Trump called GOP senator pushing for additional Electoral College objections during Capitol riot
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President Trump called a Republican senator urging him to object to additional Electoral College state tallies as the mob he incited stormed the Capitol.
Trump, who had, only a short time earlier, encouraged his supporters to march to Congress to demand they stop the Electoral College certification, called Utah Sen. Mike Lee shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, but he was looking for Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, according to CNN. A spokesperson for the Utah senator confirmed the call.
With the president on the line, Lee tracked down Tuberville and gave him the phone. Tuberville and Trump spoke for less than 10 minutes, and the president urged him to object to more states than the Republicans had intended. For an objection to be heard, which forces a two-hour debate followed by a vote, it must be in writing and has to be signed by a member of both chambers of Congress — they agreed to object on three states, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
The certification was halted for hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the session at the president's direction. The chaos led to five deaths, countless injuries, destruction of federal property, dozens of arrests, and a lockdown of the Capitol, but it did not stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College for Joe Biden for more than a couple hours.
Hours after the insurgence began but before Congress had restarted the session, the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, also called Lee thinking it was Tuberville.
"Sen. Tuberville? Or I should say Coach Tuberville. This is Rudy Giuliani, the President's lawyer," he said, according to a transcript of the voicemail he left for Lee, which was published by the news blog Emptywheel. "I'm calling you because I want to discuss with you how they're trying to rush this hearing and how we need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you."
"I know they're reconvening at 8 tonight, but it ... the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow — ideally until the end of tomorrow."
Congress ultimately certified the Electoral College after only two states' results led to objections that were heard, and they were for Arizona and Pennsylvania. Both states' Electoral College votes ended up counting as the Republican objectors were severely outnumbered.
Original Author: Mike Brest
Original Location: Trump called GOP senator pushing for additional Electoral College objections during Capitol riot
President Trump called a Republican senator urging him to object to additional Electoral College state tallies as the mob he incited stormed the Capitol.
Trump, who had, only a short time earlier, encouraged his supporters to march to Congress to demand they stop the Electoral College certification, called Utah Sen. Mike Lee shortly after 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, but he was looking for Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville, according to CNN. A spokesperson for the Utah senator confirmed the call.
With the president on the line, Lee tracked down Tuberville and gave him the phone. Tuberville and Trump spoke for less than 10 minutes, and the president urged him to object to more states than the Republicans had intended. For an objection to be heard, which forces a two-hour debate followed by a vote, it must be in writing and has to be signed by a member of both chambers of Congress — they agreed to object on three states, Arizona, Pennsylvania, and Georgia.
The certification was halted for hours after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol in an attempt to stop the session at the president's direction. The chaos led to five deaths, countless injuries, destruction of federal property, dozens of arrests, and a lockdown of the Capitol, but it did not stop Congress from certifying the Electoral College for Joe Biden for more than a couple hours.
Hours after the insurgence began but before Congress had restarted the session, the president's lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, also called Lee thinking it was Tuberville.
"Sen. Tuberville? Or I should say Coach Tuberville. This is Rudy Giuliani, the President's lawyer," he said, according to a transcript of the voicemail he left for Lee, which was published by the news blog Emptywheel. "I'm calling you because I want to discuss with you how they're trying to rush this hearing and how we need you, our Republican friends, to try to just slow it down so we can get these legislatures to get more information to you."
"I know they're reconvening at 8 tonight, but it ... the only strategy we can follow is to object to numerous states and raise issues so that we get ourselves into tomorrow — ideally until the end of tomorrow."
Congress ultimately certified the Electoral College after only two states' results led to objections that were heard, and they were for Arizona and Pennsylvania. Both states' Electoral College votes ended up counting as the Republican objectors were severely outnumbered.
Original Author: Mike Brest
Original Location: Trump called GOP senator pushing for additional Electoral College objections during Capitol riot
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