Liz Cheney says Trump oversaw a 'sophisticated 7-part plan' to overturn the election and stay in power

• GOP Rep. Liz Cheney said Trump oversaw a "sophisticated seven-part plan" to overturn the election.
• The comments came during the first public hearing of the January 6 committee.

Republican Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday said former President Donald Trump oversaw a "sophisticated seven-part plan" to overturn the 2020 presidential election and remain in power.

"Over multiple months, Donald Trump oversaw and coordinated a sophisticated seven-part plan to overturn the presidential election and prevent the transfer of presidential power," said Cheney, the vice chair of the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021 Capitol riot. "In our hearings, you will see evidence of each element of this plan."

Cheney's comments came during the first of several public hearings that the January 6 panel plans to hold this month to reveal its findings after a year-long investigation. The committee has interviewed more than 1,000 witnesses and reviewed thousands of documents as part of its probe. Cheney announced that the panel will show testimony from more than a half dozen former Trump administration officials who were in the West Wing of the White House during the time of the attack on the Capitol.

Some of the testimony the panel collected found that Trump was "yelling and really angry" at his aides who were pushing him to respond to the violence, Cheney said.

"Maybe our supporters have the right idea. Mike Pence deserves it," Trump also said in response to hearing about rioters chanting "Hang Mike Pence," Cheney said.

Over the series of hearings, Cheney said the House committee will show how Trump coordinated an effort to stay in office despite losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden.

Trump and his advisors knew that he lost the election but still spread falsehoods about the results, Cheney said, adding that the misinformation provoked the violence at the Capitol, per the panel's findings.

The former president ignored his White House and campaign staff, state officials, the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security in his pursuit to overturn the results, Cheney said. Trump also planned to replace Attorney General Bill Barr, who rejected his false election claims, with another official who would spread the falsehoods, the panel's evidence showed.

"The attack on our Capitol was not a spontaneous riot," said Cheney, a Wyoming Republican who was purged from her GOP leadership post over her criticism of Trump after the Capitol attack.