NEW YORK. “Team normal” versus “Team crazy”.
Donald Trump refused to listen to family and advisers – instead he created an army of yes-sayers who were willing to spread the election lies.
“He lost touch with reality,” testified Bill Barr.
Idiocy. Poppycock. Madness. Bullshit. Laughable.
The January 6 committee’s star witness, former Attorney General Bill Barr, was not gracious when he testified about Donald Trump’s allegations of systematic electoral fraud.
On Monday, the second public hearing was broadcast live, where the specially appointed congressional committee presented the findings in its investigation of what led to the storming of the Capitol.
This time, the committee focused entirely on Trump’s false allegations of widespread electoral fraud – “the Big Lie” – and how the lies led to his supporters attacking Congress.
Bill Barr, and others in Trump’s inner circle – advisers, campaign managers and family members – testified that they did not even believe the president’s statements about election fraud.
Clips played during the hearing revealed how the conversation went inside the White House on election night.
According to video interviews with daughter Ivanka Trump and her husband Jared Kushner, as well as several assistants, the mood soured especially when Fox News proclaimed the key state of Arizona in Biden’s favor.
A major defeat for the Trump campaign.
The advisers knew that it would take several days before all the postal votes were counted, and that the majority of the votes would probably go to the Biden camp.
One of today’s main witnesses was Bill Stepien, Trump’s then campaign manager, who told that he told Trump they should wait to announce an election victory. He saw that they had minimal chances of winning the election.
– Valseldar was still counting, it was far too early to make any statements, he testified in a pre-recorded video before the January 6 committee.
Another top adviser gave the same answer to Trump that night.
– We should not declare victory until we have a better idea of the numbers, Jason Miller remembers, that he told the then president.
“Giuliani drunk on election night”
Ivanka, Trump’s daughter, testified that she did not remember if she had a clear view of her father’s chance of victory. But told the president that “the results were still counting”.
Donald Trump did not agree.
According to Miller, a very drunk Rudy Giuliani visited the White House instead and wanted to talk to Trump.
Giuliani urged the president to ignore the advisers, saying that Joe Biden had stolen the election.
Bill Stepien, the campaign manager, said that Trump did not want to listen to him after the conversation with Giuliani.
– Trump thought I was wrong. He told me that. And said they would go in a different direction, Stepien testified.
The son-in-law opposed Giuliani
In the weeks following the election, Trump officials continued to explain to the president that there was no widespread electoral fraud that could reverse the outcome of the election.
Trump repeatedly ignored them.
Instead, he began taking more advice from attorney Rudy Giuliani, attorney Sidney Powell and former security adviser Michael Flynn. People who were willing to spread conspiracy theories, including that the election machines from Dominion were hacked.
His top advisers and family members must then have become increasingly uncomfortable.
On Monday, Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kuschner, testified that he opposed Giuliani’s claims after the election.
“It was not the path I had chosen,” Kushner said, adding that Trump responded by saying he had confidence in Giuliani.
“Lost contact with reality”
Campaign chief Stepien described how two groups were suddenly formed around Trump: the core of advisers who stated that the allegations of electoral fraud were unfounded – and the yes-sayers who escalated the lies.
Stepien saw himself as part of those who were unofficially called “Team Normal” – in contrast to those who were considered “Team Crazy”, with Giuliani at the helm.
There was also Justice Minister Bill Barr, who went on to tell Trump that his allegations of electoral fraud were not grounded in reality.
In the pre-recorded testimony, Barr described an amateurish report that Trump leaned on in the weeks before January 6.
When Barr met with Trump on December 14, 2020, the then president handed over the report, claiming it was “definitive evidence of electoral fraud.”
In the papers, it was alleged that voices were manipulated in the voting machines.
– He said, “you know, this is absolute proof that the Dominion machines were rigged. The report means that I will have a second term, “Barr said in his testimony.
Barr did not see any support for the report’s conclusion. Nor did the US Department of Homeland Security. Here, Barr completely lost confidence in Trump, he testified before the January 6 committee.
– I thought, “oh, if he really believes in this, then he has completely lost touch with reality”.