2.5 Some Officials Eagerly Assisted President Trump With His Plans

¶While many State officials resisted President Trump’s demands, some eagerly joined the President’s efforts.

¶President Trump routinely coordinated with Pennsylvania State Senator Doug Mastriano, whose request led to the November 25, 2020, hotel “hearing” in Gettysburg, and who traveled to Washington to meet with the President afterward.²⁵⁸²⁵⁸ “Senate Committee to Discuss Election Issues in Pennsylvania,” Pennsylvania Senate GOP website (Nov. 24, 2020, last accessed on July 15, 2022), available at https://www.pasenategop.com/blog/senate-committee-to-discuss-election-issues-in-pennsylvania/; Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Rudolph Giuliani, (May 20, 2022), pp. 65-66. https://www.pasenategop.com/blog/senate-committee-to-discuss-election-issues-in-pennsylvania/.Show full note Senator Mastriano, who would later charter and pay for buses to Washington for the President’s “Stop the Steal” rally on January 6th and was near the Capitol during the attack, quickly rose to favor with the President.²⁵⁹²⁵⁹ Jeremy Roebuck and Andrew Seidman, “Pa. GOP lawmaker Doug Mastriano says he left the Capitol area before the riot. New videos say otherwise,” Philadelphia Inquirer, (May 25, 2021), available at https://www.inquirer.com/news/doug-mastriano-capitol-riot-pennslyvania-video-20210525.html.

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¶On November 30th, President Trump called Mastriano, interrupting him during a radio interview and telling listeners that “Doug is the absolute hero” and people are “really angry in Pennsylvania.”²⁶⁰²⁶⁰ Eric Metaxas, “Interview: Eric Metaxas Interviews Donald Trump with Douglas Mastriano,” Factba.se Archive, (Nov. 30, 2020), available at https://factba.se/transcript/donald-trump-interview-eric-metaxas-douglas-mastriano-november-30-2020; Senator Doug Mastriano (@SenMastriano), Twitter, Nov. 30, 2020 5:56 p.m. ET, available at https://twitter.com/senmastriano/status/1333545380965986307.

¶On December 5th, Senator Mastriano sent an email to President Trump’s executive assistant, Molly Michael, with a Supreme Court Amicus Brief for the President that the pair “discussed yesterday,” related to a case brought by Representative Mike Kelly (R–PA) against his own State, which the Supreme Court rejected just a few days later.²⁶¹²⁶¹ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000008230_0001, 076P-R000008231_0001 (email and attachment from Mastriano to Molly Michael); see also Kelly v. Pennsylvania, 141 S. Ct. 950 (2020) (order denying application for injunctive relief presented to Justice Alito and denying referral to the full Court).Show full note

¶On December 14th, President Trump’s executive assistant sent Mastriano an email “From POTUS” with talking points promoting a conspiracy theory about election machines.²⁶²²⁶² Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000001378_00001, 076P-R000001379_00001.

¶And on December 21st, Mastriano sent another email for President Trump, in which he wrote: “Dear Mr. President—attached please find the ‘killer letter’ on the Pennsylvania election that we discussed last night” that “I only just completed.”²⁶³²⁶³ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000003771_0001, 076P-R000003772_0001 (Dec. 21, 2020, email from Doug Mastriano to Molly Michael titled “Letter Requested by the President”). This letter recapped the Gettysburg hotel hearing on November 25th, and claimed that “there is rampant election fraud in Pennsylvania that must be investigated, remedied and rectified.”²⁶⁴²⁶⁴ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000003771_0001, 076P-R000003772_0001 (Dec. 21, 2020, email from Doug Mastriano to Molly Michael titled “Letter requested by the President”). President Trump sent that letter to John Eastman, Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, Rush Limbaugh, former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, Lou Dobbs, and others.²⁶⁵²⁶⁵ See, e.g., Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000003748_0001, 076P-R000003749_0001, (Dec. 29, 2020, Doug Mastriano email to Molly Michael titled “Pennsylvania letter for AG Donoghue regarding election”; Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (National Archives Production), 076P-R000003753_0001, 076P-R000003754_0001, (Dec. 22, 2020, Molly Michael email to Rush Limbaugh titled “From POTUS”); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (National Archives Production) 076P-R000003761_0001, 076P-R000003762_0001, (Dec. 22, 2020, Molly Michael email to Pam Bondi titled “From POTUS”); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (National Archives Production) 076P-R000003766_0001, (Dec. 21, 2020, Molly Michael email to Lou Dobbs titled “2 attachments from POTUS”); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (National Archives Production), 076P-R000008968_0001, (Jan. 1, 2021, Molly Michael email to Kevin McCarthy titled “From POTUS”); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (National Archive Production) 076P-R000003759_0001, (Dec. 22, 2020, Molly Michael email to John Eastman, Justin Clark, and Michael Farris titled “From POTUS”); Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, (National Archives Production) 076P-R000003763_0001, (December 21, 2020, email from Molly Michael to Christopher Michel re: From POTUS).Show full note

