The “New York Times” reported on Friday, citing a transcript from the Justice Department, which had been made available to a committee of the House of Representatives. The control committee published the transcript a little later. Trump is said to have said in a telephone conversation with the then incumbent Justice Minister Jeffrey Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue at the end of December: “Just say the election was corrupt and leave the rest to me.” Donoghue, whose conversation notes are concerned, is said to have told Trump that it was not in the power of the ministry to change the outcome of the election.
Typically, the government does not provide Congress with notes on the President’s discussions with Cabinet members. In this case, the Justice Department of the government of Democratic President Joe Biden renounces the secrecy, according to the “New York Times”, because it concerns possible offenses by an ex-president as a person, not government acts worthy of protection. The ministry also allowed Rosen and Donoghue to answer questions from the House of Representatives’ Control and Justice Committee without special restrictions.
The committees are investigating the alleged efforts of Republican Trump to discredit the election or even to overturn it through political machinations against the will of the voters. After the November 3rd election, Trump spoke of “massive electoral fraud” and also put pressure on local election officers, for example in the state of Georgia. However, dozens of courts dismissed claims against alleged fraud. The Justice Department also said there was no evidence of any major election fraud. Trump, in turn, continues to claim that he won the election.
