trump i just don't know what that means attorney general

Should Trump be prosecuted for a federal crime?

Nov 11, 2018 · Matthew Whitaker's future at the helm of the Justice Department appeared uncertain at best Friday as President Donald Trump denied even knowing the man he had …

What did Trump’s Defense Secretary say to Dan Coats?

Aug 16, 2021 · The latest revelations about Trump's final days in office demonstrate that his behavior was, at a minimum, outrageous. He pressured his acting attorney general, Jeffrey …

What does Donald Trump Think About the intelligence of others?

Mar 04, 2022 · Former Attorney General Bill Barr says Trump didn't clearly understand the roles of the US president and the DOJ. Barr said he was "livid" over Trump's suggestion to reach out to …

What did Bill Barr say about Donald Trump?

Nov 09, 2018 · Trump took it a step further, saying, “I don’t know Matt Whitaker.” That claim was at odds with an interview a month ago on Fox News’s “Fox & Friends,” in which Trump said: “I …

Topline

Former President Donald Trump not only called his acting attorney general every day at the end of last year to alert him to false voter fraud claims, as The Washington Post reported earlier this week, Trump explicitly pressured him to declare the 2020 election “corrupt” in a December phone call, according to documents published Friday by the House Oversight and Reform Committee that mark the most recent evidence of Trump’s extraordinary campaign to overturn the election’s results..

Key Facts

The House committee—which is investigating the Trump administration’s potentially unlawful efforts to influence the outcome of the election—made public notes taken by former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen’s deputy, Richard Donoghue, during a Dec. 27 phone call between Trump and top officials from the Department of Justice.

Crucial Quote

As Trump’s false voter fraud claims were shrugged off, Donoghue wrote the ex-president began castigating the Justice Department, saying “people are angry—blaming DOJ for inaction.” Trump also said “people want me to replace DOJ leadership” and mentioned Jeff Clark, the acting head of the department’s civil division, who it was later reported had worked on a plan with Trump to cast doubt on the election results and oust Rosen for not complying with Trump’s requests to do so.

Tangent

The conversation wasn’t limited to the 2020 election, according to Donoghue, who wrote that Trump also told DOJ officials to “figure out what to do” with President Biden’s son Hunter during the call. “People will criticize the DOJ if he’s not investigated for real,” Trump apparently said.

Surprising Fact

The notes also reveal that two days after the phone call, Justice Department officials met with top Trump administration officials, including Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, to discuss Italygate, a conspiracy theory that claims people working for an Italian defense contractor coordinated with senior CIA officials to switch votes from Trump to Biden during the election..

Key Background

This is the latest evidence of Trump pressuring officials to change the results of the election.

Insurrection Act

This law prohibits anyone who "incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto." In the first place, this law has almost never been invoked. The leading precedent on the statute comes from a case from 1863!

Election fraud

This law bans "attempts to deprive or defraud residents of a State of a fair and impartially conducted election process, by . [the] tabulation of ballots known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent." Under this theory, by instructing his attorney general to say there was fraud in Georgia, Trump committed this crime.

Obstruction of justice

This law makes it a crime to corruptly obstruct, influence or impede any official proceeding or attempt to do so. Once more, the issue would be intent -- here reflected in the word "corruptly." In his January 6 speech, Trump encouraged the crowd to march to Capitol Hill but he did not explicitly encourage violence.

Hatch Act

The Hatch Act prohibits federal employees from engaging in partisan political activity. The president himself is explicitly exempt from the strictures of the Hatch Act, but could be charged with the provision that makes it "unlawful for any person to intimidate, threaten, command, or coerce" a federal employee to "engage in ...

Conspiracy to defraud the United States

This broad provision, much loved by prosecutors, makes it a crime to "conspire to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States." The first part of this law runs into the same problem as the specific statutes noted above -- that it's difficult to prove an underlying crime.