Jan. 6 panel obtains PowerPoint that allegedly set out plan for Trump to stage coup

Former White House chief of staff under then-President Trump handed over a PowerPoint to the House select committee tasked with investigating the January 6 Capitol riot.

The presentation recommended Donald Trump to declare a national security emergency to reestablish himself as president.

Mark Meadows, the former chief of staff, had possession of the PowerPoint the day prior to the riot on the Capitol. It allegedly detailed ways to stage a coup. Meadows’ possession of the PowerPoint suggests to some that he was aware of January 6 efforts to stop the certification of the 2020 election results, solidifying Joe Biden’s future presidency. 

The PowerPoint was entitled “Election Fraud, Foreign Interference & Options for 6 Jan,” and it made several recommendations for Trump to attempt in order to maintain the office of the president for a second term based on election fraud.

Meadows gave the select committee one version of the PowerPoint, which spanned 38 pages, that he had received in an email. The presentation also outlined three different options for former Vice President Mike Pence to use his pseudo-authority as vice president to reject the election results. Pence declined the pursuit of those options, which caused a rift between him and former President Trump.

House investigators claim they were made aware of the PowerPoint after it surfaced in over 6,000 documents that Meadows gave over to the committee. Once source indicated it had been presented on January 4 to several Republican senators and members of Congress, but it had not been shown to Trump’s lawyers.

Bennie Thompson, chairman of the select committee, said that a vote to hold Meadows in contempt of Congress would come next week. Meadows is also being referred for criminal prosecution after defying a subpoena.