Trump pressured Justice Department over 2020 election
WASHINGTON (AP) — During the last weeks of his presidency, Donald Trump and his allies pressured the Justice Department to investigate unsubstantiated claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election, despite the fact his former attorney general had said there was no evidence of widespread fraud, according to emails released Tuesday by the House Oversight Committee.
The emails from the Justice Department show the extent to which Trump, his White House chief of staff and other allies pressured then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen to join in the Trump campaign's failing efforts to challenge the election result, including suggesting filing a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court.
The emails reveal in new detail how Trump pressured the U.S. government to engage in challenging the 2020 election over false claims, even though officials at Homeland Security and Justice, as well as Republican election leaders across the country, repeatedly said there had been no widespread fraud. Former Attorney General William Barr, a longtime Trump loyalist, was among those who said there was no evidence of widespread fraud.
The emails sent to Rosen include debunked conspiracy theories and false information about voter fraud. Trump's lies about the election helped spur on the mob that stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 in a failed effort to stop the certification of Joe Biden's victory.
In one instance, Trump's chief of staff, Mark Meadows, tried to have Rosen investigate conspiracy theories and pushed the acting attorney general to meet with an ally of Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani who was pitching unfounded election conspiracies that Italy was using satellites and military technology to change votes.
After Rosen forwarded Meadows' email, Rich Donoghue, the acting deputy attorney general, sent a note to Rosen that said, "pure insanity."