Trying to Trademark ‘Rigged Election,’ and Other Revelations From the Jan. 6 Transcripts - The New York Times

WASHINGTON — The nation’s apical subject serviceman saw the Jan. 6 onslaught arsenic akin to the “Reichstag moment” that led to Nazi dictatorship. Aides for erstwhile President Donald J. Trump saw their aboriginal occupation opportunities slipping away, and predicted being “perpetually unemployed.” Mr. Trump himself saw the propulsion to overturn the 2020 predetermination arsenic a fiscal opportunity, moving to trademark the operation “Rigged Election.”

These were among the latest revelations from the House Jan. 6 committee, which released a whirlwind of documents successful its last days and wrapped up its enactment connected Monday. Since Friday night, the sheet has released respective troves of evidence, including astir 120 antecedently unseen transcripts on with emails and substance messages obtained during its 18-month inquiry, totaling tens of thousands of pages.

The grounds touched connected astir each facet of Mr. Trump’s propulsion to overturn the 2020 election. It provided caller details astir however immoderate of his apical allies lobbied for assertive plans to support him successful power, portion others lamented however the acheronian time of Jan. 6, 2021, had negatively affected their employment prospects.

The sheet said it has present turned implicit an “enormous measurement of material” to the Justice Department arsenic Jack Smith, the peculiar counsel, conducts a parallel probe into the events of Jan. 6.

“Accountability is present captious to thwart immoderate different aboriginal strategy to overturn an election,” the committee’s leaders, Representative Bennie Thompson, Democrat of Mississippi, and Representative Liz Cheney, Republican of Wyoming, said successful a statement.

In the end, the committee released astir 280 transcripts of interviews. Though the sheet interviewed much than 1,000 witnesses, lone a fewer 100 sessions took the signifier of ceremonial depositions oregon transcribed interviews. Lawmakers said they withheld definite transcripts that contained delicate information.

Here are immoderate takeaways from the precocious released evidence:

A elder subject advisor said Mr. Trump seemed to admit his defeat.

In a 302-page transcript of his interrogation with the committee, Gen. Mark A. Milley, the voluble president of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the sheet astir a gathering successful the Oval Office a fewer weeks aft Election Day, successful which helium said Mr. Trump seemed to admit helium was not going to beryllium sworn successful again.

General Milley described Mr. Trump saying “words to the effect of: Yeah, we lost, we request to fto that contented spell to the adjacent guy. Meaning President Biden.”

That connection built connected different grounds the committee spent important clip documenting: That Mr. Trump was alert helium had mislaid but continued to falsely assertion otherwise. At 1 constituent General Milley suggested it mightiness person been different advisor who said it, but stated erstwhile asked again that it was Mr. Trump.

General Milley besides recalled seeing the Nazi imagery successful the assemblage connected Jan. 6 and saying to his staff: “These guys look similar the brownish shirts to me. This looks similar a Reichstag moment.”

Aides saw their futures damaged.

Some of the astir striking exchanges successful the committee’s substance messages were betwixt Mr. Trump’s longtime advisor Hope Hicks and Julie Radford, the main of unit to Mr. Trump’s oldest daughter, Ivanka.

In them, some women lamented that Mr. Trump had caused irreparable harm to his ain unit arsenic the unit played out.

“In 1 time helium ended each aboriginal accidental that doesn’t see speaking engagements astatine the section Proud Boys chapter,” Ms. Hicks fumed successful a message. “All of america that didn’t person jobs lined up volition beryllium perpetually unemployed.”

More grounds emerged that Trump planned to articulation the assemblage astatine the Capitol.

Several Trump advisers made wide that Mr. Trump had intended for days to articulation a assemblage of his supporters marching connected the Capitol.

“POTUS expectations are to person thing intimate astatine the ellipse, and telephone connected everyone to march to the capitol,” Katrina Pierson, a Trump spokeswoman, wrote successful a Jan. 2, 2021, email.

Kayleigh McEnany, Mr. Trump’s property secretary, besides wrote successful a enactment connected Jan. 6 that Mr. Trump had wanted to locomotion alongside the assemblage arsenic it descended connected the Congress: “POTUS wanted to locomotion to capital. Physically walk. He said good thrust beast.”

Bannon continued to agitate.

Stephen K. Bannon, an extracurricular advisor to Mr. Trump, continued to endorse utmost tactics adjacent aft the unit of Jan. 6.

On Jan. 8, 2021, helium wrote successful a substance connection to his spokeswoman, Alexandra Preate, that helium wanted 1 cardinal radical to situation the Capitol aft Mr. Biden was seated successful the White House.

“I’d situation the Capitol successful full silence,” Mr. Bannon wrote, according to a transcript of Ms. Preate’s interview.

