The Jan. 6 select committee on Thursday unveiled new information about House Republicans’ involvement in former President Trump’s efforts to shake up the Department of Justice and force them to investigate his false election fraud claims.
Why it matters: The panel revealed how one member in particular, Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), served as a go-between for DOJ official Jeffrey Clark and the White House.
- Clark was one of the few vocal proponents of Trump’s election fraud claims within senior DOJ leadership, and Trump and Perry sought to install him as acting attorney general in an effort to overturn the election.
Driving the news: Perry texted White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows on Dec. 26 encouraging him to “call Jeff” about why the DOJ wouldn’t “work especially with the FBI … to enforce what needs to be done.”
- Perry also brought Clark to meet with Trump at the White House on Dec. 22, according to a White House visitor log obtained by the panel.
- One day earlier, GOP members huddled with White House staff on plans to overturn the election, according to testimony from a former Meadows aide.
- Perry also texted Meadows a link to a video about an unfounded conspiracy theory that Italy meddled in the 2020 election, asking: “Why can’t we just work with the Italian government?”
What they’re saying: In live testimony to the committee, former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donohue said Trump told him to “just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen.”
What to watch: The panel will play testimony from former Trump aides identifying which members of Congress sought presidential pardons after Jan. 6, according to Committee Vice Chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.).
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