Timeline Of Trump's Attempt To Subvert The 2020 Election

I am convinced that much of the best in-depth political reporting is done by The Washington Post and The New York Times. That is why I have a paid subscription to both.

Yesterday, The Washington Post printed a timeline of Donald Trump's attempted coup -- his effort to subvert the legitimate results of the 2020 election and stay in office.

For those of you who cannot afford a subscription (especially those on a fixed income), here is that timeline:

Nov. 13: Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), a Trump ally, calls Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) and asks him whether he has the power to toss out all mail ballots in certain counties, according to Raffensperger. Raffensperger later calls it an attempt to exclude legally cast ballots. “It sure looked like he was wanting to go down that road,” Raffensperger recalled.

Nov. 17: Trump calls the two Republican canvassers in Detroit-based Wayne County, Mich., shortly before they briefly rescind their votes to certify the election results.

Nov. 19: Trump invites top Republican legislators from Michigan to meet with him at the White House, prompting them to state that they haven’t seen anything to call into question their state’s election results.

Dec. 1: Attorney General William P. Barr says in an interview that he has “not seen fraud on a scale that could have effected a different outcome in the election.”

Barr later attends a previously scheduled meeting with White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and is called to meet with Trump as well. Barr reiterates what he said in the interview, adding, according to a new book by The Washington Post’s Carol D. Leonnig and Philip Rucker: “We’ve looked into these things, and they’re nonsense.”

Early December: Trump calls the speaker of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, Bryan Cutler (R), twice to talk about overturning that state’s results. Cutler informs Trump that the state legislature has no power to do so, according to an aide.

Dec. 5: Trump calls Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (R) to pressure him to get the legislature to overturn the state’s election results.

Dec. 14: The electoral college finalizes its votes, paving the way for Biden’s election and sending them to Congress.

Separately, Trump announces Barr will soon step down as attorney general, putting Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen in line to replace him.

Dec. 15: Trump hosts Rosen in the Oval Office and reportedly tells him he wants the Justice Department to file legal briefs supporting Trump allies’ election lawsuits. Trump also urges Rosen to appoint special counsels to investigate his baseless claims, including ones involving voting-machine company Dominion. Rosen refuses and reiterates what Barr said about the lack of evidence for such steps.

In addition, Trump, who had recently become aware of Vice President Mike Pence’s generally ceremonial role in presiding over Congress formalizing the electoral college vote, decides Pence is his best chance to overturn the election. He tells allies to pressure Pence, and the topic will come up frequently in their conversations over the following three weeks.

Dec. 18: Trump and top aides meet with conspiracy-theorist supporters, including Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell, who discuss a number of extreme measures to overturn the election results, including instituting martial law and seizing voting machines.

Dec. 22: Meadows visits Cobb County, Ga., where the Georgia secretary of state’s office later says it prevented him from entering a room where signature audits were being conducted. During the visit, Meadows meets with Georgia’s lead elections investigator, Frances Watson.

Dec. 23: Trump calls Watson and urges her to search hard for election fraud. “When the right answer comes out, you’ll be praised,” Trump says in a recording of the call, adding, “You have the most important job in the country right now.” Trump says he called at Meadows’s request. Watson later says she was “shocked” the president was calling her but didn’t feel pressured.

Separately, Barr departs as attorney general, elevating Rosen to acting attorney general.

Dec. 27: Trump calls Rosen and top Justice Department officials. According to Donoghue’s notes, Rosen pushes back on Trump’s entreaties, saying the department “can’t + won’t snap its fingers + change the outcome of the election.” Trump responds that the department should “just say the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R[epublican] Congressmen,” according to Donoghue’s notes.

In the meeting, Trump also seems to threaten to replace Justice Department leaders. He says, per Donoghue’s notes: “People tell me [the acting head of the department’s civil division] Jeff Clarke is great, I should put him in. People want me to replace DOJ leadership.”

Dec. 28: Clark circulates a draft letter in which the Justice Department would urge Georgia’s legislature to hold a special session based on supposed “irregularities” in the vote. The letter includes what amounts to a road map for Georgia to overturn its election results, suggesting the legislature might ultimately choose a new slate of electors — i.e., for Trump.

