Page:Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/302

From Wikisource
Jump to navigation Jump to search
This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.
276
CHAPTER 2

A non-free image has been removed from this page.
The removed content can be viewed in the original document https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GPO-J6-REPORT/html-submitted/C2image3.jpg.

Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images

"That’s the law. I've sworn an oath to uphold it, and I take my responsibility seriously."[102] President Trump and his allies never brought a credible challenge and, instead, lost every case they brought challenging the results in Arizona.

EFFORTS TO REPLACE ELECTORAL COLLEGE ELECTORS AND OVERTURN THE ELECTION

Once counties and States certified the election, or when it was nearly certain that they would, President Trump and his team’s focus largely shifted. President Trump and his team encouraged State legislators to meet in special sessions, if necessary, and choose electoral college electors who would vote for the Trump/Pence ticket. Ultimately, no State legislature took that step, but it was the basis for pressuring State officials from November through January 6, 2021.

MEETINGS WITH STATE LEGISLATORS—THE "HEARINGS"

The concept of State legislators appointing their own electors featured prominently in a series of hastily arranged official and unofficial “hearings” with State legislators that the Trump team announced on November 24, 2020.[103]

On November 25th, President Trump called in to an unofficial meeting with legislators in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania.[104] The meeting was set up to