Trump calls up Senators to delay Electoral College voting

Outgoing US President Donald Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani both mistakenly made calls to Republican Senator Mike Lee as they were frantically trying to convince to delay the certification of votes.

Washington: Even as riots unfolded at US Capitol building, President Donald Trump and his attorney Rudy Giuliani made phone calls to Republican Senators to delay the counting of the Electoral College votes last Wednesday (local time), reported CNN.

While Trump worked to convince Tuberville, the newly elected Republican from Alabama, he and other top White House officials did little to check in on Vice President Mike Pence and his family members who were inside the breached Capitol, a source close to the vice president told CNN.

Trump made the call to Utah Republican Lee around 2 pm (local time) on Wednesday. At that time the senators had been evacuated from the Senate floor and were in a temporary holding room, as a pro-Trump mob began breaching the Capitol.

Lee picked up the phone and Trump identified himself, and it became clear he was looking for Tuberville and had been given the wrong number.

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Later, Lee handed the call to Tuberville, who spoke to Trump for ten minutes. Trump tried to convince him to make additional objections to the Electoral College vote in a futile effort to block Congress' certification of President-elect Joe Biden's win, according to a source familiar with the call. The call was cut off because senators were asked to move to a secure location.

The second call to Lee came at 7 pm (local time) on Wednesday from Giuliani which went to voicemail as Lee did not answer.

Lee's office confirmed to CNN that the voicemail was intended for Tuberville and the message left from Giuliani was very similar to the one that another unnamed GOP senator received.

Tuberville was unaware that Giuliani had tried to reach him until it was publicly reported, according to the source.

Tuberville was likely seen by Trump and Giuliani as someone who could help further their cause on Wednesday, as he was among a group of six GOP senators who voted to sustain an objection raised against Arizona's electoral votes, which failed 93-6.

CNN reported on Wednesday that even after Congress was reconvening that night following the riot, Trump was still urging senators to push ahead with the protest on the certification of Biden as President, according to a source familiar with the discussions.

US Capitol on Wednesday was placed under lockdown after hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the historic building and wreaked havoc in an attempt to stall the certification of the election results. The rioting took place after Trump told protestors to repeat his false claim that he won the US presidential elections held in November.

ANI

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