the Northern District of Georgia Byung Jin Pak
On May 21, 2021, the Committee invited Mr. Rosen to appear for a
transcribed interview on these matters.
Click here to read the documents released today.
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: June 15, 2021
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