Trump pressed Justice Department to challenge election: Documents

Emails obtained by Congress show Trump and his team urged prosecutors to act on election fraud claims and conspiracy theories.

Documents obtained from the US Department of Justice detail efforts by then-President Donald Trump, his chief of staff and other allies to pressure the department to challenge the 2020 presidential election results, a US House panel said on Tuesday. The House Oversight and Reform Committee, which sought the records from the Justice Department, outlined a series of overtures from Trump, his former chief of staff Mark Meadows and an outside private attorney pushing the department to act on the former Republican president’s false election claims. For weeks after the November election Trump and those speaking for him falsely asserted that his loss was due to widespread voter fraud across the United States. His campaign and other supporters filed dozens of lawsuits in courts challenging the results – all were dismissed or defeated, and no fraud was found. Trump continues to claim the election was “rigged”.