The vice chair of the House Select Committee investigating the Capitol riot, Liz Cheney, in the second hearing, said that former President Donald Trump rejected advice given by his campaign experts and followed an “apparently inebriated” Rudy Giuliani, who served as a lawyer to him at the time. 

“Trump rejected the advice of his campaign experts on election night, and instead followed the course recommended by an apparently inebriated Rudy Giuliani, to just claim that he won,” Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, said in her opening statements.

“The Trump campaign legal team knew there was no legitimate argument…to overturn the election. And yet Pres. Trump went ahead with his plans for Jan. 6 anyway.”

Also Read: Why Trump’s campaign manager Bill Stepien dropped out of testifying

Cheney, however, didn’t specify why the committee believes that Giuliani was drunk at the time. 

The second hearing of the committee is being held to examine the former President’s claims of voter fraud.

Also Read: Rudy Giuliani, ex-Trump lawyer, faces ethics charges for voter fraud claims

Rep. Bennie Thompson, chairman of the Jan. 6 select committee, said that Trump “didn’t have the numbers” to win the 2020 presidential election he “decided to wage an attack on our democracy.”

“[Trump] didn’t have the numbers. He went to court. He still didn’t have the numbers. He lost. But he betrayed the trust of the American people. He ignored the will of the voters. He lied to his supporters and the country,” Thompson said.

Thompson said that Trump “tried to remain in office after the people had voted him out, and the courts upheld the will of the people.” 

“This morning, we’ll tell the story of how Donald Trump lost an election and knew he lost an election, and as a result of his loss, decided to wage an attack on our democracy,” he said.