Jan 6 hearings – live: Trump team kept trying to overturn election as rioters came within 40ft of Pence
The third public hearing of the House 6 January committee featured bombshell testimony regarding the pressure campaign by Donald Trump and law professor John Eastman to get then-Vice President Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election.
The committee sought to demonstrate Trump knew he lost the election but oversaw a scheme to overturn the result, “when the vice president refused to go along with it, he unleashed a violent mob against Pence at the Capitol”.
Evidence was presented of Pence telling Trump “many times” that the Eastman plan was illegal and unconstitutional. Retired Judge Michael Luttig testifed he would’ve “laid my body across the road” to stop the election being overturned.
Members of Trump’s family and staff testified about a “heated” call with Pence that morning, after which the president rewrote his rally speech with sharp lines about his vice president. Later, he sent a tweet causing rioters to surge forward, angry at Pence, with some coming within 40 feet of him as he was evacuated.
The day after the failed attempt to overturn the election, Eastman emailed asking for a pardon, which he did not receive. Mr Luttig warns the threat to democracy from Trump and remains.
