Special counsel Jack Smith's team has unveiled evidence suggesting that former President Donald Trump and his co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to manipulate then-Vice President Mike Pence regarding his role in the election certification process leading up to January 6, 2021. The evidence includes contemporaneous notes reportedly written by Pence during a meeting.
According to the filing, Trump personally tasked one of his associates, John Eastman, with persuading Pence to reject the official electoral college votes on January 6. Pence's notes from the meeting allegedly documented Trump's statements implying that rules could be changed in the presence of fraud and that the decision was ultimately up to Pence himself.
The notes reportedly included Trump urging Pence to be bold in his actions. As Trump applied direct and persistent pressure on Pence, his co-conspirators were said to be orchestrating a behind-the-scenes campaign to influence Pence's decision-making.
The filing indicates that investigators are seeking to establish a connection between Trump and his co-conspirators who were allegedly involved in devising the plot. Smith highlighted several phone calls made by Trump to Pence, including a call on January 1 where Trump purportedly warned Pence that his actions would not be well-received and could lead to negative perceptions.
Prosecutors argue that certain conversations between Trump and Pence, particularly those aimed at persuading Pence to participate in the election overthrow plot, do not fall under the umbrella of immunity due to their focus on specific duties related to the certification process.
Furthermore, prosecutors claim that Trump deliberately excluded a White House attorney from a meeting with Pence, allowing private individuals to influence Pence's decision-making process. The filing underscores the efforts to implicate Trump in the actions of his co-conspirators as they allegedly worked to subvert the election results.
