ABSTRACT
Advised by several lawyers, Trump sought to persuade states to create “alternative” slates of electors, which would either hand him a victory or throw the dispute to Congress, where (under the Electoral Count Act) it would be decided by a process in which each state had one vote and Republicans controlled a majority. The inevitable legal challenge would be heard by the Supreme Court, to which Trump had appointed three justices to complement the existing three conservatives. Trump also continued to pressure states, culminating in his notorious phone call asking the Georgia secretary of state to “find” the necessary 11,700 votes. He also sought to weaponize the Department of Justice by threatening to replace Acting Attorney General Rosen with Jeffrey Clark, who was eager to do the president’s bidding. Most dramatically, he summoned supporters to a demonstration in Washington on January 6, which he promised would “be wild.” Thousands responded, many of them armed. Trump’s advisers believed this would influence Congress not to certify the Electoral College vote and the Supreme Court to review the outstanding election cases. But Vice President Pence resisted Trump’s pressure, and Congress reconvened after the insurrection and certified Biden’s win.
