Page:Final Report of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.pdf/475

 seem as if the Presidential election hadn't already been decided and projected his unhinged ambitions onto his opponents. President Trump claimed that "there's nothing the radical Democrats will not do to get power that they so desperately crave," including "the outright stealing of elections, like they're trying to do with us."

"We're not going to let it happen," President Trump said, adding, "I hope Mike Pence comes through for us, I have to tell you." President Trump called Vice President Pence a "great vice president," a "great guy," as well as a "wonderful" and "smart man." But he alluded to the Vice President's role, "he's going to have a lot to say about it," and added an ominous note. "Of course, if he doesn't come through, I won't like him quite as much," President Trump said.

In a Reversal of Where the Oval Office Meeting Ended the Day Before, Eastman Argues that Pence Should Reject Electors Outright. Eastman met with Jacob and Short again the following day. During the Oval Office meeting the Vice President had made clear that he would not unilaterally reject electors, and, by pivoting to recommend the Vice President send the electors back to the States, Eastman seemed to recognize this. But the following morning, Eastman returned to pressing for the more "aggressive" path.

Jacob recorded Eastman's request on January 5, 2021, in a handwritten note: "Requesting VP reject." Jacob later summarized Eastman's remarks as follows: "I'm here asking you to reject the electors." This overnight reversal surprised Jacob because Eastman was returning to the more aggressive position he had seemed to abandon in the Oval Office meeting the day before. President Trump's tweets that morning may explain Eastman's reversal. While Eastman was meeting with the Vice President's staff, his client, President Trump, was pressing the argument publicly.

At 11:06 a.m. on the morning of January 5th, President Trump tweeted: "The Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors." As his tweet made clear, President Trump would not be persuaded by reason—or the law. The President made this public statement despite the Vice President's clear and consistent rejection of this theory including during an in-person meeting the day before. During that same meeting, Eastman conceded that this "aggressive" path of rejecting electors was not advisable.

Herschmann briefly participated in the January 5th meeting, seeing it as "an opportunity . . . to just chew [Eastman] out." Herschmann had already pushed back "brutal[ly]" on Eastman's theory regarding the Vice