High ranking Republican advisers to former President Donald Trump have described his claims of a stolen election as "completely nuts" and "detached from reality" at the latest public hearing into the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol.
The broadcast was the second of six and featured a number of former lawyers and campaign advisers to Trump - who lost the election in 2020 with no evidence of voter fraud found.
It's been revealed members of his team at the White House on election night advised him to hold back from claiming victory, knowing that the pandemic had significantly increased the number of postal votes - which were yet to be counted.
A public hearing into the January 6 Capitol Riot has seen Republican allies turn on the former president. (Source: 1News)
Trump shunned their advice, instead leaning on long-time friend and lawyer Rudy Guiliani, the former New York mayor, who pushed him to announce an early win.
"Frankly, we did win this election. We did win this election," he proclaimed to the crowd around 2.30am that morning.
READ MORE: Possible criminal indictment against Trump over Capitol Riot
It was a lie he went on to repeat for months and months - and still repeats to this day - despite losing 61 of the 62 election court case challenges he filed.
The sole case the campaign won related to a four-foot decrease in the distance observers could stand to watch vote counting.
All the while, a barrage of emails requesting support for the filings was also sent to supporters - donations raking in nearly NZ$400 million after the election.
One of Trump’s former ally’s has spoken out. (Source: 1News)
"So not only was there the big lie, there was the big rip off," committee member Zoe Lofgren told the hearing on Tuesday.
Repeating the claims so vehemently had many former staff concerned the President actually believed what was clearly false.
"I thought, boy, if he really believes this stuff, he has, you know, lost contact with, he's become detached from reality," former Attorney General Bill Barr testified.
Former Trump lawyer Eric Herschmann's blunt assessment was that the claims of electoral fraud was "nuts."
"And the theory was also completely nuts," he added.
All the witnesses appearing today were Republican - the committee turning the party on itself.
Committee chairman Bennie Thompson says the former president didn't just do a disservice to his fellow politicians, friends and advisers - he also took advantage of those who voted for him.
"He betrayed the trust of the American people. He ignored the will of the voters. He lied to his supporters and the country."
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