Programming note: A new CNN documentary, “Trumping Democracy: An American Coup,” about former President Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the 2020 election, premieres at 9 p.m. ET on Friday, November 5.
Many of Trump’s actions were done in public view, including dozens of ill-fated lawsuits and tweets that undermined the electoral process. But congressional inquiries and news reports have shed new light on what happened behind the scenes as Trump tried to cling to power.
Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of Trump’s attempted coup was how he relentlessly tried to weaponize the Justice Department to nullify President Joe Biden’s victory. The Democratic-run Senate Judiciary Committee investigated Trump’s conduct and concluded in a recent report that he “grossly abused the power of the presidency.”
Here’s a big-picture breakdown of the attempted coup, along with a day-by-day timeline of…

