January 6 Hearing: Donald Trump Pressured Justice Department to Call 2020 Election 'Corrupt'

Evidence and testimony that Donald Trump forced his Justice Department to pursue his false claims of a stolen presidential election were presented during the January 6 hearing on Thursday.

The former president also allegedly tried to install an ally at the top of the Justice Department to support his claims and only relented when he was warned of mass resignations if he continued to pursue.

Some former Trump Justice department leaders said the former president's pressure would have forced mass resignations from Justice Department officials and ultimately sparked an unprecedented constitutional crisis, according to The Hill.

Appearing before the House committee investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol were former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, his deputy Richard Donoghue, and Steven Engel, then head of the Office of Legal Counsel.

They all recounted Donald Trump's persistent badgering to declare the 2020 presidential election as corrupt. This is all part of the former president's efforts to overturn the results of the elections and stay in power.

January 6 Hearing: Donald Trump Justice Department Officials Testified That There Was No Fraud

The January 6 House committee called in the three former Justice Department officials who were serving under Donald Trump during the insurrection.

All three men described weeks of chaos within the Justice Department as the Trump's White House and his allies in congress all tried to overturn the results of the elections. They also testified about how Trump grew ever more frustrated as officials within his own Justice Department refused to help him.

Trump would allegedly hound officials to investigate his claims of voter fraud, only for the officials to refuse to endorse his claims for lack of evidence.

In his testimony, Rosen said Trump tried to make him say that the election was "corrupt" and that he should just leave it to him and several Republican congressmen.

This is in reference to the Republican lawmakers who tried helping Donald Trump to overturn the election results and asked him for pardons afterward.

Donald Trump Tried to Install a Midlevel DOJ Lawyer Who Was Loyal to Him as Justice Secretary

The testimony of the former Justice Department officials also showed Donald Trump's desperation as he allegedly tried installing people who were willing to endorse his false claims.

This includes trying to place midlevel lawyer Jeffrey Clark at the Department of Justice as acting attorney general, replacing Rosen in the final weeks of his presidency.

Clark is described as an obscure environmental lawyer who was introduced to Trump by Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.) in December 2020. He was reportedly willing to back Trump's debunked claims.

According to Associated Press, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R - Illinois), one of the few Republicans in the Committee, often derided Clark and said the lawyer's only qualification for such an important post was that he was loyal to Trump.

Clark became the DOJ's chief environmental lawyer in 2018. However, while his job's focus was supposed to be mainly on environmental issues, Clark was active in the efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 elections.

This includes presenting a draft letter to his colleagues, which tried pushing Georgia officials to convene a special legislative session about the election. But while Clark wanted the letter sent, the Department of Justice opted not to do so.

And as Donald Trump grew frustrated with the Justice Department's refusal to investigate his false claims, he became even more fixated on installing Clark.

In the hearing, it was revealed that Trump had a series of calls with Clark, unbeknownst to his superiors, Rosen and Donoghue, who told the lawyer that his contacts with Trump were inappropriate.

In his testimony, Rosen said Clark told him that Trump wanted him as the acting attorney general, with Rosen as his deputy if he wanted to. However, Rosen thought it was preposterous if he accepted being fired by his subordinate and told Clark that the idea was "nonsensical."

The committee also presented White House call logs as evidence of Donald Trump's efforts to install Clark at the Department of Justice. One of Trump's calls with Clark was logged as a conversation with "acting Attorney General Jeffrey Clark."

The hearing also revealed that federal authorities had searched Clark's home in Virginia on Wednesday morning. Reports said federal agents searched his home for about three and a half hours and confiscated his electronic devices.

The Hill reported that Clark was nearly held in contempt after walking out of his first deposition regarding his role in the attempt to overturn the election results.

This article is owned by Latin Post.

Written by: Rick Martin

Watch: January 6 Hearing Examines Trump-Era DOJ Official Jeffrey Clark's Role in Capitol Riot - From CBS News