Representative Jim Jordan, Republican of Ohio on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.
Saul Loeb | Pool via Reuters
Republican Rep. Jim Jordan forwarded then-White House chief of staff Mark Meadows a message arguing that Vice President Mike Pence should reject certain Electoral College votes on Jan. 6 during the confirmation of Joe Biden’s presidential victory over Donald Trump.
The text, which NBC News on Wednesday confirmed was sent by Jordan, was one of numerous messages to Meadows that a House select committee shared publicly this week as it pursued a criminal contempt referral against Trump’s former chief of staff.
The text had been written by Joseph Schmitz, a former Pentagon inspector general and former Trump campaign aide, and was passed on to Meadows by Jordan, a source told NBC News. Schmitz could not immediately be reached for comment.
The message said Pence on Jan. 6 “should call out all electoral votes that he believes are unconstitutional as no electoral votes at all,” claiming such an act would be in accordance with “judicial precedence” and “guidance from founding father Alexander Hamilton.”
The legally dubious argument that Pence could unilaterally invalidate or refuse to count any state’s electoral votes was rejected by Pence himself, despite Trump pressuring him to do so.
Read more of CNBC’s politics coverage:
The Management of Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals has addressed claims suggesting that its petroleum products are exported to Lomé and subsequently re-imported into Nigeria. Calling ...