Trump manipulated Justice Dept to validate his lies after 2020 polls: Officials tell panel

In a recent development, a testimony given to the US House panel claimed that former President Donald Trump pressured the Justice Department to legitimize his lies following election results in 2020.

Notably, the House panel is investigating January 6, 2021, Capitol riot incident which took place after the election results. At least three Justice Department officials from the Trump administration recalled constant nagging from the former President, including orders to investigate bogus claims that the election won by Democrat Joe Biden was rigged. 

According to reports, Republicans in Congress who supported Trump heralded his assertions, and several of them later asked the White House for pardons after the attempt failed and the Capitol was attacked. Meanwhile, the fifth hearing of the panel looking into the attack on the Capitol made it clear that Trump's extensive pressure campaign targeted his own executive branch agencies in addition to statewide elected officials. 

"When you damage our fundamental institutions, it’s not easy to repair them. So I thought this was a really important issue, to try to make sure that the Justice Department was able to stay on the right course," said Jeffrey Rosen, the acting attorney general in the final days of the Trump administration, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

 The focus of the hearing was a particularly turbulent period in the department following William Barr's retirement in December 2020. The testimony also intends to demonstrate how Trump attempted to use the authority of federal executive branch agencies in addition to relying on outside advisers to disseminate his bogus accusations of election fraud.

There was zero evidence for Trump's claims of mass voting fraud: Justice Dept.

It should be mentioned here that US government lawyers had also threatened mass resignation as Trump had hounded them to assist in overturning his loss in the 2020 election. According to Justice Department officials, there was zero evidence for his claims of widespread voting fraud. In addition, the attorneys claimed that Trump's strategy to make up for his defeat in crucial states was "a murder-suicide pact," BBC reported. 

January 6 Capitol Hill riots

It is pertinent to mention here that a crowd of President Donald Trump's supporters allegedly invaded the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on January 6, 2021. They attempted to overturn his defeat in the presidential election by disrupting the joint session of Congress, which was convened to count electoral votes and formally certify then-President-elect Joe Biden's victory. As per reports, thousands of Trump supporters had broken barricades outside the Capitol and marched into the building.  

Image: AP