A new report from the Senate Judiciary Committee details how Department of Justice (DOJ) officials fought off former President TrumpDonald TrumpGraham opposes short-term debt hike, warns against being ‘held hostage’ to filibuster Facebook whistleblower to meet with Jan. 6 committee: report 44 percent of Republicans want Trump to run again in 2024: survey MORE’s push to investigate unfounded claims of election fraud.
The report released Thursday highlights how Trump sought to pressure the DOJ into overturning the 2020 election, particularly in the final days of his administration.
The report is based on documents, emails and testimony from then-acting Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen, then-acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue and Byung Pak, who was the U.S. Attorney in Atlanta. The panel also released testimony from Rosen, Donoghue and Pak.
According to the report, former acting Civil Division Assistant Attorney General Jeffrey Clark pushed Rosen and Donoghue to help Trump overturn the election after Clark met with Trump.
Clark proposed that he and the other officials send letters to Georgia officials falsely claiming that the DOJ had identified “significant concerns” that could impact the election, it adds.
Clark also reportedly said he spoke with a witness who claimed he saw trucks moving ballots to a location where they would be shredded.
Donoghue and Rosen rejected Clark’s recommendation to send the letter, according to the report, which added that Trump considered replacing Rosen with Clark, but was warned that all the assistant attorneys general would resign if that happened.
In addition, the report said that former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows
Mark MeadowsTrump praises Pence for criticism of Jan. 6 coverage House Jan. 6 panel can’t find Trump aide to serve him subpoena Jan 6 committee has subpoenaed witnesses: What happens when they don’t comply? MORE asked Rosen to initiate election fraud investigations in at least four categories of election fraud, including already discredited claims in Georgia.
Meadows also reportedly asked Rosen to investigate “Italygate,” which held that the CIA and Italian IT contractor used military satellites to manipulate voting machines, but he refused to investigate the theory.
And investigators found that Trump’s allies who participated in the “Stop the Steal” movement pressured the DOJ, the report said.
Specifically, it noted that Rep. Scott Perry
Scott Gordon PerryWatchdog group seeks ethics probe over McCarthy’s Jan. 6 comments Jan. 6 panel seeks records of those involved in ‘Stop the Steal’ rally Jan. 6 panel to ask for preservation of phone records of GOP lawmakers who participated in Trump rally: report MORE (R-Pa.), who led the objection to counting Pennsylvania’s 10 electoral votes on Jan. 6, tried to pressure Donoghue into investigating claims about voter fraud in Pennsylvania.
The report further confirmed that Pak left his role as U.S. attorney because Trump wanted him fired due to the FBI’s failure to find mass election fraud in Atlanta.
After a Jan. 3 meeting in the Oval Office, Donoghue called Pak that evening to tell him he should resign, according to the report.
In a statement, Senate Judiciary Chairman Durbin (D-Ill.) said the report “shows the American people just how close we came to a constitutional crisis.”
“Thanks to a number of upstanding Americans in the Department of Justice, Donald Trump was unable to bend the department to his will. But it was not due to a lack of effort,” Durbin continued.
The Hill has reached out to Perry’s office and Clark’s attorney for comment.
–Updated at 8:28 a.m.