June 15, 2021,  Press Release

Today, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, the Chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, released new documents showing President Trump’s efforts to pressure the Department of Justice (DOJ) to overturn the lawful results of the 2020 presidential election.  At 2:00 p.m., the Committee will hold its second hearing on the events of January 6, 2021, in which insurrectionists stormed the U.S. Capitol to disrupt a joint session of Congress convened to count Electoral College votes.

 “These documents show that President Trump tried to corrupt our nation’s chief law enforcement agency in a brazen attempt to overturn an election that he lost,” Chairwoman Maloney said.  “Those who aided or witnessed President Trump’s unlawful actions must answer the Committee’s questions about this attempted subversion of democracy.  My Committee is committed to ensuring that the events leading to the violent January 6 insurrection are fully investigated.”

On May 21, 2021, the Committee sent a letter to DOJ requesting documents relating to President Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election prior to the January 6 attack. 

Documents obtained by the Committee in response to this letter show that in December 2020 and early January 2021, President Trump, his Chief of Staff, and outside allies repeatedly put pressure on senior DOJ officials to challenge the results of the presidential election and advance unsubstantiated allegations of voter fraud, with the apparent goal of keeping President Trump in power despite losing the 2020 election.

President Trump Sent Bogus Election Fraud Claims to Top DOJ Officials Minutes Before Announcing Their Promotions to the Top Two Spots in the Department

• On December 14, 2020 — t he day electors in each state certified the Electoral College votes —President Trump’s White House Assistant sent an email with the subject “From POTUS” to then-Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen.  The email attached materials about alleged voter fraud in Antrim County, Michigan, including “talking points” that asserted, “a Cover-up is Happening regarding the voting machines in Michigan,” and, “Michigan cannot certify for Biden.”

• Just two minutes after President Trump’s assistant sent these documents to Mr. Rosen, then-Principal Associate Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, through his assistant, sent the same documents to the U.S. Attorneys for the Eastern and Western Districts of Michigan. 

• Approximately 40 minutes after sending this phony voter fraud information, President Trump tweeted that Attorney General Barr—who had said publicly that he had not seen widespread election fraud—would be stepping down, that Mr. Rosen would serve as Acting Attorney General, and that Mr. Donoghue would serve as Acting Deputy Attorney General.

 President Trump Used Official White House Channels and a Private Attorney to Pressure DOJ to Urgently File a Supreme Court Lawsuit to Nullify the Election

• On December 29, 2020, President Trump’s White House Assistant emailed Mr. Rosen, Mr. Donoghue, and Acting Solicitor General Jeffrey Wall, attaching a draft legal brief to file in the Supreme Court.  She wrote, “The President asked me to send the attached draft document for your review,” and provided a phone number so they could contact the President directly. 

• The draft 54-page complaint demanded that the Supreme Court “declare that the Electoral College votes cast” in six states that President Trump lost “cannot be counted,” and  requested that the Court order a “special election” for president in those states.  

• On the very same day, a private attorney, Kurt Olsen, contacted multiple senior DOJ officials on President Trump’s behalf to urge them to file this complaint.  In one email to Mr. Rosen’s Chief of Staff, he wrote:  “As I said on our call, the President of the United States has seen this complaint, and he directed me last night to brief AG Rosen in person today and discuss bringing this action.  I have been instructed to report back to the President this afternoon after this meeting.”  In a separate email to the Acting Solicitor General, Mr. Olsen added, “This is an urgent matter.”

 Emails indicate that Mr. Rosen discussed the filing with Mr. Olsen on or around December 29, 2020, and asked Mr. Olsen to send him Supreme Court precedent supporting the arguments in the complaint.  Mr. Olsen previously represented Texas in its failed lawsuit to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.