Jan. 6 Committee: 11 House Republicans Attended White House Meeting With Donald Trump to Overturn Election
New information about the January 6 Capitol riot emerged, with 11 House Republicans attending a White House meeting with former U.S. President Donald Trump prior to the certification of the 2020 presidential election has been revealed by the committee leading the investigation.
Business Insider reported that the White House meeting, which occurred on December 21, was part of an effort to spread Trump's false claims about the election, according to Democratic Rep. Stephanie Murphy. Murphy noted that those who attended included former Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, and former White House chief Mark Meadows. Murphy said the members discussed at the meeting the election claims that Trump's personal lawyer, John Eastman, was promoting.
Eastman said he believed that Pence could single-handedly "reject slates of electors," with him having a role over the joint session to certify the election results. However, the vice president's role only includes counting votes.
The 11 House Republicans who were at the White House meeting based on the visitor logs obtained by the January 6 committee were Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, Texas Rep. Brian Babin, and Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs.
Included in the list are Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, Texas Rep. Louie Gohmert, Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, and Maryland Rep. Andy Harris.
Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia was also at the White House meeting, including Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, Pennsylvania Rep. Scott Perry, and Rep-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia.
White House Meeting
The January 6 committee has released evidence regarding the planning of the meeting, with a note on Trump's private schedule for the day "private meeting with Republican members" of the House at 2:00 p.m. in the Oval Office.
Brooks emailed about it using the subject line "White House meeting December 21 regarding January 6," according to an Axios report. In an email, he said he had not recruited other lawmakers into the "January 6 effort."
Brooks said that only citizens can influence lawmakers on the matter.
Former White House aide Cassidy Hutchinson also provided testimony regarding the said White House meeting.
Hutchinson said in a closed-door testimony that members felt that the vice president had the power "to send electors back to the States."
Among the attendees of the White House meeting, Biggs, Brooks, Gaetz, Gohmert, Greene, and Perry all sought pardons.
January 6 Committee and Donald Trump
Meanwhile, January 6 Committee vice-chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, noted that Trump tried to communicate to a committee witness who has not yet been heard from at the hearings. According to Deadline, it was reported to the Department of Justice.
Cheney said that any effort to influence witnesses of the committee will be taken seriously.
The Republican vice-chair of the January 6 committee said that the witness did not answer Trump's call. The person, however, referred the event to their attorney, who then informed the January 6 committee.
Cheney warned about efforts of intimidation and an attempt to influence committee witnesses during the panel's last hearing.
This article is owned by Latin Post.
Written by: Mary Webber
WATCH: January 6 Committee Plays Testimony On Combative White House Meeting Over Election Fraud Claims - from MSNBC
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