Donald Trump sits in the driver’s seat of a semi-truck as he welcomes truckers and CEOs to the White House, Thursday, March 23, 2017, to discuss healthcare. (Official White House Photo by Benjamin Applebaum)
During Tuesday's episode of MSNBC's Deadline: White House, Washington Post national investigative reporter Carol Leonnig laid out the ways former President Donald Trump steered much of the ploy to overturn the 2020 presidential election, despite ex-Attorney General Bill Barr's insistence that he lost to President Joe Biden.
After Nicolle Wallace noted "Trump had his hands on all of this intricate plotting," Leonnig replied, "Not to draw your metaphor too broadly, Nicolle, but the president has his hands on a lot of clown car steering wheels all at the same time" leading up to January 6. "I don't disagree with the premise that there was an increasing view inside the Oval Office, that the only solution was going to be political. But Trump has his hands on multiple steering wheels during this critical time."
She continued, "I think the dates are so helpful and interesting. It's the plea discussion that these witnesses against Trump provide. Let's put a couple on the board. December 19 is the day of that Christmas party, or even Jenna Ellis — who has pushed a lot of flawed fraud allegations and flawed illegal theories up to this point to try to help her president stay in office — even she is flummoxed and stunned when their right-hand aid Dan Scavino says, 'The boss just wants to stay in office. We're going to stay. We don't care that we lost to the Supreme Court, we're going to stay."
Leonnig went on to say, "So December 19 is important because, for me, for multiple days after that period, Donald Trump is calling his acting attorney general — remember he's essentially booted Bill Barr out of the Department of Justice — Barr has left on his own power, but the president has indicated to Bill Barr he's fed up with his assessment that there is no legitimate fraud that would change the outcome of the election. 'Sorry boss, it's BS, you lost.' So now, from this point on, Donald Trump is calling his acting attorney general, pestering him every single day, something we learned from Tim Heaphy's work, asking, demanding, insisting, 'Find the fraud. Find the fraud. I have some other examples I wanna bring back to you. I have some other examples I'd like to resurface with you that Barr already told me were crapola. But I'd like you to find them to ask to corroborate them. And if you don't it, I have another idea for another acting attorney general.'"
The Post reporter added, "Let's put another hand on another steering wheel and from great reporting, great congressional work, great follow-up reporting and the investigative process. Another key date is January 3rd, 4th and 5th. When Donald Trump starts unleashing his Twitter 'MAGAphone' phone, to essentially turn his allies on Mike Pence, he starts telling people, 'Okay, my last steering wheel move is to get Pence to block the certification. And if I can't get him to do it, I want all of you to come to the [U.S.] Capitol and help me push him and the rest of the Republicans to do it.' So the president is not giving up on any of his cars getting to the finish line."
Watch the video at this link.