Nothing surprising here, and this is just getting started. Hopefully we'll end up with the whole story before long, whether it's politically damaging or not.
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WHAT WE FOUND in our investigation into former President Trump’s campaign to pressure DOJ to overturn the 2020 Election:
On Jan 22, @ktbenner reported that Acting AAG Jeffrey Clark sought to involve DOJ in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results & plotted with then-President Trump to oust Acting AG Jeffrey Rosen, who reportedly refused Trump’s demands. /1
Two days later, @JessBravin & @sgurman reported that Trump had urged DOJ to file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court seeking to invalidate President Biden’s victory. /2
The Senate Judiciary Committee immediately launched an investigation into these reports. On January 23, we asked DOJ to produce documents related to these efforts, which led to the receipt of several hundred pages of calendars, emails, & other documents in the ensuing months. /3
The Committee interviewed key former DOJ personnel, including Rosen, former Principal Associate Deputy AG Richard Donoghue, and former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung Jin (“BJay”) Pak. /4
The Committee requested to interview Jeffrey Clark, whom DOJ authorized to testify in July. Clark still has not agreed to the Committee’s request that he sit for a voluntary interview. Today, Chair @SenatorDurbin asked the D.C. Bar to conduct a review of Clark's conduct. /5
Today, October 7, the Committee Majority staff released a 394-page report detailing the investigation thus far, including 6 key findings. Full report here: https://judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Interim%20Staff%20Report%20FINAL.pdf
FINDING 1: President Trump repeatedly asked DOJ leadership to endorse his false claims that the election was stolen & assist his efforts to overturn the election results, beginning on the day AG Barr announced his resignation and cumulating to the January 6 insurrection. /7
FINDING 2: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asked Acting Attorney General Rosen to initiate election fraud investigations on multiple occasions, violating longstanding restrictions on White House-DOJ communications about specific law enforcement matters. /8
FINDING 3: After personally meeting with Trump, Jeffrey Bossert Clark pushed Rosen and Donoghue to assist Trump’s election subversion scheme—and told Rosen he would decline Trump’s potential offer to install him as Acting Attorney General if Rosen agreed to aid that scheme. /9
FINDING 4: Trump allies with links to the “Stop the Steal” movement and the January 6 insurrection participated in the pressure campaign against DOJ, including U.S. Representative Scott Perry (R-PA), PA State Sen. Doug Mastriano, and Trump campaign advisor Cleta Mitchell. /10
FINDING 5: Trump forced the resignation of U.S. Attorney Byung Jin (“BJay”) Pak, whom he believed was not doing enough to address false claims of election fraud in Georgia. Trump then went outside the line of succession when naming an Acting U.S. Attorney. /11
FINDING 6: By pursuing false claims of election fraud before votes were certified, DOJ deviated from longstanding practice meant to avoid inserting DOJ itself as an issue in the election. DOJ took overt steps to investigate false claims of election fraud before certification. /12
More will come to light. We're still waiting on additional Trump White House records from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), dating back to November 3, 2020. And we will conduct additional witness interviews as appropriate. /13
===============
WHAT WE FOUND in our investigation into former President Trump’s campaign to pressure DOJ to overturn the 2020 Election:
On Jan 22, @ktbenner reported that Acting AAG Jeffrey Clark sought to involve DOJ in efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election results & plotted with then-President Trump to oust Acting AG Jeffrey Rosen, who reportedly refused Trump’s demands. /1
Two days later, @JessBravin & @sgurman reported that Trump had urged DOJ to file a lawsuit in the Supreme Court seeking to invalidate President Biden’s victory. /2
The Senate Judiciary Committee immediately launched an investigation into these reports. On January 23, we asked DOJ to produce documents related to these efforts, which led to the receipt of several hundred pages of calendars, emails, & other documents in the ensuing months. /3
The Committee interviewed key former DOJ personnel, including Rosen, former Principal Associate Deputy AG Richard Donoghue, and former U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia Byung Jin (“BJay”) Pak. /4
The Committee requested to interview Jeffrey Clark, whom DOJ authorized to testify in July. Clark still has not agreed to the Committee’s request that he sit for a voluntary interview. Today, Chair @SenatorDurbin asked the D.C. Bar to conduct a review of Clark's conduct. /5
Today, October 7, the Committee Majority staff released a 394-page report detailing the investigation thus far, including 6 key findings. Full report here: https://judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Interim%20Staff%20Report%20FINAL.pdf
FINDING 1: President Trump repeatedly asked DOJ leadership to endorse his false claims that the election was stolen & assist his efforts to overturn the election results, beginning on the day AG Barr announced his resignation and cumulating to the January 6 insurrection. /7
FINDING 2: White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asked Acting Attorney General Rosen to initiate election fraud investigations on multiple occasions, violating longstanding restrictions on White House-DOJ communications about specific law enforcement matters. /8
FINDING 3: After personally meeting with Trump, Jeffrey Bossert Clark pushed Rosen and Donoghue to assist Trump’s election subversion scheme—and told Rosen he would decline Trump’s potential offer to install him as Acting Attorney General if Rosen agreed to aid that scheme. /9
FINDING 4: Trump allies with links to the “Stop the Steal” movement and the January 6 insurrection participated in the pressure campaign against DOJ, including U.S. Representative Scott Perry (R-PA), PA State Sen. Doug Mastriano, and Trump campaign advisor Cleta Mitchell. /10
FINDING 5: Trump forced the resignation of U.S. Attorney Byung Jin (“BJay”) Pak, whom he believed was not doing enough to address false claims of election fraud in Georgia. Trump then went outside the line of succession when naming an Acting U.S. Attorney. /11
FINDING 6: By pursuing false claims of election fraud before votes were certified, DOJ deviated from longstanding practice meant to avoid inserting DOJ itself as an issue in the election. DOJ took overt steps to investigate false claims of election fraud before certification. /12
More will come to light. We're still waiting on additional Trump White House records from the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), dating back to November 3, 2020. And we will conduct additional witness interviews as appropriate. /13
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