The January 4th Oval Office meeting involved President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, attorney John Eastman, and Pence’s Chief of Staff Marc Short and Legal Counsel Greg Jacob. ^[1] Notably, President Trump did not include his White House Counsel, who had previously pushed back against his voter fraud claims. ^[8]

The meeting focused on the 2020 presidential election and an attempt to persuade Vice President Pence to carry out one of the strategies outlined in the Eastman memos. ^[2] At the time, Vice President Pence held the view that the framers of the Constitution would not have entrusted a single individual — the President of the Senate — with unilateral authority over election certification, putting him in direct opposition to Eastman’s legal theory.

Eastman initially proposed the less aggressive of the two plans in his memo. Instead of having Vice President Pence reject certified electors from seven contested states, he recommended returning those slates to their respective state legislatures to allow for the certification of an alternate pro-President Trump slate of electors. ^[3]

During the meeting, Eastman acknowledged that this plan would violate the Electoral Count Act — a point he had already conceded in his memos — though he argued that the Act itself was unconstitutional. ^[9]

Eastman would later escalate his position in the January 5th meeting with Vice President Pence, advocating that Pence unilaterally reject certain electoral votes. ^[4]

Following the meeting, President Trump continued publicly pressuring Vice President Pence, stating at a rally in Georgia that "I hope Mike Pence comes through for us," in reference to the upcoming electoral certification. ^[7]

Eastman was also warned after the meeting that his plan could lead to violence. He responded, “There’s been violence in the history of our country... to protect the republic.” ^[10]

1: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 82, lines 22-25

2: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 89, lines 4-8

3: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 82, lines 23 and 24

4: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 92, lines 7-9

5: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 95, lines 19-24

6: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 95, lines 19-24

7: Donald Trump Rally Speech Transcript Dalton, Georgia: Senate Runoff Election

8: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 84, lines 1-7

9: Deposition of: Greg Jacob Page 130, lines 16-18

10: Interview of: Eric Herschmann Page 26, lines 13-15