Letter shows Trump wanted to reverse defeat at the 1:15 polls
(CNN) -
In the final days of his tenure, President Donald Trump made no secret of his effort to overturn the election he had just lost, so it's all too easy to get tired of thinking about it now that he's out of office and his official powers were cut off.
But in addition to the lies he was spreading all the time, we continue to learn disturbing new details about his stubborn and damaging efforts to poison the system from within, which included a "The Apprentice" -style showdown between two top Justice Department officials. (DOJ) in the White House and threats of resignation.
ANALYSIS |
Trump's $ 100 Million Threat to Democracy
Intertwined, the facts show that Trump's assault on democracy, increasingly resembling a coup attempt, was even more reckless and insistent than previously thought.
Recent news includes these items:
Trump lobbied sitting DOJ officials like Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen on Dec. 27 to "Just say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen," according to the notes. Acting Under Secretary of Justice Richard Donoghue shared with House investigators.
A day later, on December 28, at least one acting DOJ official, Jeffrey Clark, who was in charge of the civil division, apparently believed Trump's lies, or wanted to reassure him, and drafted a letter suggesting there were wrongdoing. elections in the elections (there were none), but was rejected by other high-ranking officials in office.
Officials like Rosen's chief of staff, Patrick Hovakimian, drafted resignation letters in the event their boss was ousted in favor of Clark.
CNN's Marshall Cohen, Jason Morris, Christopher Hickey and Will Mullery have put together a detailed timeline of Trump's efforts to corrupt the US and Georgia governments.
It is comprehensive and shocking.
ANALYSIS |
The commission's opening on January 6 is a crucial opportunity to correct Trump's lies
Trump's efforts
It is precisely the threat of a block of DOJ resignations among interim officials (these people, as interim officials, were supposed to be loyal to Trump) is what may have prevented Trump from a last-minute firing of Justice officials.
Keep in mind that Trump's pressure on Rosen and Donoghue came exactly one day after the final resignation of former Attorney General William Barr.
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Barr left the administration in his final month, not long after telling a journalist the truth, that there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could change the outcome of the election.
Trump erupted at this alleged betrayal of Barr at a White House meeting documented by Jonathan Karl in an forthcoming book.
On Barr's last day, Trump was on the phone with Georgia officials, encouraging them to "find" votes.
They did not.
These details will emerge in a fuller narrative now that House investigators are interviewing former Trump officials.
That official record will complement the details we already knew, such as the "The Apprentice" -style showdown that went on for hours, in which Rosen and Clark each presented arguments to Trump about how to proceed in his final days.
That happened on January 3.
Three days later, Trump supporters attacked the Capitol to stop the counting of electoral votes.
The strain of Trump's efforts to undermine the election was not limited to the Justice Department.
Earlier this year we learned from another book that the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, was actively engaged in countering any efforts by Trump to use the government to seize power.
Top U.S. generals feared Trump would attempt a post-election coup, according to a new book
It's good news that even officials who were once perceived as loyal to Trump aren't helping him override the election.
But everything must be considered in context and knowing that Trump could very well run for the White House again.
You also have to consider whether he broke the law by lobbying to break the American democratic process.
"Forget about a crime. I see several federal crimes here," said former federal prosecutor and CNN analyst Elie Honig, who just published a book exposing Barr's time in the Trump administration.
Here are more details from Honig, who made these comments to CNN's Erin Burnett:
"I'm going to be specific. It is a federal crime to deprive a state of a fair election. It is a federal crime to request a false count of votes, the false certification of an election. It is a federal crime to conspire against the United States. Now, could you please Come a good defense attorney and object to this or try to find holes in him? Sure I do, and I gladly accept that fight. "
Honig said there is a lot of evidence for a criminal investigation and that current Attorney General Merrick Garland should initiate one even though the Justice Department has not: "This is very serious and there have to be consequences. Imagine if there are no consequences. of any kind. What kind of message does that send? "
Trump's message to the Justice Department revealed: "Say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me"
Trump has already escaped impeachment, although these final details were not known when the vote was taken.
He lobbied Republicans on Capitol Hill to end a full non-partisan review of the insurrection.
He has argued that the committee the Democrats launched is partisan.
He is trying to corrupt our knowledge of events just as he tried to corrupt the outcome of the elections.
Donald Trump coup