Piece by piece, the members of the committee of inquiry into the storming of the Capitol put the pieces of the puzzle together.

On the third day of the session in the main hall of the Cannon Building, they get to the heart of the matter.

Greg Jacob, Vice President Mike Pence's former advisor, was invited.

On Thursday, he described in a sober and detailed manner how Donald Trump and his attorney John Eastman put pressure on Pence in the days leading up to January 6, 2021 not to certify Joe Biden's election victory in the congressional certification session.

Majid Sattar

Political correspondent for North America based in Washington.

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Jacob recounted a conversation with Eastman in which he highlighted that the vice president was violating several legal requirements by following Trump's request.

He then asked the attorney, "John, if the vice president did what you're asking him to do, we would lose nine to zero in the Supreme Court, right?" Eastman admitted at the end of a lengthy discussion, "Well, you're right.

We would lose nine to zero.” As is well known, a verdict by the nine constitutional judges was not necessary in the end.

Pence stood his ground and resisted attempts to deny Biden the Electoral College victory or allow seven states to reconsider their election results.

Trump is said to have called Pence a "sissy".

There is no legal leeway for him on this issue, Pence repeatedly explained to the president and his lawyer.

On the morning of January 6, before the rally behind the White House, which was followed by the violent mob of Trump supporters storming the Capitol, Trump spoke to Pence on the phone.

In this, the president accused his deputy of lacking courage.

The president's daughter, Ivanka, whose testimony was videotaped at the committee meeting, was in the Oval Office at the time and described the conversation as "heated."

Another staffer recalled Trump calling Pence a "wuss".

The statements from the third day of the meeting dealt with the core of the investigation.

The committee members want to prove that Trump pressured Pence even though he knew he was breaking the law.

Republican Liz Cheney, vice chair of the committee, said Trump was aware that he was pressuring Pence into illegal activities.

Trump, so one wants to balance later, made himself punishable.

Of course, behind the scenes there is disagreement over whether the panel should ultimately recommend Attorney General Merrick Garland to impeach Trump.

Jacob's statement did not please Trump.

The aide said he emailed Eastman after the Secret Service took Pence to a safe location in the Capitol: "Thanks to your shit, we're under siege now," the message said.

But Eastman showed no remorse.

He further urged Pence to "consider a relatively minor breach of law" and adjourn the session of Congress.

However, the Vice President and the Congress leadership made sure that the joint session of the two chambers continued after the end of the siege.

Pence had previously refused to leave the Capitol, as requested by the Secret Service.

After the riots began, Trump tweeted that the Vice President lacked courage.

The mob then chanted, "Hang Mike Pence!"

The next day, Eastman called Eric Hershmann, Trump's White House attorney, because he had another idea to prevent the transfer of power two weeks later.

"Have you lost your damn mind," Hershmann replied.

He just wanted to hear two more words from Eastman's mouth: "Peaceful transfer of office."

He's also giving him the best free legal advice he'll ever get: "Get a damn good criminal defense attorney.

You're going to need him."

Eastman had exercised his right to remain silent 100 times in his questioning, parts of which were recorded on video.

Five days after the Capitol storm, he approached Rudy Giuliani, Trump's personal attorney, with a request for a pre-emptive pardon from the outgoing president.

Trump didn't do this.