AZ House Speaker to Jan. 6 committee: Trump pressured me to overturn election

The Congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. capitol held another public hearing focused on former President Donald Trump’s efforts to pressure state officials in Georgia and Arizona to overturn their states’ 2020 presidential election results. Trump and his team wanted the officials to send a second slate of electors to Congress showing Trump as the winner. To present its evidence, the committee played recordings of phone calls from Trump and his attorneys Rudy Giuliani and Jenna Ellis to the state officials they were pressuring.

Trump also used his speeches to encourage his supporters to add pressure.

“Just over 11 thousand votes. That’s all we need. They defrauded us out of a win in Georgia,” Trump said during his Jan. 6 rally speech in DC. 

But as Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffesnberger explained to the committee, Congressional candidates received more votes than President Trump, which demonstrates people skipped voting in the Presidential election but did vote in down ballot races. Raffensberger said that means Trump came up short with the voters.

The pressure campaign also included a call between Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers, Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani. According to Bowers, Giuliani claimed they had evidence that 200,000 illegal immigrants and thousands of dead people voted in the 2020 election. But Giuliani had no evidence. Bowers said the Trump team asked him to hold an official hearing on Arizona’s election results and send a slate of electors to Congress making Donald Trump the state’s victor. Bowers declined.

“I said, ‘Look, you are asking me to do something that is counter to my oath, when I swore to the constitution to uphold it,’” Bowers said. “You’re asking me to do something that’s never been done in history — the history of the United States — and I’m going to put my state through that without sufficient proof?”

The committee played clips which showed the pressure campaign against state officials led to protests outside their homes and death threats.

Conservative activist Nick Fuentes said in one video, “What are we gonna do to them? What can you and I do to a state legislator? Other than kill ’em? Although, you should not do that. I mean, I’m not advising that. But what else can you do?”

A masked protestor said in another clip, “The punishment for treason is death.”

Wandrea ArShaye Moss, a Georgia election worker, describes being dragged into an election fraud conspiracy theory that was amplified by top Trump allies: "It's turned my life upside down … I don't want anyone knowing my name." pic.twitter.com/k4FHJZKVUs

— CSPAN (@cspan) June 21, 2022

Just before the hearing started, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, “Why won’t they discuss the massive voter fraud and irregularities that took place in the Election, the reason Jan 6 happened?”

The next Jan. 6 Committee hearing is scheduled to commence on Thursday, June 23 at 1 p.m. ET.