Trump supporters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6 were convinced that Pence could stop the certification of the election results. During the hearing, images were again repeated of angry supporters clamoring for Pence to be hanged when he did not. Pence had to be evacuated during the storm.
Supreme Court
Trump’s supporters believed that Pence could do this because President Trump told them over and over again. But that idea eventually came from John Eastman. Eastman is seen as the legal mastermind behind the events on January 6. Greg Jacob, Pence’s legal counsel, said in his testimony that he spoke to John Eastman the day before the storming.
Eastman would have admitted in that conversation that the Supreme Court would never approve his plan. In fact, he expected all nine judges to reject it. So Eastman knew his plans were illegal. Eastman is also said to have said this to Trump two days before the storming.
Lawyer
Tump’s personal attorney and adviser Rudy Giuliani also did not believe Eastman and Trump’s plan was legal. Trump’s former White House attorney Eric Herschmann said in a recording. Herschmann warned Giuliani that the plan was unconstitutional. Giuliani replied to Herschmann with “that’s probably right.” Hours later, Giuliani and Eastman argued in front of a crowd that their plan was indeed legal.
The other witness in person was J. Michael Luttig, a former judge with a high reputation in conservative circles. Luttig called Eastman’s idea of having Pence reverse the election results “constitutional misconduct.”