Miss Day 2 of the Jan. 6 hearing? Bill Barr returns, election lies debunked and more
The second day of hearings by the special congressional committee on the Jan. 6 Capitol riots focused on the origins of former President Donald Trump's falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election outcome.
Since losing the race to Joe Biden almost two years ago, Trump has continuously peddled false assertions that the contest was "rigged" and "stolen" from him.
During Monday's hearing lawmakers aired testimony from witnesses who said the former president was told he had lost the election but decided to perpetuate claims that he had won anyway.
"This morning we'll tell the story of how Donald Trump lost an election and knew he lost an election, and as a result of his loss decided to wage an attack on our democracy," said Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss, chair of the committee.
Face check: Joe Biden legally won presidential election, despite persistent contrary claims
Among those who addressed the panel Monday were BJay Pak, a former U.S. attorney in northern Georgia, who investigated Trump pressuring state officials to overturn 2020 election results; Chris Stirewalt, a former Fox News political editor who helped call Biden’s win in Arizona; and, via taped testimony, Bill Stepien, Trump's former campaign manger, who was unable to speak in person due to a family emergency early Monday.
The committee also showed video from former Trump administration officials and campaign aides who testified how they knew there were no legitimate findings of fraud.
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., the committee's vice chair, said Trump's plan was "to convince millions of Americans that the election was stolen from him by overwhelming fraud."
She said multiple witnesses in the former president's inner circle, however, told the committee how his assertions were "nonsense," including members of his own reelection team who "concluded his fraud claims could not be supported."
Here are highlights from day 2 of the hearing:
Recap: Trump pushed fraud claims publicly after his staff dismissed claims
Trump aides saw no voter fraud
In taped testimony, Trump campaign aides said they repeatedly told the former president there was no evidence of election irregularities.
"I never saw any evidence whatsoever to sustain those allegations," Trump attorney Eric Herschmann said.
Other officials, such as Stepien, said they advised a more cautious "wait and see" approach and recommended saying, "votes were still being counted, it's too early to call the race but we are proud of the race we ran."
Fox News angered Trump
Trump was furious at Fox News when it declared Biden had won Arizona well before other cable news networks, according to witnesses.
But Stirewalt, the former editor, defended the choice during Monday's hearing, saying the network partnered with the Associated Press and other researchers to build a top tier election forecast system.
"Let me tell you, our poll in Arizona was beautiful and it was doing just what we wanted it to do and it was cooking just right," he said.
Rudy Giuliani drunk?
One of the more bizarre moments on Monday were allegations that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Trump campaign lawyer, was inebriated when he suggested declaring victory.
"The mayor was definitely intoxicated, but I do not know his level of intoxication when he spoke with the president for example," Jason Miller, a senior adviser to Trump’s re-election campaign. "There were suggestions, by I believe it was Mayor Giuliani, to go and declare victory and say we'd won it outright."
'How long is he going to carry on?'
For the second time the special committee played parts of a taped deposition from former Attorney General William Barr, who recounted how he expressed concerns to other White House officials, including chief of staff Mark Meadows.
"As I walked out of the Oval Office... I said, 'how long is he going to carry on with this stolen election stuff?'" Barr said.
More: Barr told Trump his fraud claims were 'bull----.' Former AG emerges as key witness at Jan. 6 hearing
Barr resigned Dec. 14, 2020.
Suitcases and dead voters debunked
BJay Pak, a former U.S. attorney in northern Georgia, told the panel Monday the FBI found no evidence of a “suitcase” full of ballots being smuggled into the state.
Al Schmidt, a former Republican city commissioner in Philadelphia who received death threats after Trump attacked him on Twitter, told the panel their investigation looked into claims that 8,000 dead people had cast ballots in Pennsylvania.
"Not only was there not evidence of 8,000 dead voters voting in Pennsylvania, there wasn't evidence of eight," Schmidt said.
You can't compare 2020 to 2000
The committee's final witness on Monday was attorney Benjamin Ginsberg, a Republican lawyer who represented then-candidate George W. Bush against Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election recount.
"The 2020 election was not close," Ginsberg said. "In 2000 that was 537 (votes in Florida) and close. In this election, the most narrow margin was more than 10,000 and something in Arizona, and you just don’t make up those sorts of numbers in recounts."