WASHINGTON, June 13 (Reuters) – Leading advisers to then-President Donald Trump told him his allegations of widespread election fraud were unfounded and would not reverse his election loss, but he refused to listen. he testified Monday in a committee hearing investigating the January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Officials working on the Trump campaign and his administration said they told Trump they found no merit in a wide range of allegations that emerged after his defeat in the November election, including reports of a “suspicious suitcase” containing fake ballots, a truck carrying ballots to Pennsylvania. , computer chips exchanged for voting machines and rampant fraudulent voting in Arizona.
“I thought, boy, that if you really believe these things that you’ve lost touch with, you’re out of touch with reality,” said William Barr, who served as Trump’s attorney general and was known for a long time. of time as loyal to the Republican president. In the video’s testimony, Barr bluntly dismissed allegations of fraud as “shit” and “crazy stuff.”
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“There was never an indication of interest in what the actual facts were,” he said.
The select committee of the House of Representatives, led by Democrats investigating the assault on the U.S. Capitol by thousands of Trump supporters, presented its findings at a second public hearing this month on its investigation into the riots for nearly one year.
Monday’s hearing tried to argue that Trump ignored the advice of many of his own employees when he claimed that the 2020 presidential election was “stolen” from him and encouraged his supporters to march on the Capitol.
“He and his closest advisers knew these claims were false, but they continued to place them anyway, until moments before a crowd of Trump supporters attacked the Capitol,” said Rep. Zoe Lofgren. .
Trump has denied any wrongdoing, and has repeatedly insisted he did not lose, dismissing the Select Committee’s investigation as a political witch hunt.
Opinion polls show that many of Trump’s supporters still believe his false claims about the election. Some are now running for office in which they would oversee future elections. Trump has hinted at running for president again in 2024, but has not announced any decision.
THE “DIDN’T CARE” campaign
It shows an announcement requesting donations for former US President Donald Trump as it was presented as evidence and is shown on a screen above US Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-CA), the President Bennie Thompson (D-MS), Vice President, U.S. Representative Liz Cheney (R-WY) and U.S. Representative Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) holding second public hearing of U.S. House Select Committee to investigate the January 6 attack on Capitol Hill, Capitol Hill, Washington, USA, June 13, 2022. REUTERS / Jonathan Ernst
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Bill Stepien, Trump’s campaign manager, said he recommended on election night that Trump stay away from any declaration of victory and instead say votes were still being counted. But Trump appeared on television to preemptively declare victory.
Matthew Morgan, Trump’s chief campaign attorney, said in a video testimony that any allegation of fraud would not change the outcome of the election.
Byung J. “BJay” Pak, who resigned as a U.S. attorney in Atlanta when the Trump camp questioned Georgia’s election results, said he found no evidence of fraud in that state.
Referring to the suspicious suitcase that allegedly contained fake or altered ballots, Pak said, sitting at the witness table, “The alleged black suitcase that was removed from under the table was an official lock box.”
Al Schmidt, the only Republican on the Philadelphia Electoral Board who became the target of attacks after defending the integrity of the 2020 vote, also appeared and dismissed allegations about his state.
“Not only was there no evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania, but there was no evidence of eight,” he said.
Georgia and Pennsylvania were some of the states that supported Trump in the 2016 election, but backed Biden in 2020. They have been a focus of unfounded allegations of election fraud.
Ben Ginsberg, a prominent Republican election lawyer, said he had investigated practices in 180 counties and found no credible election fraud cases. “The Trump campaign did not argue,” he said.
Monday’s session followed a hugely successful hearing Thursday night with witnesses showing that Trump’s close allies, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka, dismissed his false allegations of election fraud. Read more Nearly 20 million Americans watched the unusual audience aired during prime time television viewing hours.
Four people were killed on the day of the attack, one of whom was shot dead by police and the other by natural causes. About 140 policemen were injured and one died the next day. Four officers later committed suicide.
Nearly 850 people have been arrested for riot-related crimes, including more than 250 accused of assault or obstruction of law enforcement.
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Report by Patricia Zengerle, Richard Cowan and Doina Chiacu, additional report by Susan Heavey; Edited by Andy Sullivan and Alistair Bell
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