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Pence, Trump campaigns in Georgia on eve of runoff
- U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak resigns. “I deeply appreciate the opportunity to have served as United States Attorney,” Pak writes to Trump. “I wish you and your administration the best of luck and success.” Senate investigators later ask Pak whether – as of his Jan. 4 resignation – he was aware of credible allegations of widespread fraud in the 2020 election in Georgia. “I was not aware of any evidence that indicated widespread fraud or anything that would affect the actual result of the election in Georgia,” Pak says.
- U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham receives memos from Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani detailing allegations of voting fraud in Georgia, according to Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book, “Peril.” The memo cites a discredited analysis of voting records that said dead people voted in November. Lee Holmes, chief counsel on Graham’s Senate Judiciary Committee, starts checking hundreds of names and finds no credible evidence of fraud. One example: Robert Drakeford, who was 88 years old, received a ballot on Sept. 18. The ballot was returned five days later. He died on Nov. 2, according to Giuliani’s memo. Holmes determined that some dead people in Georgia properly received and cast their ballots before they died. According to the Woodward-Costa book, he found the accusations of dead voters “laughable” and understood why courts had rejected them.
Vice President Mike Pence speaks to supporters at Rock Springs Church for a rally for Rep. Senators Loeffler and Perdue in Milner, GA stumping for votes Monday, January 4, 2021, a day before the runoff election. (Jenni Girtman for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
- Vice President Mike Pence visits Georgia to campaign for U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue early in the day, then returns to Washington. According to Bob Woodward and Robert Costa’s book, “Peril,” Trump summons Pence to the Oval Office, where he and attorney John Eastman try to convince the vice president that he could refrain from certifying the election. “I’ve been getting guidance that says I can’t,” Pence says. “Well, you can,” Eastman says.
- Trump later rallies in Georgia for U.S. Sens. Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue. According to Axios, in return for Trump’s enthusiastic participation in the rally, Loeffler had agreed to vote against certifying the Electoral College results on Jan. 6 (Perdue was not eligible to vote on the certification because his term had ended). At the rally, Trump speaks about Pence’s role in the certification of the election on Jan. 6. “I hope Mike Pence comes through for us…. He’s a great guy,” the president says. “Of course, if he doesn’t come through, I won’t like him quite as much.”
President Donald Trump holds a rally in Dalton, GA, to campaign for Senators David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler on the eve of the special election which will determine control of the U.S. Senate. (Curtis Compton / Curtis.Compton@ajc.com)
- Trump appoints Bobby Christine to be acting U.S. attorney in Atlanta, sidestepping the next in line of succession, First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine.
United States Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia Bobby Christine speaks during a Public Safety Committee joint meeting at the Georgia State Capitol building in Atlanta on Monday, January 27, 2020. (Alyssa Pointer / AJC file photo)