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¶As January 6th approached, Senator Mastriano’s involvement in attempts to overturn the election only grew. On December 23rd, he led a second group of Pennsylvania State senators for a meeting with President Trump in the Oval Office, which Giuliani claimed “swayed about 20” of them.²⁶⁶²⁶⁶ Charlotte Cuthbertson, “Trump ‘Resolved, Determined’ about Election, Says Pennsylvania Senator,” Epoch Times (Dec. 24, 2020), available at https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-resolved-determined-about-election-says-pennsylvania-senator_3632138.html; Marc Levy & Mark Scolforo, “White House Invites GOP Lawmakers in Pennsylvania to Lunch,” Associated Press, (Dec. 23, 2020), available at https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pennsylvania-coronavirus-pandemic-c5b7f43af7794f01f6d339b7258b915a; Jan Murphy, “Pa. Senators Head to White House for Pre-Holiday Lunch with President Trump,” Penn Live – Patriot-News, (Dec. 23, 2020), available at https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/12/pa-senators-head-to-white-house-for-pre-holiday-lunch-with-president-trump.html; “Ep 608- Pandemic: Merry Christmas Eve Special Hour 1 (w/ Mayor Giuliani, Dr. Peter K. Navarro, Major Sgt. Scotty Neil, Former Navy Seal Tej Gill, Christopher Flannery ),” War Room Podcast (Dec. 24, 2020), 25:17 to 25:25, available at https://warroom.org/2020/12/24/ep-608-pandemic-merry-christmas-eve-special-hour-1-w-dr-peter-k-navarro-major-sgt-scotty-neil-former-navy-seal-tej-gill-christopher-flannery/. Charlotte Cuthbertson, “Trump ‘Resolved, Determined’ about Election, Says Pennsylvania Senator,” Epoch Times (Dec. 24, 2020), available at https://www.theepochtimes.com/trump-resolved-determined-about-election-says-pennsylvania-senator_3632138.html; Marc Levy & Mark Scolforo, “White House Invites GOP Lawmakers in Pennsylvania to Lunch,” Associated Press (Dec. 23, 2020), available at https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-pennsylvania-coronavirus-pandemic-c5b7f43af7794f01f6d339b7258b915a; Jan Murphy, “Pa. Senators Head to White House for Pre-Holiday Lunch with President Trump,” Penn Live – Patriot-News (Dec. 23, 2020), available at https://www.pennlive.com/news/2020/12/pa-senators-head-to-white-house-for-pre-holiday-lunch-with-president-trump.html; “Ep 608- Pandemic: Merry Christmas Eve Special Hour 1 (w/ Mayor Giuliani, Dr. Peter K. Navarro, Major Sgt. Scotty Neil, Former Navy Seal Tej Gill, Christopher Flannery)”, War Room Podcast (Dec.https://warroom.org/2020/12/24/ep-608-pandemic-merry-christmas-eve-special-hour-1-w-dr-peter-k-navarro-major-sgt-scotty-neil-former-navy-seal-tej-gill-christopher-flannery/.Show full note Neither Speaker Cutler nor Senate President Corman participated.

¶Mastriano also sent emails indicating that he spoke with President Trump on December 27th, 28th, and 30th, along with files that President Trump had requested or that he had promised to him.²⁶⁷²⁶⁷ See, e.g., Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000008298_0001 (December 28, 2020, email from Molly Michael to Mark Meadows forwarding Senator Doug Mastriano info for the president), 076P-R000007593_0001 (December 28, 2020, email from Molly Michael to Scott Toland forwarding Senator Doug Mastriano info for the president), 076P-R000003748_0001, 076P-R000003749_0001 (December 29, 2020, email and attachments from Doug Mastriano to Molly Michael re: Pennsylvania letter for AG Donoghue regarding election), , 076P-R000003745_0001, 076P-R000003746_0001, 076P-R000003747_0001 (December 31, 2020, email from Doug Mastriano to Molly Michael re: Letters requested by President Trump and attachments).Show full note One of these was a pair of letters from State senators asking U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy to reject Pennsylvania’s electoral votes on January 6th.²⁶⁸²⁶⁸ See Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000003745_0001, 076P-R000003746_0001, 076P-R000003747_0001 (December 31, 2020, email from Doug Mastriano to Molly Michael re: Letters requested by President Trump and attachments). President Trump’s executive assistant notified the White House’s Director of Legislative Affairs that “[t]he President would like the below attached letters to be sent to Mitch and Kevin and all GOP house and senate members,” but was told in reply, “[g]iven the political nature of the letters, would you mind sending them?”²⁶⁹²⁶⁹ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000003732_0001(Email from Molly Michael to Amy Swonger, passing along information from Mastriano, 076P-R000008399_0001 (Email from Amy Swonger to Molly Michael responding)). According to the White House’s Director of the Office of Legislative Affairs, Amy Swonger, the President repeatedly asked for her to distribute political materials after the election, which led her to seek advice from the White House Counsel’s Office because fulfilling the President’s request would likely violate the Hatch Act. See Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Transcribed Interview of Amy Swonger, (Oct. 28, 2022), pp. 52-53.Show full note

