Trump, Republicans Met To Strategize Election Fight, Jan.6 Panel Says

WASHINGTON, DC — New details regarding a December 2020 meeting between then-President Donald Trump and House Republicans to strategize how to overturn the 2020 presidential election emerged Tuesday during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot hearings on Capitol Hill.

The White House meeting occurred Dec. 21, just days after an "unhinged" meeting between White House lawyers and Trump allies which also was a focus of Tuesday's hearings.

The meeting's purpose was to "disseminate his false claims and to encourage members of the public to fight the outcome on January 6," Rep. Stephanie Murphy, D-Florida, said.

According to White House visitor logs presented by the committee, the following House Republicans were at the meeting:

• Rep. Brian Babin, Texas
• Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona
• Rep. Matt Gaetz, Florida
• Rep. Louie Gohmert, Texas
• Rep. Paul Gosar, Arizona
• Rep. Andy Harris, Maryland
• Rep. Jody Hice, Georgia
• Rep. Jim Jordan, Ohio
• Rep. Scott Perry, Pennsylvania
• Then-Rep.-elect Marjorie Taylor Greene, Georgia

Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama helped set up the meeting but was not physically present for the discussion.

Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, and Mark Meadows, the White House chief of staff at the time, also were at the meeting, Murphy said.

Meeting members discussed election theories espoused by John Eastman, a personal lawyer for Trump, particularly that he believe Pence could reject electors and their votes in his role presiding over the Jan. 6 joint session to certify the election results, according to Murphy.

In previous hearings, the committee previously shared that several House Republicans sought pardons from Trump following the Jan. 6 riots. Six of those — Biggs, Brooks, Gaetz, Gohmert, Perry and Greene — were involved in the Dec. 21 meeting, according to the committee.