Jan. 6 report: Texans tied to Rick Perry pitched plan to overturn election

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Two Texas businessmen, with ties to former Gov. Rick Perry, met with former President Donald Trump per week after the 2020 election and offered him with a fringe principle that state legislatures might overturn election outcomes, in accordance to the congressional report on the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol that was launched Thursday.

The principle fueled one of many predominant methods Trump’s closest allies pushed to overturn the 2020 election outcomes, though authorized consultants, together with these inside Trump’s White House, dismissed the concept as illegal and mentioned there was no proof of widespread fraud.

The two Austin-area businessmen, Morgan Warstler and John S. Robison, met with Trump in an Oval Office assembly on Nov. 10, 2020, in accordance to the report. The actual nature of what they mentioned was not detailed, however Warstler tweeted in June that he had informed the “whole Trump team in Oval” that “State legislatures can choose the electors-no matter what current state law OR state courts say” — in essence empowering Republican-controlled state lawmakers to overturn President Joe Biden’s win.

After the assembly, Robison despatched the White House an e mail to “explain the move forward plan for what was discussed,” together with utilizing a parallel set of state electors who would vote for Trump within the Electoral College.

Then-deputy White House Chief of Staff Dan Scavino mentioned Robison’s e mail was “Bat. Shit. Crazy,” in accordance to the congressional report.

Robison didn’t reply to requests for touch upon Friday. Warstler acknowledged being named within the report on social media, saying his principle was justified by the Constitution.

“I’m in the Jan 6th report!,” he tweeted. “Shweet! Trump should have listened to me.”

The report didn’t say whether or not Warstler and Robison had been the primary to introduce the concept of utilizing alternate electors to Trump. But, in accordance to the report, Trump marketing campaign supervisor Bill Stepien informed congressional investigators that Trump was intrigued by the concept and “was very interested in keeping pathways to victory open.”

It’s additionally unclear how or why Warstler and Robison gained entry to an Oval Office assembly with Trump to focus on election technique. The two usually are not recognized fixtures amongst Texas or nationwide politics and they don’t seem to have any background in legislation or elections. Neither of them are notable contributors to Trump in a state the place the previous president has a wholesome pool of billionaire megadonors. Warster doesn’t seem to have donated any cash to Trump and is a uncommon contributor to elected officers. Robison donated a complete of $805 to Trump and his related PACS in 2020.

But the 2 share a notable historical past with Perry, who served as Trump’s first power secretary. Warstler is the founder and CEO of GovWhiz, a cryptic tech firm with restricted digital presence and a LinkedIn web page describing it as “still in stealth.” Robison is chairman of the corporate. Perry took warmth in 2015 for his position serving to introduce GovWhiz representatives to high-ranking officers within the Texas Lottery Commission that raised questions on his personal relationships with the corporate, The Austin American Statesman reported at the time.

Warstler and Robison have largely flown beneath the radar within the months-long saga of the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6 assault, which has seen a large forged of characters from low-level staffers to members of Congress thrust into the nationwide highlight. The 895-page report was the long-awaited fruits of the committee’s efforts because it disbanded simply earlier than Republicans had been set to take management of the House. In a last recap of its work, the committee referred Trump and a few of his shut allies for legal prosecution by the Justice Department. The division may have final say in whether or not to pursue costs.

The report additionally talked about that Perry appeared to be on board with the concept of state legislatures selecting alternate electors. On Nov. 4, 2020, Perry texted then-White House chief of workers Mark Meadows asking “Why can’t the states of GA NC PENN and other R controlled state houses declare this is BS (where conflicts and election not called that night) and just send their own electors . . . I wonder if POTUS knows this.” Perry’s textual content was first reported last year by CNN.

A spokesperson for Perry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.

Constitutional students, lawmakers and aides inside Trump’s inside circle all dismissed the concept of alternate electors as absurd. Several pretend electors who offered alternate election outcomes have been subject to criminal investigation.

The disclosure comes because the U.S. Supreme Court considers the validity of “independent state legislature doctrine,” a principle pushed by some Republicans that claims the U.S. Constitution delegates energy over federal elections completely to state legislatures. Election consultants – together with a bipartisan coalition of secretaries of state – have warned the speculation would successfully permit states to overturn the outcomes of presidential contests, and sow chaos within the electoral course of extra broadly.

Perry’s previous with Warstler, Robison

In 2015, Perry’s relationship with GovWhiz was scrutinized by ethics consultants as potentially part of a pattern of alleged, improper use of the governor’s workplace to curry political favors. They pointed to the assembly between Perry, Lottery Commission leaders that he appointed and GovWhiz representatives as suspicious due to the obscure agency’s fast entry to high-ranking state officers. Perry had only in the near past ended his tenure as governor, and the precise nature of his relationship with the agency was murky, although representatives of the corporate told the Statesman he had no monetary curiosity. The agency was additionally growing know-how for potential use by state businesses. There had been no allegations of legal exercise, and the corporate insisted every thing concerning the assembly was authorized.

Perry reportedly had connections to not less than 4 folks at GovWhiz, together with two lobbyists who had been high-ranking officers in his administration and two others with shut ties to the governor’s alma mater, Texas A&M. Robison mentioned on the time that Perry didn’t arrange the assembly and was not concerned in GovWhiz in the course of the course of.

“He simply thinks it is an awesome concept,” Robison said at the time. “He sells the state well. In an odd way, I’d love it if he could be kind of an ambassador for the state. Maybe Gov. (Greg) Abbott can send him around like Henry Kissinger.”

According to his LinkedIn, Robison stays on the helm of GovWhiz in addition to two different Austin-area corporations: ArenaEdge, a “unified video platform for business, education and government”; and New Republic Studios, a Bastrop-based movie firm that he took over in 2017.

Prior to that, he was the chairman of Hollywood Movie Works, throughout which period he was credited with serving to “break open the Chinese market for American films and film production,” the Austin Chronicle wrote in 2017.

In that position, he was reportedly contacted by Perry, who wished to court docket Robison to broaden his movie firm in Texas, quite than China. Perry’s pitch was easy: “The creativity of L.A., the technology of San Francisco, nice people, and no income tax,” (*6*) in an interview with South By Southwest.

In 2017, Robison took over the Bastrop-based Spiderwood Studios and shortly after modified its identify to New Republic Studios.

Robison has additionally donated about $47,500 to Gov. Greg Abbott’s gubernatorial campaigns since 2015, marketing campaign finance data present.

Carla Astudillo contributed to this report.