Evidence mounts of GOP involvement in Trump 2020 election schemes

WASHINGTON » Texting with then-white House chief of staff Mark Meadows, a close ally and friend, at nearly midnight on Jan. 5, Rep. Jim Jordan offered a legal rationale for what President Donald Trump was publicly demanding — that Vice President Mike Pence, in his ceremonial role presiding over the electoral count, somehow assert the authority to reject electors from Biden-won states.

The text exchange, in an April 22 court filing from the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 riot, is in a batch of startling evidence that shows the deep involvement of some House Republicans in Trump’s desperate attempt to stay in power.