Trump lost the 2020 presidential election by 306-232 in the Electoral College and by more than 7 million votes in the popular vote. More than 60 courts rejected his legal challenges. His own Attorney General, William Barr, told him there was no evidence of widespread fraud. His own CISA director, Chris Krebs, called it "the most secure election in American history" — and was fired for saying so. His own Vice President, Mike Pence, told him he had no constitutional authority to reject or delay certifying electoral votes. Trump proceeded anyway.
The plan to submit fraudulent electoral certificates from seven states that Biden had won — signed by Trump loyalists falsely claiming to be the legitimate electors — to Congress and the National Archives. The goal: give Pence or Congress a pretext to reject Biden's electoral votes. 84 fake electors participated. Multiple have since been indicted.
Trump and attorney John Eastman spent weeks pressuring VP Mike Pence to either reject Biden's electoral votes outright or delay certification. Pence's own counsel told him it was illegal. Pence refused. Trump tweeted criticism of Pence during the attack. The committee documented Trump was told rioters were chanting "Hang Mike Pence" and responded: "Maybe our supporters have the right idea. Mike Pence deserves it."
Trump repeatedly pressured DOJ officials to issue statements claiming the election was fraudulent — they refused. In early January 2021, Trump considered replacing the Acting AG with Jeffrey Clark, a low-level DOJ official who had drafted a letter claiming DOJ had found evidence of fraud (it hadn't). Senior DOJ officials threatened to resign en masse, which stopped the plan.
The Georgia phone call is the most documented example — but Trump made similar pressure calls to officials in Arizona, Michigan, and Pennsylvania, asking them to decertify, audit, or reverse their certified results. Multiple officials recorded or documented these calls.
The committee documented coordination between Trump advisers and Proud Boys/Oath Keepers leadership in planning the rally and Capitol breach. The rally was moved from the original location to the Ellipse — pointing toward the Capitol. When the attack began, Trump watched television coverage for more than three hours without calling for the mob to stop. He waited until 4:17 PM — when it was clear the attack had failed — to tweet asking people to go home.
This post distinguishes between documented facts, allegations, and analysis. Where motive, intent, corruption, or illegality remains disputed in the public record, the text attributes that judgment to court findings, official records, direct quotes, or the reporting linked below.
- House Select Committee Final Report — December 2022; 845 pages; available at January6th.house.gov.
- "Maybe our supporters have the right idea" — testified to by committee staff; documented in report.
- DOJ mass resignation threat — documented by AG Rosen, Deputy AG Donoghue testimony.
- Fake electors — 84 names documented; multiple subsequently indicted in Georgia and other states.
- Three-hour delay — documented by committee through Secret Service, White House staff testimony.