“There is no place where I feel safe. Do you know how it feels when the President of the United States targets you? The President of the United States is supposed to represent every American, not his targeting. But he targeted me. Mrs. Ruby.”
Posted at 5:00 am
Updated at 6:34 am
Since the public hearings began, the January 6 commission has heard witnesses who likely help it establish the illegal or unconstitutional nature of efforts by Donald Trump and members of his entourage to nullify the 2020 presidential election.
And the commission did not abandon this approach, Tuesday, during its fourth session, due to the pressure exerted by the former president and his allies on Republican officials in Arizona and Georgia, among others, to change the election results.
But it did more than that, giving a vote to two polling officials from Fulton County, Georgia, who had been victims of Donald Trump’s character cruelty.
Along with Rudolph Giuliani and other allies, the former president invented a conspiracy theory and falsely accused Robbie Freeman and her daughter Shay Moss of voter fraud, then subjecting them to life-shattering threats.
“I lost my name, I lost my reputation,” said Robbie Freeman, 70, in an affidavit provided by UNHCR. “I lost my sense of safety, all because of a group of people, starting with number 45 [Donald Trump] And his ally, Rudy Giuliani, decided to scapegoat to spread his lies about how to steal the presidential election. »
His daughter, who testified herself, particularly remembered the racist messages sent to her on Facebook. One Donald Trump supporter wrote: “Be happy in 2020 not 1920.”
During her testimony, Shay Moss recalled the pleasure she had until 2020 helping African Americans of a certain age to exercise the right to vote that some were denied.
Des menaces devant chez lui
Trois responsables républicains ont également témoigné en personne. L’un d’eux, Rusty Bowers, président de la Chambre des représentants de l’Arizona, a qualifié de « troublantes, tout simplement troublantes », les menaces dont lui et sa famille ont fait l’objet après son refus de céder aux pressions de Donald Trump.
« Chez nous, jusqu’à récemment, c’était un nouveau rituel dans nos vies de s’inquiéter de ce qui va se passer le samedi », a-t-il raconté en évoquant les divers groupes qui venaient manifester devant son domicile pour l’accuser de pédophilie et de corruption, entre autres.
M. Bowers, qui a voté deux fois pour Donald Trump, a raconté que l’ancien président et M. Giuliani l’avaient pressé de tenir une audition parlementaire sur le scrutin présidentiel en Arizona et de remplacer les grands électeurs de Joe Biden par une liste favorable à Donald Trump.
Il s’est souvenu d’avoir demandé à M. Giuliani de lui fournir des preuves de fraude électorale en Arizona. L’ancien maire de New York a répondu, selon son témoignage : « Nous avons beaucoup de théories. Nous n’avons tout simplement pas de preuves. »
« Je ne voulais pas être utilisé comme un pion », a déclaré M. Bowers devant la commission du 6-Janvier.
Photo JONATHAN ERNST, REUTERS
Rusty Bowers
J’ai dit [à Donald Trump] “Listen, you’re asking me to do something that goes against my oath, when I swear by the Constitution to keep it.”
Rusty Powers, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives
An hour before Mr Powers’ hearing began, Donald Trump released a statement saying that an Arizona representative had told him that the presidential election in Arizona “was rigged.” During his testimony, Mr. Powers denied that he had made such comments.
Vote for “Search”
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Ravensberger and his right-hand man, Gabriel Sterling, also testified in person about pressure from Donald Trump and his allies to change the outcome of their state’s presidential vote.
“No votes were found,” Ravensberger said, referring to his January 2, 2021 phone interview with Donald Trump, in which the latter asked to find “11,780 votes” in his favour. He needed to defeat Joe Biden in the Peach State.
“We have an accurate statistic that has been certified,” he added.
The Jan. 6 panel heard testimony implicating Arizona Republican Rep. Andy Biggs and Wisconsin Republican Senator Ron Johnson in the Trump camp’s efforts to nullify the results of the 2020 presidential election.
The panel’s next hearing, which will take place on Thursday, will focus on pressure from Donald Trump to “corrupt” the US Department of Justice.