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All three live witnesses described threatening to quit if Clark was appointed, citing his lack of qualifications to serve in such a high-level role.

\"I said, Mr. President, within 24, 48, 72 hours you could have hundreds and hundreds of resignations of the leadership of the entire Justice Department because of your actions, what's that going to say about you?\" Engel said.

Engel said at that point, White House counsel stepped in to describe appointing Clark as a \"murder-suicide pact.\"

\"PHOTO:
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
PHOTO: An exhibit is displayed as the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol continues to reveal its findings of a year-long investigation, June 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
>

Scott Perry emerges as key figure in DOJ pressure campaign

The committee on Thursday outlined what it said was the role Rep. Scott Perry, R-Penn., played in trying to elevate Clark to attorney general as other officials in the department pushed back on Trump's election baseless claims.

Perry was among the group of Republicans who met with Trump on Dec. 21, 2020, on how to continue challenging Joe Biden's victory and push claims of voter fraud.

The next day, Perry introduced Clark to Trump in a White House meeting. Clark met with the president without the knowledge of his superiors, in violation of DOJ rules.

Perry also texted White House chief of staff Mark Meadows to help with Clark's ascension. In one message displayed during the hearing, Perry wrote: \"Mark, just checking in as time continues to count down. 11 days to 1/6 and 25 days to inauguration. We gotta get going.\"

Perry's office continued to defend his actions, with his spokesperson telling ABC News Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott on Thursday there's \"nothing new here.\"

Clark was ready to inform Georgia officials the DOJ found fraud

Clark was a key player in Trump's attempt to get the Justice Department to falsely claim voter fraud in Georgia and other states.

A draft letter Clark circulated asked Georgia's governor and other top state officials to convene the state legislature into a special session to investigate claims of voter fraud -- fraud former Attorney General Bill Barr had already deemed meritless.

Donoghue said he and Rosen had \"visceral reactions\" to the draft document, adding that if it had been sent it might have sparked a \"constitutional crisis.\"

\"PHOTO:
Jim Bourg/Reuters
PHOTO: Former Acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen and former Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue attend the public hearing of the U.S. House Select Committee's inquiry into the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, June 23, 2022, in Washington, D.C.
>

Former White House counsel Eric Herschmann recalled what he said to Clark when he became aware of his plans.

\"When he finished discussing what he planned on doing, I said '[expletive], congratulations. You just admitted your first step you would take as AG would be committing a felony,\" Herschmann said. \"'You're clearly the right candidate for this job.'\"

\"I told Clark the only thing he knew was that environmental and election both start with \"e,\" and I'm not even sure you know that,\" he added.

Trump: 'Just say it was corrupt and leave the rest to us'

Drawing from handwritten notes, Donoghue documented that Trump told him to, \"Just say that the election was corrupt + leave the rest to me and the R. Congressmen.\"

When Donoghue told Trump on a Dec. 27, 2020, phone call he couldn't change the outcome of the election, he recalled Trump \"responded very quickly -- and said, 'that's not what I'm asking you to do -- I'm just asking you to say it is corrupt and leave the rest to me and the Republican congressmen,\" Donoghue recalled.

\"PHOTO:
J. Scott Applewhite/AP
PHOTO: Handwritten notes from Richard Donoghue, former acting Deputy Attorney General, are displayed during a public hearing of the House select committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol, June 23, 2022, in Washington.
>

He also said Trump told him the Justice Department was \"obligated to tell people that this was an illegal, corrupt election,\" despite officials repeatedly telling him no widespread fraud existed and that Biden was the legitimate winner.

Rep. Adam Kinzinger, one of two Republicans on the panel, emphasized the gravity of Trump's request, saying, \"The president wanted the top Justice Department officials to declare that the election was corrupt, even though, as he knew, there was absolutely no evidence to support that statement.\"

GOP members of Congress sought preemptive pardons

Former White House officials detailed in taped depositions how several Republican members of Congress requested \"blanket pardons\" in the final days of the Trump administration.

Among those listed by the officials were Reps. Perry, Mo Brooks of Alabama, Andy Biggs of Arizona and Louie Gohmert of Texas.

Cassidy Hutchinson, a top aide to Meadows, added in her testimony that Gaetz had been asking for a pardon since \"early December.\" ABC News has previously reported on an ongoing DOJ investigation on sex trafficking allegations involving Gaetz.

Hutchinson also said she \"heard\" that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia had requested a pardon from White House lawyer Pat Phillbin and said that Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio \"talked about pardons,\" and asked for an update on whether the White House was going to pardon members of Congress, but did not directly ask for one, to her knowledge.

John McEntee, a former Trump White House aide, testified that at one point, the idea of a \"blanket pardon\" was floated for everyone involved in Jan. 6.

JUST IN: Several Republican lawmakers, including Reps. Matt Gaetz and Mo Brooks, requested presidential pardons, according to interviews with Trump White House aides shown by Jan. 6 committee. https://t.co/mXfspGYBvz pic.twitter.com/c4A3HtlwfR

— ABC News Politics (@ABCPolitics) June 23, 2022

One after another, Republican lawmakers dismissed of denied the allegations.

In a statement to ABC News, Brooks dismissed said pardons \"were unnecessary after all,\" and while Gaetz did not deny the claim, he dismissed the committee in a tweet as a \"political sideshow.\"

Jordan called his involvement \"100% fake news\" in a tweet, and Perry's spokesperson called it \"a ludicrous and soulless lie.\" Greene called it \"gossip and lies\" and the committee a \"Witch Hunt.\"

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