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Transcript/ScriptJANUARY-6-INVESTIGATION-DAY- 5
HEADLINE: January 6 Investigators: Trump Pressured Department of Justice to Overturn 2020 Election
TEASER: Multiple Republican members of Congress sought presidential pardons
PUBLISHED AT: 06/23/2022
BYLINE: Katherine Gypson
PRODUCERS: Katherine Gypson,
DATELINE: Washington
VIDEOGRAPHER:
SCRIPT EDITORS: Jepsen, Holly Franko, DJ OK
VIDEO SOURCE (S): AP, VOA, Pool
PLATFORMS (mark with X): WEB __ TV _X_ RADIO __
TRT:
VID APPROVED BY:
TYPE: TVPKG
UPDATE:
EDITOR NOTES: Broll is in In-Progress-Katherine Gypson-Day 5
((INTRO: ))
[[In the fifth public hearing this month examining the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, congressional investigators detailed how former President Donald Trump pressured the nation’s highest law enforcement officials to declare the 2020 election results invalid. As VOA’s congressional correspondent Katherine Gypson reports, those fraudulent election claims were also pushed by Republican members of Congress who later sought pardons.]]
((NARRATOR))
((15;02;03;22 MRT JAN 6 hearing is called to order BROLL then go to broll of January 6th Capitol Attack))
For two weeks, congressional investigators have argued that former President Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election began well before January 6 …
((Open for nats from Jan 6 riot))
((NARRATOR))
((15;28;07;28 MRT JAN 6 swearing in BROLL))
… with a focus Thursday on his attempts to intimidate the nation’s highest law enforcement officials, pressuring attorneys general to overturn the results and threatening to replace one who refused to do so….
((Rep. Bennie Thompson, Democrat))
((AP US Capitol Riot Opening-SOT 5))
“Donald Trump didn't just want the Justice Department to investigate. He wanted the Justice Department to help legitimize his lies, to basically call the election corrupt.”
((NARRATOR))
((Broll of Adam Kinzinger and Liz Cheney from today’s hearing))
Two Republicans who voted to impeach Trump for his role in the riot took the lead, arguing the president knew he was pushing false claims.
((Rep. Liz Cheney, Republican))
((AP US Capitol Riot Opening-SOT 9))
“Donald Trump knew this was a lie. The Department of Justice had already informed the president of the United States, repeatedly, that its investigations had found no fraud sufficient to overturn the results of the 2020 election.”
((NARRATOR))
((Broll of Trump and Kevin McCarthy from previous Gypson Jan 6 TV packages))
Trump has criticized the investigation as unfair, and most congressional Republicans say they view the results of the committee’s investigation as illegitimate. But three Justice Department officials who served in the last days of the Trump administration testified to a sustained, daily pressure campaign from the president.
((Richard Donoghue, Former Acting Deputy Attorney General))
((AP US Capitol Riot Kinzinger Donoghue-SOT 8))
“What I'm just asking you to do is to say it was corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen."
((Open for nat of chanting in 15;25;14;09 MRT JAN 6 trump supporters doj do your job BROLL
((NARRATOR))
((Continue with chanting broll then Trump broll and back to hearing cutaways of witnesses))
That pressure peaked three days before the Capitol attack when Trump confronted Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, threatening to replace him with Jeffrey Clark, a lower-ranking official who supported his fraudulent claims.
((Jeffrey Rosen, Former Acting Attorney General))
((15;31;30;12 MRT JAN 6 rosen common theme was trump dissatisfaction with doj))
“The common theme being his dissatisfaction about what the Justice Department had done to investigate election fraud. I will say that the Justice Department declined all of those requests that I was just referencing, because we did not think that they were appropriate based on the facts.”
((NARRATOR))
((Hearing cutaways-broll of Capitol Riot))
Investigators say those officials protected American democracy by not agreeing with Trump.
((Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Republican))
((17;19;29;20 MRT JAN 6 kinzinger willing to sacrifice republic to prolong his presidency))
“He was willing to sacrifice our republic to prolong his presidency. I can imagine no more dishonorable act by a president. We owe a great debt of gratitude to these men you've heard from here today. Real leaders who stood for justice.”
((NARRATOR))
((Looking for broll of GOP members who sought pardons))
New information revealed in the hearing also showed half a dozen of Trump’s Republican allies in Congress sought pardons from the White House after voting to invalidate the election results.
((Rep. Adam Kinzinger, Republican))
((17;16;24;24 MRT JAN 6 kinzinger only reason for pardon is a crime))
“The only reason to ask for a pardon is if you think you’ve committed a crime.”
((NARRATOR))
((Broll of Capitol Dome, Hearings Cutaways))
The January 6 committee can recommend criminal prosecutions to the U.S. Justice Department based on its findings. Public hearings are set to resume in July, after a one-week break.
((Katherine Gypson, VOA News, Washington))
NewsML Media TopicsArts, Culture, Entertainment and Media
NetworkVOA
Location (dateline)Washington D.C.
Embargo DateJune 23, 2022 22:20 EDT
Byline((Katherine Gypson, VOA News, Washington))
Brand / Language ServiceVoice of America - English
