This week, the House committee investigating the Capitol riot once again directly implicated ex-President Donald Trump in potentially under-reported attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. The riot panel released a text received by Mark Meadows, who was Trump’s White House chief of staff at the time of the attack on the Capitol last year, and in the message, whoever sent it speaks of Trump’s participation in a call with “legislators” in the lead-up to January 6. That call with lawmakers may be what former Trump attorney John Eastman was filmed at one point last year speaking about: “a massive video conference call involving [Eastman], Trump and Trump’s former personal attorney Rudy Giuliani with 300 Republican state legislators after Joe Biden’s victory, urging them to throw out election results,” as HuffPost explains.
No former President should ever ask an evil man like Putin for a favor… like Trump did just yesterday. This is absolutely undermining the national security of this country and should be disqualifying for any re-election. @GOPLeader must address this, as must every Republican
— Adam Kinzinger (@AdamKinzinger) March 30, 2022
In the message — dated January 3, 2021 — that the riot panel released, someone wrote:
‘Mark — I am reaching out because I have details on the call that [Peter] Navarro helped convene yesterday with legislators as part of his effort to get Pence to delay certification of the election for 10 days, including that the president participated. Were you on the call when the president spoke?’
A January 3 text to Mark Meadows: "I have details on the call that Navarro helped convene… to delay certification… including that the president participated…"
Peter Navarro must speak to the Select Committee about his role in the attempt to overturn the election. pic.twitter.com/3IysjPILye
— January 6th Committee (@January6thCmte) April 1, 2022
It’s unclear how Meadows may have replied, but the riot panel cast the message as part of their push to get answers from Navarro, who investigators on the committee recently voted to hold in contempt of Congress for his refusal to cooperate with their investigation. “Peter Navarro must speak to the Select Committee about his role in the attempt to overturn the election,” the committee said. Navarro’s participation in arranging a call involving Trump and legislators amid the frenzied push to stop Biden from becoming president means that he’s well-poised to provide critical information to members of the riot committee. Predictably, Navarro has resisted the push to obtain info from him — the riot panel’s “witch hunt is predicated on the ridiculous legal premise that Joe Biden can waive Donald Trump’s Executive Privilege. The Supreme Court will say otherwise when the time comes – as it surely must – and the DOJ knows such nonsense would gut Executive Privilege and the critical role it plays in effective presidential decision making,” he ranted.
New: House Rules to advance Jan. 6 committee contempt of Congress resolutions against Trump aides Dan Scavino and Peter Navarro on Monday at 3p ET
— Hugo Lowell (@hugolowell) March 31, 2022
Navarro recently described ex-Vice President Mike Pence as a “traitor to the American Caesar of Trump” — yes, really — so clearly, if his aforementioned statement about the riot panel didn’t make it clear enough, he’s still firmly attached to this nonsense. Navarro claimed that the subversion of plans to stop Biden from becoming president “was all designed, basically, to take out President Trump, who was anathema to money who backed people like Mike Pence” — whatever that means. Navarro was one of those pushing the notion that Pence, in his role overseeing the Congressional proceedings to certify the presidential election outcome last year, should reject certain electoral votes — but Pence did not have the legally recognized power to actually undertake such a move. Claims otherwise were fantasy. (Eastman pushed the same nonsense.) Rather than sticking to the violence that affected the Capitol, the riot panel has also been investigating efforts to subvert the election — efforts that provided the foundation for the riot.
I’ll give Trump credit for consistency.
Even now, he’s asking Putin for political help.
Despite being impeached for seeking foreign help in an election.
Despite the fact that Putin is killing Ukrainian civilians.
Trump is consistent.
Consistently selfish — and unpatriotic.
— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) March 30, 2022
