Then-CIA Director Mike Pompeo and former Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin discussed a plan to forcefully remove Donald Trump from office after the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to a new book that chronicles the final days of the former president’s time in office.
In the book “Betrayal,” author Jonathan Karl writes that “Then-Treasury Secretary Mnuchin reportedly called then-Secretary of State Pompeo on the evening of Jan. 6 to suggest using the 25th Amendment, which outlines the protocols for how to replace the president or vice president in the event of their death, removal from office, resignation, or incapacitation.”
“I learned that Mnuchin had several conversations about the 25th Amendment and, further, that Mike Pompeo actually asked for a legal analysis of the 25th Amendment and how it would work,” Karl said during an appearance on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Monday morning.
But the idea was “quickly jettisoned” the next day as Education Secretary Betsy DeVos and Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao resigned, leaving Mnuchin to realize that using the Constitution to push Trump out of office would take too much time and would almost certainly face legal challenges, according to Karl. Mnuchin, however, did not resign.
“It would not be quick enough and it would be subject to legal challenges,” Karl said, explaining why the plan was abandoned. “But in the hours after the riot, there were high-level conversations about this.”
Karl said that his sourcing on the story is “rock solid.”
Watch the segment below via MSNBC.
