The Home choose committee investigating the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol has been having conversations with the Justice Division concerning the phony elector scheme put ahead by former President Donald Trump's allies, committee chair Rep. Bennie Thompson mentioned Wednesday.
Thompson confirmed a day earlier the committee had been having discussions with the Justice Division. He clarified on Wednesday that these conversations are a few scheme allegedly cooked up by Trump's allies to place ahead alternate electors supporting him in seven battleground states that President Joe Biden received.
"The one problem that we have engaged them on is the record of the fraudulent electors that had been submitted," Thompson instructed reporters. "That is the primary tranche that we have been speaking to them about."
Thompson mentioned Tuesday night time that the committee had shared with the Justice Division data "about who we interviewed and how much factor pursuant to what they requested."
He mentioned the Justice Division had solely requested to come back take a look at transcripts, not for transcripts themselves.
Within the June 21 public listening to, committee member Rep. Adam Schiff mentioned these pretend electors finally met on Dec. 14, 2020, in Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Nevada and Wisconsin, signing paperwork claiming they had been duly elected electors from their state.
The committee mentioned that GOP Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin wished handy ship alternate, fraudulent electors to Vice President Mike Pence forward of the joint session of Congress, in line with texts the committee offered.
The textual content message information revealed by the committee present prime Johnson aide Sean Riley requested Pence aide Chris Hodgson concerning the matter within the early afternoon of Jan. 6, 2021.
"Johnson wants handy one thing to VPOTUS please advise," Riley texted.
"What's it?" Pence aide Hodgson responded.
"Alternate slate of electors from MI and WI as a result of archivist did not obtain them," Johnson aide Riley mentioned.
"Don't give that to him," Pence's aide responded.
Johnson denied that he contacted anybody about pretend electors, telling CBS Information "the reply is NO" when requested.
Arizona Home Speaker Rusty Bowers, who testified earlier than the committee on June 21, referred to as the pretend electors assembly a "tragic parody." After they met, he mentioned his workplace obtained "in extra" of 20,000 emails and "tens of hundreds" of voicemails and textual content messages, Bowers mentioned.
"We had been unable to work, not less than talk," he instructed the committee.
Bowers mentioned that after the pretend electors' assembly, protesters additionally descended upon his dwelling, making a "new sample in our lives to fret about what is going to occur on Saturdays," as teams appeared outdoors his home and performed video claiming he was a pedophile and a corrupt politician.
Protesters additionally left literature on his property and argued with and threatened, not solely Bowers, but additionally his neighbors.
Bowers recalled seeing one man who wore three bars on his chest and was carrying a pistol.
"On the identical time, on a few of these, we had a daughter who was gravely unwell, who was upset by what was occurring outdoors, and my spouse, that could be a valiant individual, very sturdy, quiet, very sturdy lady," he mentioned, rising emotional. "So it was disturbing."
Bowers daughter died in January 2021.
The Jan. 6 committee has been holding public hearings this summer time to disclose what they've discovered thus far within the practically year-long investigation. For the reason that public hearings started final month, the committee has unveiled a number of bombshell revelations about Trump and his internal circle, together with that among the witnesses have been contacted by Trump allies, and even Trump himself.
Whereas members of the committee had mentioned at first that they might not be making prison referrals to the Justice Division, Rep. Liz Cheney, the committee's Republican vice chair, mentioned on July 4 that they might make a prison referral on Trump.
"I feel we could nicely as a committee have a view on that, and in case you simply give it some thought from the angle of what sort of man is aware of that a mob is armed, and sends the mob to assault the Capitol, and additional incites that mob when his personal vp is below risk, when the Congress is below risk, it is simply — it's extremely chilling, and I feel actually we are going to, , proceed to current to the American folks what we discovered," Cheney mentioned on ABC's "This Week."
The committee plans to problem a report within the fall about its findings. The committee doesn't have the facility to cost anybody, however it will possibly make referrals to the Justice Division.
Ellis Kim and Zak Hudak contributed to this report.