“On the morning of January 6, President Donald Trump’s intention was to remain president of the United States, despite the legitimate outcome of the 2020 election and in violation of his constitutional obligation to relinquish power,” said Cheney, a Republican of Wyoming. opening statement to Thursday’s hearing.
Cheney did not detail the specific points of the plan in his initial statement. He said the rioters who violated the Capitol and fought with the police were motivated by Trump’s actions by falsely claiming that his election was stolen.
“President Trump summoned the mob, rallied the mob, and ignited the flames of this attack,” Cheney said, echoing the statement he made in 2021 when he voted to oust Trump.
A committee source later provided CNN with the following description of the “sophisticated seven-part plan”:
“President Trump oversaw a sophisticated seven-party plan to overturn the 2020 election and prevent the transition of presidential power.
- President Trump has made a massive effort to spread false and fraudulent information to the American public claiming that he was robbed of the 2020 election.
- President Trump corruptly planned to replace the incumbent Attorney General so that the Justice Department would support his false election claims.
- President Trump has corruptly pressured Vice President Pence to refuse to count certified election votes in violation of the U.S. Constitution and law.
- President Trump has corruptly pressured state election officials and state lawmakers to change election results.
- President Trump’s legal team and other Trump associates instructed Republicans in several states to create fake ballots and pass these slates to Congress and the National Archives.
- President Trump convened and gathered a violent crowd in Washington and ordered them to march on the United States Capitol.
- As the violence went on, President Trump ignored multiple requests for help and did not take immediate action to stop the violence and ordered his supporters to leave the Capitol.
These are the initial findings and the Select Committee’s investigation is still ongoing. In addition, the Justice Department is currently working with cooperating witnesses and has so far only disclosed some of the information it has identified from encrypted communications and other sources. “