WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 06: Trump supporters gather outside the U.S. Capitol building following a "Stop the Steal" rally on January 06, 2021 in Washington, DC. A pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol earlier, breaking windows and clashing with police officers. Trump supporters gathered in the nation's capital to protest the ratification of President-elect Joe Biden's Electoral College victory over President Donald Trump in the 2020 election. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
The Trump administration drafted a memo directing staffers to fire anyone who would not claim publicly that the 2020 election was “rigged,” according to the January 6 Committee.
The memo was written in the weeks following Trump’s 2020 election loss to President Joe Biden.
The handwritten memo was never released to staffers. The directive shows the internal pressure applied by then-President Trump to assemble his entire administration behind the Big Lie.
The news comes as the committee released Pat Cipollone‘s testimony. Investigators asked Cipollone, Trump’s former White House counsel, about a memo that ended by saying, “Anybody that thinks there wasn’t massive fraud in the 2020 election should be fired.”
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Cipollone stated that he didn’t remember it.
“I don’t have any recollection of this,” he said. “And by the way, I wasn’t fired.”
The committee alleges the briefing was created after former Attorney General Bill Barr cast doubt on the validity of Trump’s false election claims. The Trump administration drafted the letter after a meeting between the two men, where Barr rejected Trump’s pleas to back his lies about voter fraud.
The lies perpetuated by Trump and his administration were foundational to the violence on January 6. At least five people – including a Capitol Police officer – were killed due to the insurrection.
The January 6 Committee released its final report on their 18-month investigation recommending criminal prosecution of Trump for his involvement in the insurrection.
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