any opening statements she would
care to on -- offer.
Rep. Cheney: Thank you very
much.
Let me take a few minutes today
to put the topic of our hearing
in broader context.
In our last hearing, we heard
unequivocal testimony that
president trump was told his
election fraud allegations were
simply nonsense.
We heard this from members of
the trump campaign, from
president trump's campaign
lawyers, from president trump's
former attorney general, we
heard this from president
trump's former acting attorney
general Jeff Rosen.
We also heard this from
president trump's former acting
deputy attorney general, Richard
Donoghue.
We heard from members of
president trump's white house
staff as well.
Today we are focusing on
president trump's relentless
effort to pressure Mike pence to
refuse to count electoral votes
on January 6.
Here again is how the former
vice president phrased it in a
speech before the federalist
society, a group of conservative
lawyers.
V.P. Pence: Earlier this week,
president trump said I had the
right to turn over the election.
President trump is wrong.
I had no right to overturn the
election.
The presidency belongs to the
American people and the American
people alone.
There is no idea more unamerican
than the notion that anyone
person could choose the American
president.
Rep. Cheney: What the president
wanted the vice president to do
was not just wrong, it was
illegal and unconstitutional.
We will hear from -- we will
hear many details in today's
hearing, but consider these two
points.
First, president trump was told
repeatedly that Mike pence
lacked the constitutional and
legal authority to do what
president trump was demanding he
do.
This is testimony from mark
short, the vice president chief
of staff who served in the trump
administration in multiple
positions over four years.
>> Just to pick up on that, was
it your impression that the vice
president had directly conveyed
his position on these issues to
the president, not just to the
world through a dear colleague
letter, but directly to
president trump?
>> Many times.
>> He had been consistent in
conveying his position?
>> Very consistent.
Rep. Cheney: President trump
plotted with a lawyer named John
Eastman to pressure pence to do
so anyway.
As the federal court has
explained, quote, based on the
evidence, the court finds that
it is more likely than not that
president trump and Dr. Eastman
dishonestly conspired to disrupt
the joint session of congress on
January 6, 2021.
What exactly did president trump
know?
When did he know that it would
be illegal for Mike pence to
refuse to count electoral votes?
Here is one sample of testimony
given by one of the witnesses
before us today, the vice
president's general counsel.
>> Did John Eastman ever admit,
as far as you know in front of
the president, that his proposal
would violate the electoral
college?
>> I believe he did on the
fourth.
Rep. Cheney: January 4, two days
before the attack on congress.
The second point.
Please listen to testimony today
about all the ways that
president trump attempted to
pressure vice president pence,
including Donald Trump's tweet
at 2:24 P.M. Condemning vice
president Mike pence, when
president trump already knew a
violent riot was underway at the
capitol.
In future hearings, you will
hear from witnesses who were
present inside the white house,
present inside the west wing on
that day.
But today, we focus on the
earnest efforts of Mike pence,
who was determined to abide by
his oath of office.
As vice president pence prepared
a statement on January 5 and
sixth, explaining that he could
not illegally refused to count
electoral votes.
He said this to his staff.
>> The vice president had said,
this may be the most important
thing I ever say.
>> The statement?
>> The statement.
He really wanted to make sure
that it was just so.
Rep. Cheney: You will hear today
that president trump's white
house counsel believed the vice
president did exactly the right
thing on January 6, as did
others in the white house, as
did Fox News host Sean hannity.
Vice president pence understood
that his oath of office was more
important than his loyalty to
Donald Trump.
He did his duty.