Meadows and the Band of Loyalists: How They Fought to Keep ...

Justice Department officials viewed it as outrageous political pressure from a White House that had become consumed by conspiracy theories.It was also one example of how a half-dozen right-wing members of Congress became key foot soldiers in Trump’s effort to overturn the election, according to dozens of interviews and a review of hundreds of pages of congressional testimony about the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6.The lawmakers — all of them members of the ultraconservative House Freedom Caucus — worked closely with the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, whose central role in Trump’s efforts to overturn a democratic election is coming into focus as the congressional investigation into Jan. 6 gains traction.There was Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio, the pugnacious former wrestler who bolstered his national profile by defending Trump on cable television; Rep. Andy Biggs of Arizona, whose political ascent was padded by a $10 million sweepstakes win; and Rep. Paul Gosar, an Arizona dentist who trafficked in conspiracy theories and spoke at a white nationalist rally.They were joined by Rep. Louie Gohmert of Texas, who was known for fiery speeches delivered to an empty House chamber and unsuccessfully sued Vice President Mike Pence over his refusal to interfere in the election certification; and Rep. Mo Brooks of Alabama, a lawyer who rode the Tea Party wave to Congress and was later sued by a Democratic congressman for inciting the Jan. 6 riot.Perry, a former Army helicopter pilot who is close to Jordan and Meadows, acted as a de facto sergeant. Congressmen,” he said, according to Donoghue’s notes of the call.NovemberOn Nov. 9, two days after The Associated Press called the race for Biden, crisis meetings were underway at Trump campaign headquarters in Arlington, Virginia.Perry and Jordan huddled with senior White House officials, including Meadows; Stephen Miller, a top Trump adviser; Bill Stepien, the campaign manager; and Kayleigh McEnany, the White House press secretary.According to two people familiar with the meetings, which have not been previously reported, the group settled on a strategy that would become a blueprint for Trump’s supporters in Congress: Hammer home the idea that the election was tainted, announce legal actions being taken by the campaign, and bolster the case with allegations of fraud.Gosar embraced the fraud claims so closely that his chief of staff, Tom Van Flein, rushed to an airplane hangar parking lot in Phoenix after a conspiracy theory began circulating that a suspicious jet carrying ballots from South Korea was about to land, perhaps in a bid to steal the election from Trump, according to court documents filed by one of the participants. That day, he forwarded Meadows a text message he had received from a lawyer and former Pentagon inspector general outlining a legal strategy to overturn the election.“On January 6, 2021, Vice President Mike Pence, as President of the Senate, should call out all the electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all — in accordance with guidance from founding father Alexander Hamilton and judicial precedence,” the text read.On Jan. 6, Washington was overcast and breezy as thousands of people gathered at the Ellipse to hear Trump and his allies spread a lie that has become a rallying cry in the months since: that the election was stolen.Brooks, wearing body armor, took the stage in the morning, saying he was speaking at the behest of the White House. Gosar cast the attackers as “peaceful patriots across the country." A Pew research poll found that nearly two-thirds of Republicans said their party should not accept elected officials who criticize Trump.Still, the House select committee investigating the Capitol attack appears to be picking up steam, voting this week to recommend that Meadows be charged with criminal contempt of Congress.Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.