Former US President Donald Trump urged Justice officials to declare election 'corrupt'

Former USPresident Donald Trump pressured the Justice Department to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, according to internal documents released by the chair of the House of Representatives Oversight and Reform Committee on Friday.

The department ultimately did not join the effort and numerous courts rejected lawsuits seeking to overturn election results in various states.

The handwritten notes, taken by then-Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, paint a damning picture of Trump as he desperately sought to get the Justice Department to take the unprecedented step of intervening in the 2020 presidential election, which he lost.

The notes of the December27 call, released Friday by the Democratic-led House Oversight Committee, underscore the lengths to which Trump went to overturn the results of the election and to elicit the support of law enforcement officials and other government leaders in that effort.

"Don't expect you to do that," Trump replied. "Just say that the election was corrupt andleave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen," in a reference to Republicans.

The documents also show then-White HouseChief of Staff Mark MeadowsaskingJustice Department officials to investigate an unfounded conspiracy theory called "Italygate" alleging that USelectoral data was changed in Italian facilities with the knowledge of the CIA.

The fact that the Justice Department allowed the handwritten notes to be turned over the congressional investigators marks a dramatic shift from the Trump administration, which repeatedly invoked executive privilege as a means of skirting congressional scrutiny.

(With inputs from agencies)