Donoghue rejects the idea out of hand, noting in his emailed response that the supposed irregularities the department was investigating “are of such a small scale that they simply would not impact the outcome of the Presidential Election.” He adds, “There is no chance that I would sign this letter or anything remotely like this” and says sending the letter is “not even within the realm of possibility.”

Late December: Rosen, who has discovered Clark is engaging in unauthorized conversations with Trump, speaks with him about the matter, according to Rosen’s closed-door testimony as reported by the New York Times. Clark says he will stop meeting with Trump.

Dec. 29: Trump aide Molly Michael emails Rosen, Donoghue and another Justice Department official a draft of a potential Supreme Court filing that would involved the Justice Department challenging the election results in six key states. Michael says Trump asked her to send the draft.

Separately, Meadows meets with Justice Department officials and mentions a baseless theory that a company in Italy combined with the CIA to rig the election.

Dec. 30: Meadows emails Rosen twice about theories about the election, including a translated letter from an Italian man with similar accusations involving “advanced military encryption capabilities.”

Separately, Meadows aide Cassidy Hutchinson asks Georgia Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs in a phone call whether there is anything the White House could do to show appreciation for those conducting the state’s audit, according to Reuters.

Dec. 31: Pence asks a judge to reject a lawsuit that aimed to expand his power to help overturn the election. Trump becomes livid.

Jan. 1: Meadows emails Rosen several times with theories about the election.

He forwards Rosen a YouTube video of a former intelligence official who also promoted the idea that the election was stolen using satellites in Italy. Rosen shares the email with Donoghue, who responds, “Pure insanity.” Rosen states that he has learned the man behind the video, Brad Johnson, was working with Trump attorney Rudolph W. Giuliani but that he had declined a requested meeting with Johnson.

Shortly after the above email, Meadows again emails Rosen about “signature matching anomalies in Fulton county, Ga.,” and suggests Rosen have Clark, specifically, look into it. Rosen tells Donoghue of the email: “Can you believe this? I am not going to respond to the message below.” Donoghue responds, apparently referring to the Italian-satellites theory, “At least it’s better than the last one, but that doesn’t say much.”

Another theory Meadows promotes involves New Mexico, which went for Biden by more than 10 points.

Jan. 2: Trump speaks with Georgia’s Raffensperger and urges him to find enough votes to call Biden’s victory there into question. “All I want to do is this: I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” Trump says in the recorded call. Biden won Georgia by 11,779 votes. Trump adds: “So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break.”

Jan. 3: Trump, who had entertained a plan to oust Rosen as acting attorney general and install Clark, abandons the idea after a meeting with Justice Department officials who warned of mass, high-profile resignations if Trump pursued the scheme.

Late that night, after The Post broke news of the Raffensperger call, the White House leaves a voice mail stating that Trump would like to speak with Clint Hickman, the then-chairman of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors in Arizona. Hickman declines to return the call, believing he would be pressured, as Raffensperger was.

Jan. 4: Byung J. “BJay” Pak, the Trump-appointed U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Georgia, abruptly resigns after finding himself in Trump’s crosshairs. Trump had complained that Pak wasn’t investigating voter fraud aggressively enough, leading Donoghue to privately suggest that Pak resign. Trump bypasses Pak’s top deputy, who would normally succeed Pak, appointing instead the U.S. attorney for Georgia’s Southern District, Bobby L. Christine. (Christine would later tell staff members that “there’s just nothing to” the claims of fraud in the area.)

Jan. 5: Trump angrily vents to Pence and aides about Pence’s refusal to toe his line on rejecting electors. He also takes the effort public, tweeting, “The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.”

Jan. 6: Trump speaks with Pence multiple times in the morning and presses his case on overturning the election. Pence continues to refuse, eventually releasing a statement saying he cannot do what he’s being asked to do.

In the early afternoon, the U.S. Capitol is overrun by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the election, shortly after speeches by Trump, Giuliani and other promoters of baseless claims that the election was stolen.

During the riot — and as Congress still hadn’t finished its business — Trump attacks Pence in a tweet. “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution,” Trump says. The tweet came shortly after Pence was evacuated amid the unrest — and apparently after Trump spoke with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) about the severity of the situation. Rioters were later revealed to have chanted, “Hang Mike Pence.”