Tuberville says he informed Trump of Pence’s evacuation before rioters reached the Senate



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It has not been known for a long time exactly when Trump first learned of the danger that Congress and its vice president faced – although it was broadcast everywhere on live television – but Tuberville’s claim would mark a specific moment when Trump did. been informed that Pence had to be evacuated for his own safety.

Aides to the former president did not immediately return a request for comment.

The House impeached Trump last month for instigating the Jan.6 insurgency and began building his case at trial on Wednesday, the first of two days to present his evidence. Tuberville’s appeal was among their examples to show Trump remained fixated on stopping Biden’s victory even as it became clear that a crowd devoted to him was plundering the Capitol. Trump, they said, did nothing to publicly call for rioters and instead called on Tuberville to continue his efforts to stop the transition of power.

The appeal itself was on the record of those responsible for the House impeachment against Trump, detailed in Wednesday’s Senate argument. Officials noted that as a crowd encroached on the Senate chamber, Trump was ignoring calls from his allies to publicly cancel them. Instead, Trump accidentally phoned Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) as he sought to contact Tuberville to ask the Alabama senator to continue to oppose the election results in order to win. time. Lee, according to reports in Deseret News and CNN from Utah, passed his phone to the newly elected lawmaker for a brief call.

House officials say the call came shortly after 2 p.m. Pence was evacuated from the bedroom around 2:15 p.m. and Trump sent out his tweet attacking Pence at 2:24 p.m. The entire Senate was cleared around 2:30 p.m.

Meridith McGraw contributed to this report.

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