Mr. Bannon besides advised that Mr. Trump should person thing to bash with Patrick Byrne, the affluent businessman who financed efforts to overturn the 2020 election. “Steve Bannon erstwhile told me, helium said, Patrick Byrne’s crazy, and helium should not beryllium connected the signifier with Donald Trump,” Ms. Preate testified.

Trump lawyers investigated fraud claims and couldn’t beryllium them.

Joshua Findlay, a Trump run lawyer, told the sheet helium was tasked with looking into fraud allegations successful Georgia, but came up empty.

“The large complaints that you would perceive about, you know, monolithic ballot flips and things similar that, we conscionable didn’t ever — astatine slightest successful Georgia — we did not ever find immoderate grounds of that,” helium testified.

Nevertheless, Rudolph W. Giuliani, Mr. Trump’s idiosyncratic lawyer, joined forces with different lawyer named Kenneth Chesebro, who devised ways to situation the 2020 predetermination done the usage of alternate slates of electors.

Mr. Findlay said Mr. Chesebro and Mr. Giuliani teamed up “promoting these theories and being aggressive, you know, aggressively promoting them,” Mr. Findlay recalled.

“Rudy Giuliani was making a batch of the decisions astir litigation strategy,” helium testified. “He truly bought into Ken’s mentation connected this.”

Kash Patel was a recurring figure.

Mr. Smith, the peculiar counsel, is besides investigating Mr. Trump’s handling of delicate documents.

A fig successful some the documents investigations and the committee’s enquiry was Kash Patel, presently 1 of Mr. Trump’s representatives to the National Archives. Several witnesses testified astir a propulsion to instal Mr. Patel, a Trump loyalist, successful a high-ranking C.I.A. post, thing that the agency’s director, Gina Haspel, on with Vice President Mike Pence and the White House counsel, Pat A. Cipollone, moved to stop. But not everyone recovered Mr. Patel objectionable.

Robert C. O’Brien, Mr. Trump’s last nationalist information adviser, called Mr. Patel a “good guy” successful his testimony.

General Milley took a antithetic view, describing the elevation of Mr. Patel arsenic concerning.

He recalled confronting Mr. Patel and Mark Meadows, the White House main of staff, portion successful a V.I.P. container astatine the Army-Navy game.

“To Kash Patel, I said: ‘So, Kash, which 1 are you going to get, C.I.A. oregon F.B.I.?’ And Patel’s face, you know, helium looks down and helium comes backmost and says: ‘Chairman, Chairman.’ And I looked astatine White House Chief of Staff Meadows and said: ‘What are you guys trying to do?’”

Trump wanted to trademark ‘Rigged Election.’

During the tumultuous post-election period, Mr. Trump and his squad worked intensely astatine raising wealth — bringing successful hundreds of millions — portion trying to registry trademarks astir warring predetermination results, the transcripts show.

In 1 caller transcript, the committee revealed an email from Dan Scavino Jr., a lawman White House main of staff, to Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, titled “POTUS requests.”

“Hey Jared! POTUS wants to trademark/own rights to below, I don’t cognize who to spot — oregon ask…I don’t cognize who to instrumentality to,” the email states, earlier providing 2 bolded terms: “Save America PAC!” with an exclamation people and “Rigged Election!”

“Guys — tin we bash ASAP please?” Mr. Kushner past wrote, forwarding the request.

‘I don’t recall.’

The transcripts also, erstwhile again, amusement the difficulties for investigators.

Mr. Chesebro repeatedly invoked his Fifth Amendment close against self-incrimination, portion Molly Michael, an adjunct to Mr. Trump, told the committee much than 100 times that she couldn’t callback events from Jan. 6.

The committee ran into a akin occupation with Anthony Ornato, a erstwhile lawman main of unit astatine the White House who had besides been the peculiar cause successful complaint of Mr. Trump’s Secret Service detail. He said helium did not retrieve important moments that aggregate witnesses recounted to the panel. “I don’t callback immoderate speech taking spot astir the imaginable question of the president to the Capitol,” Mr. Ornato testified.

The committee published excerpts from substance messages betwixt Mr. Ornato and a White House aide, Cassidy Hutchinson — whose statements person astatine times been successful struggle — that appeared to enactment her representation of immoderate events connected Jan. 6 that she has spoken of. In the messages, she relayed that Mr. Trump was talking, arsenic helium had previously, astir going to the Capitol himself, with Mr. Ornato replying to her comment.

Trump was straight progressive successful the mendacious elector scheme.

Mr. Trump personally progressive himself successful the mendacious elector scheme, according to Ronna McDaniel, the chairwoman of the Republican National Committee. Ms. McDaniel recounted a telephone aft the predetermination successful which Mr. Trump introduced her to John Eastman, the lawyer who wrote a now-infamous memo that laid retired a way for the erstwhile president to stay successful power.

Mr. Eastman, she said, past spoke astir however helium believed it was important for the committee to assistance the Trump run “gather these contingent electors,” she said.

Stephanie Lai contributed reporting.