Texts obtained by CNN reveal that Donald Trump Jr. texted former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows two days after the 2020 presidential election, before results were finalized, and laid out "ideas for keeping his father in power by subverting the Electoral College process," CNN reports.
The text message from the former president's eldest son, which has not been previously reported, is among the documents obtained by the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol riot.
"It's very simple," Trump Jr. reportedly texted Meadows on Nov. 5. "We have multiple paths We control them all," he added later.
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A statement from Trump Jr.'s lawyer says that "given the date," the message "likely originated from someone else and was forwarded."
In his message, Trump Jr. "outlines a strategy that is nearly identical to what allies of the former president attempted to carry out in the months that followed," CNN writes. For instance, he reportedly references lawsuits, swing state recounts, and suggests having Republican statehouses push fake "Trump electors."
And if none of that worked, Trump Jr. went on, "we have operational control" in Congress, he said, meaning the Republican majority could simply vote to reinstate Trump as president during the certification process on Jan. 6.
The message to Meadows is significant in a variety of ways, CNN explains. Importantly, "it 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." Joe Biden was declared the winner on Nov. 7, two days after Trump Jr.'s message.
The text also "adds to a growing body of evidence of how Trump's inner circle was actively engaged in discussing how to challenge the election results," CNN writes. Read more at CNN.
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