Trump plotted to overturn Georgia election result via Dept. of Justice

…from PressTV, Tehran

First published … January 23, 2021

Media reports have unveiled a plot by former US President Donald Trump to oust former acting attorney general Jefferey Rosen in an effort to turn the undo Georgia’s election result.

The New York Times reported on Friday that Justice Department attorney Jeffrey Clark had convinced Trump in early January to remove then-acting AG, who was head of the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) and the chief lawyer of the federal government, and use the DoJ to turn Georgia’s election results which could have changed the presidential election in Trump’s favor.

Trump, who publicly claimed after the US presidential election in November 2020, that election fraud had tainted the election results, agreed to replace Rosen with Clark who would follow-up on the former President’s claims of election-rigging by the Democrats, and use the legal authority vested in the DoJ to undo the vote in Georgia which had been counted in favor of Trump’s rival.

Clark, who had met Trump earlier this month through a Pennsylvanian politician, had vowed use the DoJ to stop Congress from certifying the election results in then-President-elect Joe Biden’s favor, according to the paper.

The New York Times report said that after being informed of the plot to fire him to change the Georgia vote-count, Rosen arranged a meeting with Trump and Clark, with another top DoJ official in attendance, in addition to White House counsel Pat Cipollone and other lawyers.

At the meeting, after nearly three hours of arguments between Rosen and Clark, Trump retreated from the move, allowing Rosen to remain in his post.

However, the paper cited four former Trump administration officials as noting that what had changed Trump’s mind was a joint threat by other members of the DoJ leadership to resign if Rosen were fired, added to fears of congressional investigations, in addition to looming blowback from fellow Republicans.

In this regard, the Times talked to Clark. The DoJ attorney, who had been promoted to the acting head of the civil division in September, claimed the report about the plot to oust Rosen and put him in his place by Trump contained inaccurate material in it.

He, however, declined to tell the Times what the accurate material would be, claiming he was not at liberty to talk about the meetings with Trump and other White House officials which he claimed were all legal and lawful.

“Senior Justice Department lawyers, not uncommonly, provide legal advice to the White House as part of our duties,” he told the paper.

Earlier reports said that immediately after Trump replaced former US Attorney General William Barr with Rosen, he had exerted pressure on him to appoint special counsels to probe the election fraud he was after.

However, Rosen, like his predecessor,  had refused to give in to the demand, telling Trump that launching such probes required evidence of election fraud which dd not exist, the paper reported. Trump continued to press Rosen, blaming the DoJ for the failure to find evidence on election fraud.

Trump’s defiance of the presidential election result and complaints about the US election system, which continues till this day, has tainted the image of US democracy echoed by its politicians in propaganda dictated by Washington.

Trump loyalists stormed the Capitol Hill on January 6 after Trump announced that he will never concede, to show support for the former president’s “Stop the Steal” campaign.

American and world leaders condemned the violent anti-democratic move which left 5 people dead. Trump faces impeachment next month for the illegal act of instigating the riot on Capitol Hill.