Trump planned 2020 victory speech ‘no matter what’: Capitol riot probe

WASHINGTON: Lawmakers investigating Donald Trump´s involvement in last year´s US Capitol insurrection offered fresh evidence on Thursday that the defeated president had planned to declare victory in the 2020 election -- regardless of the outcome.

Trump had a “premeditated plan” formulated months before the vote to claim he had won on election night, whatever the vote tally showed, panel member Zoe Lofgren told the hearing. “The evidence shows that his false victory speech was planned well in advance, before any votes had been counted,” Lofgren said, citing evidence gathered by the committee, including testimony from Trump´s one-time campaign manager.

Individual panelists have publicly suggested Attorney General Merrick Garland should charge Trump over the Capitol attack. Although the committee has not announced formally whether it will make criminal referrals, multiple US media reported on Thursday that members planned to vote to subpoena Trump during the hearing.