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- A little-known GOP congressman from Pennsylvania helped former President Donald Trump with a plan to oust the acting attorney general in an effort to overturn the election, The New York Times reported.
- Republican Rep. Scott Perry introduced Trump to Justice Department lawyer Jeffery Clark.
- Trump wanted to replace Jeffery Rosen with Clark.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Republican Rep. Scott Perry helped former President Donald Trump plot to oust acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen so he could place a loyalist who would help him overturn the election, The New York Times reported Saturday evening.
Perry introduced Trump to Jeffrey Clark, the Justice Department lawyer who was working with the ex-president to find ways to stir up doubts about the election results. Rosen had not cooperated with Trump’s alleged plan, prompting him to consider replacing him with Clark.
Trump reportedly only backed down from his plan to fire Rosen after top leaders at the department threatened to resign. The former president was worried that news of several Justice Department leaders resigning all at once would take the spotlight away from his baseless voter fraud claims.
Perry, a little-known member of the House was one of several Republicans giving Trump false hope that he could overturn the election results. But, as The Times reported, Trump’s reliance on him highlights just how desperate he was to change the outcome, as many senior Republicans refused to go along with his claims.
Clark and Perry reportedly hatched the plan to have the department send Georgia officials a letter that falsely said the department was investigating the state for voter fraud and that they should overturn Biden’s win. They also told Trump of this idea. But Rosen and deputy attorney general, Richard Donoghue denied the request.
There has no proof of widespread voter fraud in the 2020 election. Trump and Republican allies lost several dozen lawsuits attempting to overturn election results.
Trump’s unfounded claims of election fraud have been criticized as the spark that fueled the violent insurrection on January 6 at the US Capitol. Trump supporters breached the building and clashed with law enforcement, halting the joint session of Congress as lawmakers were set to formalize Biden’s victory in the 2020 election. The riot lead to the deaths of five people.
The House impeached Trump on a charge of inciting an insurrection. The Senate will soon hold a trial and vote on whether to convict the former president. This is the second impeachment Trump faced in his four years in office.
Last month, The Times also reported that Perry was one of the 126 Republicans who filed a failed lawsuit to the Supreme Court to overturn the election. He also at one point objected to certifying his home state of Pennsylvania electoral votes, the Times added.
There’s also been criticism towards Republican lawmakers who touted Trump’s claims and even disputed the Electoral College votes. Seven Democratic senators have called for a probe into Republican Sens. Josh Hawley and Ted Cruz’s role in the Capitol siege. Others have called on them to resign.
It’s not yet clear what action will be taken against Perry in light of the recent revelations, but earlier in January after he faced calls to resign as a result of his support for the baseless allegations of fraud, he issued a one-word statement: “No.”
Insider was unable to reach Perry for comment at the time of publication.
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