The former president urged lieutenants to explore ways to stop or delay the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory hours before the Capitol attack.
In the hours leading up to the deadly January 6th Capitol riot, Donald Trump made several calls from the White House to his top lieutenants at the Willard hotel in Washington, discussing ways to prevent or delay the certification of Joe Biden’s election victory.
According to sources, Trump expressed frustration about Vice President Mike Pence’s reluctance to take part in efforts to overturn the results by using his ceremonial role at the joint session of Congress to disrupt Biden’s victory. Trump pressed his team of lawyers and strategists—including Rudy Giuliani, John Eastman, Boris Epshteyn, and Steve Bannon—on strategies to delay the certification process and create an opportunity for alternate slates of electors for Trump to be sent to Congress.
This series of calls occurred as Trump and his advisers strategized about how to stop or postpone Biden’s certification, ultimately leading to the violent events at the Capitol later that day.
