John Eastman, a lawyer for former President Donald Trump, told an aide of Vice President Mike Pence that Pence caused the attack on the Capitol by refusing to overturn the election, Washington Post reported Saturday.
Additionally, he reportedly continued to pressure him after Trump supporters stormed the Capitol, but Pence’s refusal resulted in violence.
Eastman reportedly made the comments in an email exchange in January with top Pence aide Greg Jacob, who described the riot as a "siege" while he sheltered with the vice president in a secure area.
"Thanks to your bullsh*t, we are now under siege," Jacob wrote, according to the paper.
"The “siege” is because YOU and your boss did not do what was necessary to allow this to be aired in a public way so that the American people can see for themselves what happened," Eastman reportedly claimed, referring to Trump's false claims about the 2020 election being fraudulent.
28 October 2021, 16:08 GMT
The emails reportedly revealed the extent to which Eastman was trying to persuade Pence to block the certification of the election — who reportedly repeatedly refused, arguing that he had no constitutional authority to do so.
On the day of January 6 events, Trump tweeted, "Mike Pence didn't have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution."
The events are being investigated by the House Select Committee, as they plan to subpoena Eastman.