Texts Show Extent Of Trump Support For Sedition And Overturning Election
An investigative news group has released 2,319 texts between 34 members of Congress and the president’s chief of staff and it gives chilling insight into the planning to overturn the 2020 election and clearly shows that trump was the captain but he had many dozens of Congressional shipmates on his plan for mutiny and sedition.
The texts were obtained and released on Dec. 12 by the investigative organization, Talking Point Memo, and are part of a massive number of texts that Meadows turned over to the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack. The texts date from the period between Election Day on Nov. 3, 2020, and Jan. 20, 2021 when trump left office.
There are memos frantically calling on the president to institute “marshall” law, apparently a misspelling of martial law, although being a bad speller is hardly the writer’s main sin. Other memos go into the unsavory bargaining for pardons and all kinds of nefarious ways that trump could remain in power.
What is even more chilling, is that the Talking Point Memo represents only the iceberg of communications and we may never know about the many tens of thousands of texts under the surface that have been issued by members of congress in support during the trump years.
The texts put a spotlight on the usual suspects, like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, Rep. Mo Brooks, R-Ala., Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, Rep. Paul Gosar, R-Ariz. and Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas,
But the texts also illuminate the actions of lesser known lawmakers, who yield significant power, such as Rep. Richard Allen, R-Ga., Rep. Ted Budd, R-N.C., Georgia State Rep. Vernon Jones, Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo. and Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C.
Allen has represented Georgia’s 12th Congressional district since 2015 and Budd was elected in 2017 to represent North Carolina’s 13 Congressional District. Budd also won the 2022 U.S. Senate election in North Carolina to replace retiring Republican senator Richard Burr. He will take office on Jan. 3, 2023.
Jones served in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1993 to 2001 and from 2017 to 2021. Jones began his career as a Democrat but switched to Republican in 2021 after endorsing trump for re-election and speaking at the 2020 Republican National Convention.
Lummis was elected to the Senate in 2020. She voted to reject the certification of Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in the 2020 presidential election, which were narrowly won by Biden.
Murphy is a urologist representing North Carolina’s 3rd congressional district since 2019. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Murphy claimed on Twitter that Joe Biden “obviously is fighting the ravages of dementia.” He also tweeted that Vice Presidential candidate, Kamala Harris, was a “walking disaster” who “was only picked for her color and her race.”
In June 2022, Murphy tweeted that “no one forces anyone to have sex” as he commented on the overturning of Roe v. Wade in the case of rape.
The first pardon request in Meadows’ text log comes from Allen, who was among the more active members of Congress in challenging trump’s 2020 election defeat. Allen’s 27 texts with Meadows refer to various, debunked election fraud conspiracies and information from a high-level, unidentified “source.”
In one text, Allen sought a presidential pardon for an unnamed family friend who he claimed had faced a charge from an FBI investigation like Trump’s former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Trump pardoned Flynn, who was an active participant in efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
“Mark I know you are getting a lot of requests for pardons. This man worked with my Dad and got the Flynn treatment from FBI. Please extend my thanks to the President for his consideration,” Allen texted on Dec. 20, 2020. “On another note my source with U.S. Attorney’s Office is presenting his case on election fraud to the Office of election integrity tomorrow, and I will let you know what happens. Thanks and Merry Christmas to you and yours, Rick.”
There is no text indicating Meadows’ response to Allen’s request for the pardon.
Flynn was sworn in Jan. 22, 2017, as trump’s National Security Advisor. He resigned a month later after information surfaced that he had misled Vice President Mike Pence and others about the nature and content of his communications with Russian ambassador to the U.S. Sergey Kislyak. Flynn was pardoned by trump of a charge of “willfully and knowingly” making false statements to the FBI about the Kislyak communications. Flynn is a Christian nationalist and supporter of the QAnon conspiracy theories and had suggested that after the 2020 loss, that trump suspend the constitution and declare martial law.
Another text from Allen to Meadows shows the congressman’s weird perspective. In the Jan. 8, 2021, text, two days after the attack on the Capitol, Allen offered his prayers for trump and the administration because “Our Nation is at war, it is a Spiritual War at the highest level. This is not a war that can be fought conventionally, this is God’s battle and He has used President Trump in a powerful way to expose the deceit, lies and hypocrisy of the enemy.”
“What I heard during my prayers is the Trump family and the Administration need to be surrounded by those great Pastors and Evangelicals who have ad continue to love and support them. President Trump need to be ministered to, he needs the love that only Jesus Christ offers! This is his opportunity to confess that he can no longer fight this battle alone, he must give it to Christ and God almighty will show him the way to victory. I will continue to pray for all of you, please let me know how I can help?”
Meadows’ response was not as bloated.
“God bless you,” Meadows wrote.
Allen serves on a number of influential House committees and subcommittees that decide on such major issues as the nation’s agricultural policies, conservation, education, health, employment, labor and pensions.
