Powerpoint presentation links Trump, Meadows to Capitol attack
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The PowerPoint presentation details several recommendations for Trump to reclaim power and delegitimize Biden's winning vote.
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Former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows (AP)
According to The Guardian, Mark Meadows, the former chief of White House staff under Donald Trump, has handed a PowerPoint presentation to the investigating committee responsible for the January 6 Capitol storming.
The contents? An elusive plot detailing ways Donald Trump could declare a national security emergency coup and reclaim power.
This suggests that Meadows had some knowledge of Trump's intentions to disrupt the transfer of power.
"Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 Jan" is the title of the presentation, listing multiple suggestions for Trump to take action, while reiterating the rhetoric of election fraud and conspiracies.
According to a source, the presentation is 38-pages-long and details how members of the Senate and Congress would be briefed about foreign interference and render all votes received electronically invalid.
Former vice-president Mike Pence also had recommendations on his role on January 6 in order to return Trump to power.
These include seating Trump slates of electors over the objections of Democrats in key states, rejecting the Biden slates of electors, or delaying the certification to allow for vetting and counting of only "legal paper ballots."
After Pence had declined to conform, Trump lieutenants were briefed on the same plans.
According to the PowerPoint presentation, the former president's plans surrounded false claims of election fraud, citing that “the Chinese systematically gained control over our election system.”
Previous attorney general Jeff Rosen and former Bill Barr had stated there was no evidence to imply any voter fraud had occurred that could change the 2020 election results.
More than 6,000 documents were handed to the select committee investigating the Capitol storming of January, including the PowerPoint.
Some members of Congress had seen the presentation, along with Republican senators.
Over text messages, a member of Congress had divulged to Meadows a "highly controversial" plan to send pro-Trump crowds to a Congress session; Meadows had responded with "I love it."
The cooperation deal between Meadows and the select committee disintegrated on Tuesday when Meadows' attorney announced he would withdraw from the investigation.
In response, Meadows was summoned for criminal prosecution. The vote to hold Meadows in contempt would take place next week, according to the chairman of the committee.
“The select committee will meet next week to advance a report recommending that the House cite Mr. Meadows for contempt of Congress and refer him to the Department of Justice for prosecution."
Trump's attempt to hide the truth
Former US President Donald Trump has had his appeal of hiding records related to the January 6 capitol storming rejected.
As a former president, Trump attempted to use his executive privilege to hide the records, however, the US Federal court of appeals decided that the current president could override this privilege and have the documents reviewed by a Congressional panel to investigate Trump supporters' violence on the day.
Earlier, multiple individuals from President Donald Trump's inner circle received subpoenas to appear before a congressional committee to shed light on what exactly Trump said and did the day the Capitol was stormed earlier this year.
The Democratic-controlled special commission, which Trump described as biased, is particularly interested in Mark Meadows, the former Trump administration's chief of staff.
Democratic Representative Benny Thompson, who chairs the committee, wrote in a letter to Meadows, "The Select Committee has revealed credible evidence of your involvement in events within the scope of the Select Committee’s inquiry".
