The House select committee played video testimony from multiple former Trump administration officials – including late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s son and former president Donald Trump’s daughter Ivanka – who urged him to concede, but were ignored.
The select committee convened on Tuesday afternoon and showed that multiple officials within the Trump administration urged the former president to concede the election after the Electoral College vote in their respective states on 14 December.
Among the members of the administration were Secretary of Labour Eugene Scalia, the son of the late conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, who told the president he needed to concede.
Mr Scalia said in video testimony that he had called the president around the time the votes were cast.
“I told him that I did believe, yes, once the those legal processes were run, if fraud had not been established, that had affected the outcome. of the election, and unfortunately, I believe that what had to be done was can see the outcome,” Mr Scalia said in video testimony.
Similarly, the committee asked then-president’s daughter Ivanka Trump over video testimony whether the 14 December vote from the Electoral College made her realise that the administration would come to an end.
“I think so. I think it was my my sentiment probably prior as well,” she said.
Multiple other members of the administration echoed this sentiment, including Judd Deere, who was the deputy White House press secretary.
“I told him that my personal viewpoint was that the Electoral College had met which is the system that our country is said under to elect a president and vice president”, he said over video testimony. “ And I've believed at that point that the means for him to pursue litigation was probably closed.”
Similarly, the committee played video testimony from former attorney general William Barr saying that he wondered how long the lies about election fraud would consist.
“And then at that point, I left and as I walked out of the Oval Office, Jared was there with Dan Scavino, who ran his ran the President's social media and who I thought was a reasonable guy and believe is a reasonable guy”, he said. “ And I said How long is he gonna carry on with this stolen election stuff?”
In response, Mr Barr said that then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows told Mr Barr that Mr Trump was becoming more realistic and there was a limit how far he could take claims of voter fraud.