Allen also is a member of the Republican Study Committee, a group of the most conservative members of Congress. The committee is led by Rep. James Banks, R-Ind., who was among 126 Republicans in Congress who signed a brief supporting a lawsuit challenging the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The Republican Study Committee is the largest ideological caucus in Congress of either party and typically pushes for cuts in non-defense spending, supports the right to keep and bear arms and each year, presents an alternative budget that the committee claims would balance the budget within five years without increasing income taxes. The committee supported trump’s plan for a southern border wall and wants to end perceived censorship of conservative content on social media sites.
Budd texted Meadows on Dec.23, 2020, in request for help in getting a pardon for someone identified as “Robin H.” In his text, Budd reminded Meadows that he was among the Republicans who planned to object to the electoral certification of Biden.
“1. Anything I need to do to help get Robin H on the pardon list? 2. I’m on the Jan 6 objector list in case there’s anything to sync up on. 3. Hang tough. Grateful for you. Ted Budd.”
Talking Points reported that Budd may have been referring to a pardon for Robin Hayes, a former Republican North Carolina congressman who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI in 2019 as part of an investigation into a major bribery scandal. Trump pardoned Hayes during the final hours of his presidency on Jan. 20, 2021.
Hayes represented North Carolina’s 8th congressional district from 1999 to 2009, and was the Republican nominee for Governor of North Carolina in 1996. Hayes served as chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party from 2011 to 2013, and from 2016 to 2019.
According to an indictment, Hayes and three others conspired to bribe Mike Causey, the North Carolina Commissioner of Insurance, in exchange for favorable treatment of one of the men’s insurance firms and the dismissal of a deputy insurance commissioner. Hayes pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI on Oct. 2, 2019 and was pardoned on Jan. 20, 2021.
Budd is a member of the ultra-conservative Freedom Caucus.
In December 2020, Budd was one of 126 Republicans in the House to sign an amicus brief to the Supreme Court contesting the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Budd contended that officials in Pennsylvania had acted “illegally” and “violated” both the U.S. Constitution and Pennsylvania state constitution.
“I cannot consent to accepting Pennsylvania’s electoral votes,” Budd said.
On April 23, 2021, Budd met with trump at Mar-a-Lago to discuss his prospective Senate candidacy. Five days later, Budd announced his candidacy for the Senate seat and later was endorsed by trump and trump’s daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, who decided against running for the senate.
Meadows’ log shows that Rep. Jones requested pardons for two unnamed “law enforcement officers who were victims of the FBI & DOJ.”
Georgia was a key state in trump’s failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Jones was in Washington, D.C., on the day of the bloody insurrection by trump supporters at the Capitol. Jones was the opening speaker at the White House Ellipse rally where trump encouraged the crowd to “fight like hell” before many of them marched to the Capitol where the electoral certification was underway. Texts showed that Meadows helped Jones secure his speaking slot at the ellipse rally where he announced to cheers that he was switching his party affiliation from Democratic to Republican.
Jones texted Meadows on Dec. 22, 2020 to emphasize his support for trump and for the candidacies of Sen. Kelly Loeffler, R-Ga. and Sen. David Perdue, R-Ga. Loeffler lost in a runoff to Democrat Raphael Warnock, who recently won his runoff for reelection against Republican Herschel Walker. Perdue ran in the 2022 GOP primary for governor and lost to Gov. Brian Kemp.
In his text, Jones said that he “will be there on January 6th for POTUS. I’ve never asked the President for anything, I’ve just always believed in him. I do have request now that is so important.”
He said that two law enforcement officers “were victims of the FBI & DOJ. One of them was released under the First Step Act. The others was released about three years ago. They both have had distinguished careers in law enforcement and should be pardoned. Will you help me get a 5 minute meeting with the President or yourself to discuss. It’s so important. Please let me know. Thank you so much. Rep Vernon Jones — GA #HoldTheLine.”
Jones ran for Congress in 2008 and 2010 and lost both times. In 2014, Jones ran unsuccessfully for Sheriff of DeKalb County, Ga. In 2016, he was finally elected to the Georgia House of Representatives.
Jones repeated his endorsement of trump at the Republican National Convention in August 2020. Jones spoke at a Trump rally in Macon, Ga., on Oct. 16, 2020, and crowd-surfed afterwards in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic with a mostly maskless crowd. Jones promoted trump’s election lies and withdrew his bid for reelection to Georgia state office. On January 6, 2021, he spoke at the D.C. rally before Trump’s speech, saying that he stands “firm for President Donald J. Trump” and announcing that he was changing his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican.
Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., texted Meadows on Jan. 17, 2021, three days before Biden’s inauguration. Norman seemed to be proposing a drastic solution to have trump impose martial law during his final hours in office, though the senator spelled it “marshall”.
“Mark, in seeing what’s happening so quickly, and reading about the Dominion law suits attempting to stop any meaningful investigation we are at a point of no return in saving our Republic !! Our LAST HOPE is invoking Marshall Law!! PLEASE URGE TO PRESIDENT TO DO SO!! Ralph Norman.”
