Former President Donald Trump on Saturday rejected House Oversight and Reform Committee reports that claimed he told Justice Department officials to undermine the 2020 election results.
Trump issued a statement claiming that the handwritten notes, obtained through the House investigation from former acting U.S. Attorney General Richard Donoghue, only prove he was the one trying to protect the November 2020 presidential election results. Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Malone said Friday that the committee is still investigating and that the notes show Trump "directly instructed our nation's top law enforcement agency to take steps to overturn a free and fair election."
Trump pushed back further against the allegations and demanded that Congress conduct a full-scale corruption investigation into the 2020 election results which certified now-President Joe Biden.
Trump's alleged note and pressure toward the Justice Department in the final days of his presidency sought to undermine the election results in blunt terms: "Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me," the former president reportedly instructed Donoghue.
But Trump on Saturday attempted to reverse the blame, responding, "The corrupt and highly partisan House Democrats who run the House Oversight Committee yesterday released documents—including court filings dealing with the rigged election of 2020—that they dishonestly described as attempting to overturn the election."
"In fact, it is just the opposite," Trump added in his Saturday statement. "The documents were meant to uphold the integrity and honesty of elections and the sanctity of our vote."
"The American People want, and demand, that the President of the United States, its chief law enforcement officer in the country, stand with them to fight for Election Integrity and to investigate attempts to undermine our nation," the former president continued. "Our country has just suffered an incredibly corrupt Presidential Election, and it is time for Congress and others to investigate how such corruption was allowed to take place rather than investigating those that are exposing this massive fraud on the American People."
Newsweek reached out to a representative for Trump Saturday afternoon for any additional remarks about the DOJ notes.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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Benjamin Fearnow is a reporter based out of Newsweek's New York City offices. He was previously at CBS and Mediaite ... Read more
