Trump Advisers Lied Over and Over Again

Longtime Trump advisers continued to groups behind rally that led to Capitol attack

Roger Stone, Steve Bannon and Michael Flynn all promoted the Jan. 6 rally.

3 of the primal advisers who helped engineer Donald Trump'south' ascension to the presidency in 2016, and who fell from grace under the weight of federal criminal charges, resurfaced during Trump's last days in role to help engineer his ill-fated effort to cling to ability.

Roger Rock, Steve Bannon, and retired Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn all participated in efforts to promote the January. 6 "Stop the Steal" event that ultimately devolved into a riotous and deadly melee at the The states Capitol, leaving five dead and causing Trump to become the but president to be impeached for a second time.

While none of them spoke at the actual rally, Rock whipped up a crowd of Trump supporters in Washington the dark before, telling them the president'due south enemies sought "nothing less than the heist of the 2020 election."

"And nosotros say, No way!" Stone said at the Jan. 5 rally.

Flynn promoted the so-called "Jericho March," a rally of Christians to "pray, march, fast, and rally for ballot integrity," according to the grouping'south website, that also took place on Jan. 6 in the shadow of the Capitol. In the weeks leading upwards to the consequence, Flynn told his supporters that they would "need to be fearless equally Americans."

Speaking at a Dec. 12 rally in Washington to promote the Trump effort to overturn the election, Flynn told supporters they had reached a "crucible moment" and "there has to exist cede."

"Nosotros're in a battle … for the centre and soul of the country," Flynn said. "We will win."

Bannon likewise played a significant role in promoting the Jan. half dozen rally, which was co-organized by "March for Trump," and he previously served as a prominent sponsor of the group's cross-country December coach tour alee of the rally. Shortly subsequently Trump lost the 2020 election, Bannon'due south "War Room" podcast was banned from Twitter for suggesting Dr. Anthony Fauci and FBI Director Christopher Wray should be beheaded.

"I'd put the heads on pikes. Right. I'd put them at the two corners of the White Firm as a warning to federal bureaucrats," Bannon said. "You either get with the program or you are gone."

A spokesperson for Bannon told ABC News in a statement that "Mr. Bannon did not, would not and has never called for violence of any kind. Mr. Bannon'due south commentary was clearly meant metaphorically."

Falls from grace

All three men played pivotal roles in Trump'southward rise to ability, simply to run across their reputations tainted by criminal investigation.

Stone was ane of Trump'southward earliest political advisers, working with the real estate mogul long before he ventured into campaign politics. Afterward a brief period working directly for Trump's presidential bid, Stone took on the role of outside adviser, even equally he maintained regular contact with Trump.

Stone was afterward swept into the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 elections, and faced allegations that he helped coordinate the release of hacked documents past WikiLeaks that were meant to harm Trump'due south opponent, Hillary Clinton. In 2019, Stone was convicted on federal charges of obstruction of justice, lying to Congress and witness tampering, and sentenced to 40 months in prison house. Trump commuted the sentence and ultimately issued Stone a pardon.

After leading Trump to victory as a summit campaign strategist, Bannon likewise served in Trump'due south White House. He left afterward seven months and, similar many pinnacle campaign officials, became swept upwards in the Russian investigation. He was never charged with wrongdoing in that probe. Concluding Baronial, though, he was charged in federal court in an unrelated case with defrauding donors to a private fundraising effort called "Nosotros Build the Wall," which said it was raising private funds to assistance expand the wall forth the U.S.-Mexico edge. He pleaded not guilty and is out on bail pending trial.

Flynn served briefly as Trump's beginning national security adviser before he was dismissed for lying about conversations he had with the Russian ambassador. He, too, became a focus of the federal prosecutors and pleaded guilty to lying to investigators. He afterwards recanted before being sentenced, and was also pardoned by Trump.

A source close to Flynn told ABC News the retired full general does non believe his words incited violence, and that he does not condone it, maxim the riot was "the last thing we expected."

Trump had invited Flynn and his family to the Jan. six rally but the source said they left disgusted at what the confidant said was a pointless gathering on the Ellipse, followed by outrageous political violence on Capitol Colina.

"100% the election was stolen -- no one is going to convince the states otherwise," the source said. "But Michael Flynn never called for violence. What happened there was terrible."

Back in the fold

All three men resurfaced in Trump's orbit as advisers became increasingly concerned that Trump would lose his bid for reelection to Joe Biden. And as Trump mounted his drive to convince his supporters that he had really won the 2020 race "in a landslide," all iii picked upward the messaging and spread it to their followers.

