him to do also would violate it.[321] "Of course," as Jacob pointed out, the debate couldn't have been completed in two hours due to the "intervening riot of several hours."[322]
Eastman argued that Vice President Pence should "adjourn for 10 days to allow the legislatures to finish their investigations, as well as to allow a full forensic audit of the massive amount of illegal activity that has occurred here."[323] Eastman described this—a delay in the certification of the vote and the peaceful transfer of power with no legal or historical precedent or support, based on entirely specious and disproven allegations of election fraud, following on a violent attack on the seat of American democracy—as a "relatively minor violation."[324]
Vice President Pence later described Eastman's email as "rubber room stuff," meaning it was certifiably crazy.[325]
5.5 AFTERMATH OF THE ATTACK.
Eastman called Herschmann on January 7th to discuss litigation on behalf of the Trump Campaign in Georgia.[326] This gave Herschmann another opportunity to lay into Eastman. "[Are] you out of your F'ing mind?" Herschmann asked. "I only want to hear two words coming out of your mouth from now on: orderly transition." Herschmann said. After some berating, Eastman repeated after Herschmann: "Orderly transition." "Now I'm going to give you the best free legal advice you're ever getting in your life," Herschmann said. "Get a great F'ing criminal defense lawyer, you're going to need it."[327] Days afterward, Eastman sent an email to Giuliani, making a request that tacitly acknowledged just how much trouble he was in: "I've decided that I should be on the pardon list, if that is still in the works."[328]
Vice President Pence and his team never bowed to President Trump's relentless pressure. They began January 6, 2021, with a prayer. The attack on the U.S. Capitol delayed the peaceful transfer of power. The joint session did not end until early in the morning on January 7th.
At 3:50 a.m. that morning, Short texted Vice President Pence a passage from Second Timothy, chapter 4, verse 7: "I fought the good fight. I finished the race. I have kept the faith."[329]
ENDNOTES
- Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Marc Short, (Jan. 26, 2022), pp. 10–11.
- Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Marc Short, (Jan. 26, 2022), pp. 10–11.
- See, e.g., Ivan E. Raiklin (Former Green Beret Commander) (@Raiklin), Twitter, Dec. 22, 2020, available at https://web.archive.org/web/20201222232155/https://twitter.com/Raiklin/status/1341520753984942081
