FL Rep. Gaetz Was At Trump Meeting To Overturn Election: Jan. 6 Panel

FLORIDA — Florida Republican Rep. Matt Gaetz was in attendance at a meeting with then-President Donald Trump and other House Republicans to strategize how to overturn the 2020 presidential election, it was revealed Tuesday during the Jan. 6 Capitol riot hearings in Washington, DC.

Gaetz was one of several high-profile Republican representatives at the meeting Dec. 21, 2020, at the White House. It occurred just days after an "unhinged" meeting between White House lawyers and Trump allies, which also was a focus of the hearings Tuesday.

The meeting's purpose was to "disseminate his false claims and to encourage members of the public to fight the outcome on Jan. 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 in addition to Gaetz:

• Rep. Brian Babin, Texas
• Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona
• 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.

Then-Vice President Mike Pence, Rudy Giuliani, and Mark Meadows, then the White House chief of staff, 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.

Gaetz also was among several House Republicans who sought pardons from Trump following the Jan. 6, 2021, riots. Six of those — Biggs, Brooks, Gaetz, Gohmert, Perry and Greene — were involved in the Dec. 21 meeting, according to the committee.