Meadows response was not included in the texts provided to the select committee.
Norman has been a representative for South Carolina’s 5th congressional district since 2017. As of 2019, Norman was the 28th wealthiest member of Congress, with a net worth of $18.3 million.
He’s had his share of telling moments. During an election debate on Sept. 20, 2018, he joked about about sexual assault allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. “Did y’all hear this latest late-breaking news on the Kavanaugh hearings? …Ruth Bader Ginsburg came out saying she was groped by Abraham Lincoln,” said Norman.
At a public meeting on April 6, 2018, Norman spoke with representatives from “Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America.” At one point, Norman menacingly placed his .38-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun on the table to illustrate his belief that “gun violence is a spiritual, mental or people issue, not a gun issue.”
In August 2022, Norman criticized Biden for forgiving up to $10,000 of student loan debt for eligible borrowers. It was a moment of pure hypocrisy as Norman had $306,520 of debt from his federal Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan forgiven.
In 2019, Norman joined a small group of House Republicans who sought to reinstate Rep. Steve King, R-Iowa, on House committees. King had lost his committee positions after a series of racist and white nationalist remarks. King was not reinstated.
Norman supported trump’s big lie about election fraud and signed the amicus brief supporting a lawsuit challenging the presidential election results. After Trump was impeached for his role in inciting a pro-Trump mob to storm the Capitol over false claims of election fraud, Norman criticized then Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., for voting to impeach Trump. Norman said he was “bothered by Cheney’s attitude.”
Norman is a member of a number of important committees involved with oversight and reform; science, space and technology; energy; and the budget. He also is a member of the Republican Study Committee and the Freedom Caucus.
On Nov. 7, after news outlets called the election for Biden, Norman sent texted Meadows to set up a “game plan” and “FIGHT.”
“Guys, if there was ever a time to stand with our leader who has strengthened our military, stood for life for the unborn, supported Israel, built the wall , appointed conservative judges ect. And we lay down and abandon him JUST BECAUSE THE BIASED MEDIA HAS CALL THE ELECTION?? Now is the time to fight and ADVOCATE for a recount in GA, AZ, Pennsylvania!!” Norman said. “For anyone willing to discuss our game plan let me or anyone else know and let’s get on a conference call with concrete plans of action. I will go anywhere anytime to help our cause. Bottom line, it’s time we FIGHT FOR THE ONE PERSON WHO HAS CHANGED THIS COUNTRY!! WAY TOO SOON TO GIVE IN NOW!!”
And there were the off-color comments from Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., who texted Meadow with his support for kawsuits against the Biden results.
“Let me know if there’s anything I can do to fight these MF’ers in Pa.? Our President is heroic !! Thank you for all you’ve done and please let the President know just how much he’s loved and appreciated in Pennsylvania! Sincerely, Mike Kelly.”
Kelly is a premier trumper, and called the 2019 impeachment of trump as akin to Pearl Harbor. Kelly filed a lawsuit in state court to invalidate all mail-in ballots cast in Pennsylvania during the 2020 presidential election. In June, 2022, Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., revealed that Kelly was responsible for providing a slate of fake electors that was meant to overturn Pennsylvania’s electoral votes in the 2020 election.
Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, another relatively unknown lawmaker texted Meadows on Nov. 6.
“Mark, When we lose Trump we lose our Republic. Fight like hell and find a way. We’re with you down here in Texas and refuse to live under a corrupt Marxist dictatorship. Liberty! Babin.”
Babin’s Wikipedia entry says that he “believes in the Christian work ethic and that ‘if you don’t work, you don’t eat, if you are able to work.’ He supports term limits and wants to reduce the number of out of wedlock births and restore the traditional family unit.”
There were numerous texts from numerous lawmakers with crazy suggestions on how trump could stay in office.
One plan was outlined on Dec. 30, 2020, by freshman Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo.
Lumis said she was convinced of alleged voter fraud by the “forensic accounting report” by Pennsylvania Republicans on the subject of electoral certification.
“Dear Mark, In light of the forensic accounting report by Pennsylvania legislators, I have reached out to Sen. Josh Hawley’s staff to serve as a wingman to him on Jan. 6. Please include me in the loop as you gain access to equally persuasive evidence from other states. Thank you, Cynthia Lummis.”
The next day, Rep. Greg Murphy, R-N.C., texted Meadows another idea for how to overturn Biden’s election. It referred to a strategy created the far-right website “Revolver,” which is run by Darren Beattie, a former Trump White House speechwriter who was fired in August 2018 after it was revealed he participated in a 2016 conference with a high-profile white nationalist.
Murphy’s text was largely copied and pasted from a Revolver article that claimed “The Vote Has Been Hopelessly Contaminated. Republican State Legislatures Must Now Move to Appoint Pro-Trump Electors.”