CNN’s Dana Bash couldn’t hold in a laugh after an attorney for Donald Trump claimed there was a “peaceful transfer of power” following the 2020 election.
John Lauro, who is defending the former president against election conspiracy charges, repeatedly clashed with the CNN anchor in an interview on Sunday. In a weekend media blitz, Lauro denied allegations that Trump knowingly spread lies that the election was stolen and insisted the then-president’s attempts to pressure election officials were simply “free speech”.
At one point, Bash asked Lauro about Trump’s alleged effort to have then-Vice President Mike Pence delay Electoral College voting after unsuccessfully pressuring him to reject the votes altogether. Lauro last week acknowledged that Trump asked Pence to pause the voting.
“Those scenarios were presented to Vice President Pence. He considered them, and, as a constitutional matter, he rejected them,” Lauro said. “One of the last and the ultimate requests that Trump made was to pause the voting for 10 days.”
“And Mr Pence rejected that as well. After that, there was a peaceful transition of power,” he added.
Bash laughed incredulously.
“What happened on January 6 was not peaceful,” she interrupted.
Lauro insisted that it was “certainly peaceful”, because ultimately the “power of the presidency was transferred to Mr Biden”.
Prior to the certification of President Joe Biden’s win, hundreds of Trump supporters stormed the US Capitol, threatening to hang Pence as they called for the election to be overturned in Trump’s favour.
Earlier in the interview, Lauro argued that Trump’s attempts to pressure election officials into rejecting the certification of electors were merely “aspirational”.
“Asking is aspirational,” Lauro insisted. “Asking is not action. It’s core free speech.”
Trump’s lawyers have argued that free speech protections under the First Amendment allow the behaviour alleged in the indictment presented by special counsel Jack Smith last week.
Trump was charged with four federal counts ― conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction of an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.