'Coup Memo' Author Admitted in Front of Trump That Their Scheme Was Illegal: Jan. 6 Hearing

“Coup memo” author John Eastman knew the he and former President Trump’s scheme to get Mike Pence to block the certification of the 2020 election was illegal, and said so in front of Trump, according to testimony played during the Jan. 6 committee’s hearing on Thursday.

“Did John Eastman ever admit in front of the president that his proposal would violate the Electoral Count Act?” investigators asked Greg Jacob, Pence’s former legal counsel.

“I believe he did on the fourth,” Jacob replied.

“That was Jan. 4, two days before the attack on Congress,” Cheney said of when exactly Trump knew it would be illegal for Pence to block the certification of the Electoral College.

The committee in its third hearing is examining Trump’s campaign to pressure Pence into illegally blocking the certification of the Electoral College. Pence refused, reportedly with the help of legal advice from J. Michael Luttig, a retired U.S. circuit court judge who is testifying on Thursday.

Jacob will also testify before the committee. Jacob was reportedly in the room in the days before the attack when Trump and his allies tried to convince Pence to help overturn the election results. Jacob was also in touch with Eastman, the former Trump lawyer who authored the memo instructing Pence to halt the certification of the Electoral College.

It goes without saying that Trump was not happy Pence didn’t go along with the scheme. The committee revealed during its hearing last week that Trump told staff Pence “deserved” to be hanged as his supporters were attacking the Capitol.

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