'Almost stolen': Pence legal advisor's Thursday J6 committee testimony to include 'urgent' message for lawmakers

On Wednesday, CBS News gave details of what retired conservative federal judge Michael Luttig has already told the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Luttig, once considered a shortlister for Supreme Court by former President George W. Bush, was the one who advised former Vice President Mike Pence that he had no legal authority to block the counting of electors from Biden-won states Republicans were trying to overturn.

"Retired federal Judge J. Michael Luttig, a staunch conservative long admired by many Republicans, will testify before the House's Jan. 6 committee on Thursday with an urgent and stark message for the panel about former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election: 'America's democracy was almost stolen from her,'" reported Robert Costa. "Luttig will also likely state that the Republican National Committee is wrong to have referred to some of the events of Jan. 6, 2021 as 'legitimate political discourse' and warn fellow conservatives to not ignore the gravity of what Trump did as he scrambled to hold onto the presidency that day."

"The retired judge's planned remarks were confirmed to CBS News by two people familiar with his expected testimony who were not authorized to discuss details of the hearing," said the report. "He will also reveal how he advised then-Vice President Mike Pence to resist Trump's pleas for Pence to block the congressional certification of Joe Biden's election victory. One person familiar with Luttig's planned testimony said he sees his appearance before the committee as a serious and sobering moment similar to an appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court."

The legal plan Pence rejected was drafted by far-right lawyer John Eastman, and has been widely panned by experts as nonsense.

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"A federal judge recently ordered Eastman to turn over 159 documents to the House select committee," noted the report. "U.S. District Judge David O. Carter, who has been overseeing the records dispute between Eastman and the House panel, said the latest tranche to be disclosed is not covered by attorney-client privilege or protected work product, as the conservative lawyer asserted."

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