Even before Election Twenty-four hour period, Stone was pushing the notion that vote counts could non exist trusted. During a September appearance with extremist agitator Alex Jones, Stone called on Republicans to "be prepared to file legal objections and if necessary to physically stand in the way of criminal activity."

After the election, Rock encouraged protesters to come up to Washington to vocalization objections to the outcome. He was billed equally a featured speaker for the Jan. six rally that preceded the assault on the U.S. Capitol, but did not announced. Since that mean solar day, he has sought to altitude himself from the endeavor, telling ABC News in a argument that he condemned the violence perpetrated on the Capitol by the mob.

"I accept no role whatever in the January 6 events as I never left the site of my hotel until leaving for Dulles Airport before vi pm curfew. A careful review of my language of Jan 5 indicates that I played no function whatsoever in advocating violence or whatever inappropriate or illegal activity," Stone said in the statement. "Indeed anyone breaking into the United states of america Capitol, trespassing and destroying property would merely exist hurting the America First movement that I support."

In the days afterward Trump'due south election loss, Flynn joined forces with Sidney Powell, the attorney who had helped engineer Flynn's decision to recant his before guilty plea. The two helped lead Trump's endeavor to dispute the election defeat, both in court and through a social media blitz that engaged, amidst others, followers of the conspiracy-driven move known as QAnon.

The 2 even met with Trump in the Oval Function, not long subsequently Flynn appeared on the conservative network Newsmax to advocate that Trump impose martial law and control the military to "rerun" the election. At a December. 12 rally Flynn falsely told followers "there are paths that are nonetheless in play" for Trump to remain in office for a second term. "In that location's a lot of activity that's still playing out," he said earlier Trump flew over the crowd in Marine Ane.

Mary McCord, a former federal prosecutor and skillful in homegrown terror groups, said Flynn emerged every bit a hero among extremists. She said Flynn "riled up" the groups alee of the Jan. 6 ballot protest, and "incited the about extreme amid the crowd to practise something most it."

Bannon's tranquility render

Of the three, Bannon kept the lowest profile in the days later on the election. Simply in recent days did he surface as someone who appeared to be back in touch with the president about the election, according to Bloomberg News. Bannon was besides helping efforts past 501(c)(iv) political nonprofits, so-called dark money groups, to overturn the election results, including the bus tour.

In public, Bannon repeatedly used his platform to promote the Jan. 6 rally, hosting rally organizers on his podcast at least 16 times amid the button to overturn the election results.

Two days before the rally and subsequent assail on the Capitol, Kylie Jane Kremer of rally sponsor "Women for America First" appeared on Bannon's "War Room" podcast to promote the issue. "President of the U.s., every bit we know right now, tentatively at 11 he's going to come and address the nation and then it'south gonna be -- the game is going to start on Capitol Hill," Bannon said. "I call up i of the most celebrated days in American history volition be Midweek."

Bannon did not return a request for annotate from ABC News.

2 of Bannon's longtime associates also served in key roles on Jan. half-dozen. Dustin Stockton was one of the lead organizers of the rally, and Jennifer Lawrence ran media relations.

Until 2017, Stockton and Lawrence worked as writers at the far-correct media outlet Breitbart when Bannon was executive chairman, according to their LinkedIn profiles. The pair most recently worked with Bannon on his crowdfunding campaign "We Build the Wall," which in August 2020 resulted in the federal indictments over allegations of defrauding donors.

Neither Stockton or Lawrence returned ABC News' requests for comment.

Stockton served as "We Build the Wall's" vice president of strategy and marketing, according to his LinkedIn and social media posts, while Lawrence was the group'southward communications director before joining the "March for Trump" group. Stockton and Lawrence were both served warrants for their cellphones, too as subpoenas to appear earlier a grand jury, in connection to the "Nosotros Build the Wall" group, but neither has been charged, according to CNN.

Stockton used some of the nearly incendiary language in the run-up to Jan. vi, at one point telling followers on a Facebook Live appearance to "make clean your guns and prepare. Things are going to get worse before they get better."

On a Facebook Live stream Wednesday night subsequently the Capitol attack, Stockton appeared unrepentant, saying lawmakers were "trying to certify a fraudulent election."

"I want to stand up up against that," he said. "Information technology'due south the whole reason I've been on this bus bout. That'south the whole reason I've been organizing these events in D.C."

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Source: https://abcnews.go.com/US/longtime-trump-advisers-connected-groups-rally-led-capitol/story?id=75261028

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