¶On January 5th, President Trump spoke again with Mastriano and then notified the White House operator that Mastriano “will be calling in for the Vice President” soon.²⁷⁰²⁷⁰ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000007439_0001 (White House switchboard call log from Jan. 5, 2022). That evening Senator Mastriano sent two more emails for the President. One was a letter addressed to Vice President Pence on behalf of nearly 100 legislators from various States; the other was a letter directed to McConnell and McCarthy from Pennsylvania lawmakers, this time asking Congress to postpone acting on the 6th.²⁷¹²⁷¹ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (National Archives Production), 076P-R000004788_0001, 076P-R000004789_0001-0066 (January 5, 2021, email from Mastriano attaching letter for Vice President Pence signed by Pennsylvania legislators), 076P-R000004957_0001 (Molly Michael acknowledging receipt), 076P-R000005084_0001 (Molly Michael passing the letter along to Marc Short), 076P-R000007338_0001 (acknowledgment that the letter was printed for POTUS), 076P-R000004687_0001, 076P-R000004688_0001 (January 5, 2021, email and attached letter to Molly Michael re: Caucus Letter to Sen. McConnell and Rep. McCarthy).Show full note President Trump tweeted the letter that night, captioning it “BIG NEWS IN PENNSYLVANIA!” and, after midnight, he retweeted that “Pennsylvania is going to Trump. The legislators have spoken.”²⁷²²⁷² Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter, Jan. 5, 2021 9:59 p.m. ET, available at https://www.thetrumparchive.com/?results=1&dates=%5B%222021-01-04%22%2C%222021-01-06%22%5D&searchbox=%22BIG+NEWS+IN+PENNSYLVANIA%21+https%3A%2F%2Ft.co%2F7JqTWYUgOr%22 (archived); Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump), Twitter, Jan. 6, 2021 12:46 a.m. ET, available at https://www.thetrumparchive.com/?results=1&searchbox=%22pennsylvania+is+going+to+trump.+The+legislators%22 (archived).Show full note As described elsewhere in this report, that letter, and letters like it, were used in the effort to convince Vice President Pence that he could and should affect the outcome of the joint session of Congress on January 6th.

¶The Select Committee subpoenaed Senator Mastriano to testify about these interactions with President Trump and his advisors, among other matters. Unlike numerous other witnesses who complied with subpoenas and provided deposition testimony to the Select Committee, Mastriano did not; he logged in to a virtual deposition at the appointed time but logged out before answering any substantive questions or even taking the oath to the tell the truth.²⁷³²⁷³ Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, Deposition of Douglas Mastriano, (August 9, 2022), pp. 10-11.

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¶The President apparently got what he wanted in State officials like Senator Mastriano, but not those who dared question or outright reject his anti-democratic efforts to overturn the election. In some cases, those who questioned him made the President and his advisors dig in and push harder. On January 1st, Campaign Senior Advisor Jason Miller asked for a “blast text and Twitter blast out” that would urge President Trump’s supporters to “Contact House Speaker Bryan Cutler & Senate President Pro Tem Jake Corman!” to “Demand a vote on certification.”²⁷⁴²⁷⁴ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Alex Cannon Production), AC-0000150 - 153(emails with Jason Miller re: emails to PA/AZ). Senior Campaign attorneys, however, replied that this might violate Pennsylvania’s “very stringent” lobbying laws and get them prosecuted or fined.²⁷⁵²⁷⁵ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Alex Cannon Production), AC-0000150 - 153 (emails with Jason Miller re: emails to PA/AZ). Instead, they agreed on a similar call to action aimed at Arizona Governor Doug Ducey and Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers rather than Speaker Cutler and President Pro Tempore Corman in Pennsylvania.²⁷⁶²⁷⁶ Documents on file with the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol (Alex Cannon Production), AC-0000150 - 153 (emails with Jason Miller re: emails to PA/AZ).