The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, Capitol attack presented on Thursday a new audio clip suggesting former President Donald Trump had a plan before the election to declare victory regardless of the outcome.
The audio was recorded during an October 31, 2020, meeting that Trump ally and adviser Steve Bannon held with Chinese associates.
“What Trump is going to do is just declare victory, right?” Bannon can be heard saying. “He’s gonna declare victory, but that doesn’t mean he’s the winner, he’s just going to say he’s the winner. The Democrats, more of our people vote early that count, they vote in mail and so they’re going to have a natural disadvantage and Trump’s going to take advantage. That’s our strategy. He’s going to declare himself the winner so when you wake up Wednesday morning, it’s going to be a firestorm.”
“Also, if Trump is losing by 10:00 or 11 o’clock at night, it’s going to be even crazier,” Bannon added. “Because he’s going to sit right there and say they stole it. Yeah, I’m directing the Attorney General to shut down all ballot places in all 50 states. It’s gonna be no, he’s not going out easy. If Biden’s winning, Trump is going to do some crazy s–t.”
In what was possibly the committee’s last public hearing, it presented new testimony from Trump administration Republicans.
Officials who worked closely with Trump said that he privately admitted defeat to President Joe Biden.
Alyssa Farah, who served as Trump’s communications director, testified that Trump told her, “Can you believe I lost to this f***ng guy?” as he watched the news.
The committee also voted unanimously to subpoena Trump to testify before the panel. Trump responded by calling the committee’s work a “charade” and a “witch hunt.”
