Was Pence worried he’d get “disappeared” on Insurrection Day? The ambiguity comes from the multiple descriptions of holding Pence within the confines of the Capitol. It looks like Grassley was expected to be part of a scheme on 1/5 to substitute for Pence who perhaps the seditionists expected would be “detained” by the Oath Keepers. The Meadows Power Point was presented on the hill on 4 January and on 5 January Grassley was confused about Pence “not being there”. The witness list for the Select Committee gets longer.
- GOP Sen. Chuck Grassley prompted widespread confusion on Tuesday by suggesting that Vice President Mike Pence would skip the Electoral College certification before his office walked back his comments.
- Pence has been under pressure from President Donald Trump to use the certification process, which is largely ceremonial, to overturn the election he lost.
- The vice president doesn't have the authority to do what Trump and his allies want.
But Pence's role in the typically perfunctory proceedings is largely administrative and ceremonial - he's meant to read aloud the certificates of electoral votes from each state.
In short, Pence does not have the authority or power to unilaterally overturn the election result. But based on the way Trump has spoken about January 6, the president seemingly believes otherwise.
(5 January 2021)www.msn.com/...
The Meadows Plan Power Point
Trump’s plot apparently included declaring a national emergency after the assault on the Capitol and Pence "relocated” by the secret service, prompting the Grassley substitution. The substitution of Grassley as pro tempore seemed more possible because of the undisclosed Pence reluctance.
The end game was to create enough chaos and confusion to allow whoever was presiding (Pence or Grassley) to throw it to the House to determine a winner. GOP controls 26 delegations and Dems control 24. That’s the end game clearly spelled out in the Eastman and Ellis memos
more Meadows power point
On Jan. 4, Pence is in Georgia for a rally, but once he flies back, Trump calls him to the Oval. See "Peril" pgs. 224-227. "I'm getting guidance that says I can't," Pence tells Trump and Eastman, who is there. "Listen. Listen to John," Trump replies.
As Eastman and Trump pressure Pence and Pence's aides/lawyers, the rest of the Trump WH is in full-steam ahead mode that same day. See "Peril" chapter 41. "Graham was at the WH on January 4, where he received some memos supporting Trump's claims." We put those memos in the book.
Chief of staff Mark Meadows is working with Trump this whole time, and we show him meeting with Graham and Giuliani on how to push Trump's efforts along. See his Jan. 2 meeting with both of them on p. 212-214 of "Peril." But there were still lingering Qs re: his role/knowledge.
Now, months after "Peril" was published, we are learning more about both Meadows and that key day, January *4th.*
Think of it as the set-up day for the eve of the insurrection, Jan. 5, when Bannon and Giuliani work from the Willard and Trump pressures Pence, 1 on 1, in Oval.
Read this: "The powerpoint was presented on 4 January to a number of Republican senators and members of Congress, the source said."
Meadows was in possession of a PowerPoint that echoed Eastman memo. (The origin story of the PP is a key reporting target.)
We now know that in the critical Jan. 4-5 period, where the pressure on Pence is Level 10/10, you have not only the principals leaning on the VP, but numerous docs circulating to make the case.
-Eastman memos
-PowerPoints
-And Jenna Ellis memos (see below)
But despite all of these docs and PowerPts, the most revealing thing of this period isn't a document. It's what he says to Pence on Jan. 5.
At the end of the day, Trump isn't looking to these docs to make his case. He looks to the gathering mob in the streets. (Ch. 43, "Peril")
"If these people say you had the power, wouldn't you want to?" Trump asked.
"I wouldn't want any one person to have that authority," Pence said.
"But wouldn't it almost be cool to have that power?" Trump asked.
"No," Pence said.
/end
Another important data point on Jan. 4th: "Robert 'Bobby' Peede Jr. and [Max] Miller met with Trump in his private dining room off of the Oval Office on January 4 to discuss the January 6 rally."
Mike Pence Refused to Get in Car With Secret Service During Capitol Riot
Former Vice President Mike Pence refused to get into a car with Secret Service agents during the deadly Capitol riot on January 6, according to a book due to be released on Tuesday.
The claim is made by Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post journalists Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker in their book I Alone Can Fix It: Donald J. Trump's Catastrophic Final Year. An extract detailing the incident has been published by the Post.
According to the book, Pence twice refused to evacuate from the Capitol building on January 6 because he was concerned that the sight of his motorcade leaving could "vindicate" the rioters.
[...]
"Tim Giebels, the lead special agent in charge of the vice president's protective detail, twice asked Pence to evacuate the Capitol, but Pence refused," the book says.
Pence reportedly told Giebels: "I'm not leaving the Capitol." He was concerned that his 20-car motorcade leaving would "vindicate their insurrection," Leonnig and Rucker add.
www.newsweek.com/...
Saturday, Dec 11, 2021 · 9:10:50 PM +00:00 · annieli
www.dailykos.com/…
But the Times reports that Phil Waldron, a retired Army colonel and one of the key propagators of Trump's Big Lie, apparently circulated the document among influential lawmakers, holding several briefings for Senators and House members on Jan. 4 and 5, respectively. Waldron, who reportedly cites a history of involvement with "informational warfare," told the paper that he hadn't given Meadows a copy but wasn't surprised it found his way to Trump's chief of staff.
"He would have gotten a copy for situational awareness for what was being briefed on the Hill at the time," he said.
