Donald Trump, Jr. is facing calls for his arrest after CNN published text messages to Mark Meadows showing a scheme to overturn the 2020 presidential election, which was won by Joe Biden.
"Two days after the 2020 presidential election, as votes were still being tallied, Donald Trump’s eldest son texted then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows that “we have operational control” to ensure his father would get a second term, with Republican majorities in the US Senate and swing state legislatures, CNN has learned. In the text, which has not been previously reported, Donald Trump Jr. lays out ideas for keeping his father in power by subverting the Electoral College process, according to the message reviewed by CNN," the network reported.
The messages were obtained by the House Select Committee Investigating the Jan. 6 Attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“It’s very simple,” Trump Jr. texted Meadows. “We have multiple paths We control them all.”
Legal experts were shocked by the revelation.
Richard Painter, the chief White House ethics lawyer in the George W. Bush administration, said the messages were evidence of a crime.
"This was an attempted putsch. He belongs in the slammer!" Painter wrote.
Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner called it "treasonous criminality."
"The 'Subject' line of Don Jr.’s email might as well have been, 'I’m a member of my father’s criminal conspiracy to overturn the election.' How long do we have to endure this open, treasonous criminality by Trump and company before someone gets indicted?" he wondered.
Constitutional law expert Lawrence Tribe described the texts as "a smoking rifle."
\u201cThe text from Trump Jr. shows how those closest to the former President were already exchanging ideas for how to overturn the election months before the January 6 insurrection -- and before all the votes were even counted.\u201d This text is a smoking rifle.https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/donald-trump-jr-meadows-text/index.html\u00a0\u2026— Laurence Tribe (@Laurence Tribe) 1649460885
Journalist Keith Olbermann also expected the president's eldest son would end up in the slammer.
Hey guess what: @DonaldJTrumpJr is ALSO going to wind up in prison for criminal conspiracy to overthrow the government of the United States of America.\n\nWho'd a thunk it?https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/donald-trump-jr-meadows-text/index.html\u00a0\u2026— Keith Olbermann (@Keith Olbermann) 1649449252
SCOOP: Donald Trump Jr texted Mark Meadows on Nov. 5, 2020 -- before election was called -- pushing ideas to ensure 2nd term for his father, per records given to 1/6 committee.\n\n"We have multiple paths We control them all" \nw/ @ryanobles & @AnnieGrayerCNNhttps://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/donald-trump-jr-meadows-text/index.html\u00a0\u2026— Zachary Cohen (@Zachary Cohen) 1649445140
In the text, Trump Jr pushes for the firing of FBI director Chris Wray & replacing him w/ loyalist Richard Grenell. \n\nHe also calls for then-Attorney General Bill Barr to name a special prosecutor to investigate the "Biden crime family."https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/08/politics/donald-trump-jr-meadows-text/index.html\u00a0\u2026— Zachary Cohen (@Zachary Cohen) 1649445642
NOW WATCH: Trump Jr texted Meadows that overturning the 2020 election would be ‘very simple’
Trump Jr texted Meadows that overturning the 2020 election would be ‘very simple’www.youtube.com
