Serpent In The Ear

[T]he advice provided has, whether intended or not, functioned as a serpent in the ear of the President of the United States, the most powerful office in the entire world.  And here we are.

Respectfully, it was gravely, gravely irresponsible for you to entice the President with an academic theory that had no legal viability, and that you well know we would lose before any judge who heard and decided the case.  And if the courts declined to hear it, I suppose it could only be decided in the streets.  The knowing amplification of that theory through numerous surrogates, whipping large numbers of people into a frenzy over something with no chance of ever attaining legal force through actual process of law, has led us to where we are.

-- Greg Jacob, lawyer for then-Vice President Mike Pence, to Trump lawyer John Eastman, in an email sent from a secure location at the US Capitol complex at 1:05PM on 6 January 2021, during the Capitol Insurrection