Page:Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/421



take. It could not oversee States' actions in administering their elections, and it could not support litigation filed by President Trump's campaign. Nonetheless, President Trump continued to push DOJ to file this lawsuit over the following days and essentially act as an arm of his political campaign.

Even after the December 29th meeting, President Trump and those working on his behalf still wanted DOJ leadership to file United States v. Pennsylvania. On December 30th, Acting Attorney General Rosen had a phone call with President Trump that included a discussion about the lawsuit. During the call, Rosen clearly explained to the President that DOJ could not file the lawsuit. Rosen said, "This doesn't work. There's multiple problems with it. And the Department of Justice is not going to be able to do it." According to Rosen, President Trump accepted what he said without argument. Yet President Trump and his allies continued pressuring the Department to file the lawsuit.