Miller, President Trump asked to speak to the Vice President; President Trump and Vice President Pence spoke from 9:33 to 9:41 p.m.[210] President Trump also spoke with Steve Bannon and Eastman, among others.[211]
At 9:58 p.m. on January 5th, President Trump issued a statement that he had dictated to Jason Miller disputing the Times' account.[212] President Trump lied—repeatedly—in his short statement.[213] The President claimed the article was "fake news." It wasn't. President Trump claimed he and Vice President Pence were "in total agreement that the Vice President has the power to act." They weren't. President Trump claimed the election "was illegal." It wasn't. President Trump then laid out Vice President Pence's options for the next day, summarizing Eastman's theory:
Our Vice President has several options under the U.S. Constitution. He can decertify the results or send them back to the [S]tates for change and certification. He can also decertify the illegal and corrupt results and send them to the House of Representatives for the one vote for one [S]tate tabulation.[214]
This was also a blatant attempt to mischaracterize the Vice President's position in the hope that public opinion would somehow sway the resolute Vice President. President Trump knew full well at the time that he and Vice President Pence were not "in total agreement." The Vice President's counsel, Greg Jacob, was shocked by the statement.[215] "[T]he Vice President was not in agreement that the Vice President had the power to take the actions that were being asked of him that day," Jacob later told the Select Committee.[216] Marc Short was furious as well and called Jason Miller to forcefully "express [his] displeasure that a statement could have gone out that misrepresented the Vice President's viewpoint without consultation."[217]
The Vice President was "obviously irritated that a statement putting words in his mouth" was issued by the President and considered issuing his own statement contradicting President Trump's.[218] Ultimately, Pence and Short concluded that it was not worthwhile since it was already late in the evening and they expected the question to be resolved by Vice President Pence's "Dear Colleague" letter the next day.[219]
JANUARY 5, 2021: BANNON PUBLICLY AMPLIFIES THE PRESSURE ON VICE PRESIDENT PENCE.
While President Trump misrepresented the Vice President's agreement with Eastman's theory, his on-again, off-again political advisor, Steve Bannon, pressed President Trump's campaign against Vice President Pence in public. Bannon echoed the public pressure on Pence that the President continued
