Retired Federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, a staunch Conservative who has long been admired by many Republicans, will testify before the House committee on January 6 with an urgent and harsh message for the panel on former President Donald’s efforts Trump to cancel the 2020 election: “American democracy was almost stolen from him.”
FILE – In this 2016 archive photo, Boeing J. Michael Luttig speaks at the Florence Civic Center during the annual luncheon of members of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce in Florence, SC / Credit: Joe Perry / The Morning News via AP
Luttig will also claim that the Republican National Committee is wrong in referring to some of the events of January 6, 2021 as a “legitimate political speech” and will warn his fellow Conservatives not to ignore the seriousness of what Trump did while he struggled to hold on. to the presidency that day.
The retired judge’s expected statements were confirmed to CBS News by two acquaintances with his expected testimony who were not authorized to discuss the details of the hearing.
He will also reveal how he advised then-Vice President Mike Pence to resist Trump’s requests for Pence to block Congressional certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
A person familiar with Luttig’s scheduled testimony said he sees his appearance before the committee as a serious and troubling moment, similar to an appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court.
Pence’s lawyers and aides contacted Luttig prior to congressional certification, seeking his guidance and a conservative primer on Pence’s decision. Luttig ended up briefly serving as the informal external advisor to the vice president’s team.
Luttig’s role in that episode caught the committee’s interest. He has long said he would be willing to share his story and perspective on the state of the GOP and American democracy.
“If Congress invites me, I’d love to testify,” Luttig told CBS News in April.
Former Pence attorney Greg Jacob will also testify before the committee Thursday. Both Jacob and Luttig advised Pence not to do anything to break the congressional election certification and to ignore the advice of Trump’s conservative and allied lawyer, John Eastman, a former Luttig secretary.
The story goes on
Eastman wrote a two-page note, accepted by Trump, arguing that the vice president could take steps to delay certification and allow states to send alternative voter lists for consideration by Congress.
A federal judge recently ordered Eastman to hand over 159 documents to the House select committee.
U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing the dispute over records between Eastman and the House panel, said the latest stretch to be revealed is not covered by attorney-client privilege or for the product of protected labor, as the Conservative lawyer asserted. The 159 documents were part of a larger batch of nearly 600 documents that Eastman struggled to protect from the committee. Carter said 440 of them were privileged and protected from disclosure.
Melissa Quinn contributed to this report.
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