Jan. 6 hearings, Day 4 recap Panel links Trump to fake electors plan

Multiple people have told the Jan. 6 committee they pushed back against the Trump team’s effort to corrupt the 2020 presidential election because of their faith, or deeply held beliefs. But when Republican lawmaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers testified to that, it was literal.

Bowers, speaker of the Arizona House, told the committee Tuesday of his revulsion toward Rudy Giuliani’s request that he replace Biden electors in the state with Trump ones. Giuliani never provided proof of any kind that votes were stolen, and instead appealed, Bowers testified, to their shared partisan affiliation.

The stories shared during Tuesday’s hearing were meant to evoke sympathy — and were a reminder that the defense of American democracy in the wake of former president Donald Trump’s false allegations of fraud rested on the shoulders of courageous individuals.

As Philip Bump writes, the two election workers, mother Ruby Freeman and daughter Shaye Moss, who testified Tuesday, along with three Republican officials, reminded us that individuals contributed their own small power to an aggregate that managed to deflect the unchecked anger and the concentrated power of the president of the United States.

It is unclear whether former White House counsel Pat Cipollone, who could be a bombshell witness for the Jan. 6 committee, will actually appear publicly. A person close to Cipollone said that he had been “cooperative with the committee, with President Trump’s permission” but that “there are serious institutional concerns and privilege issues. And those have been recognized by the committee.”

A spokesperson for Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has disputed accusations from the committee that the senator was directly involved with a conspiracy to overturn the 2020 election. At the Tuesday hearing, the committee published transcripts of text messages that investigators say show a Johnson staffer asking a staffer for Vice President Mike Pence if the senator could present fake elector certifications during a joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

“The senator had no involvement in the creation of an alternate slate of electors and had no foreknowledge that it was going to be delivered to our office. This was a staff to staff exchange. His new Chief of Staff contacted the Vice President’s office,” Johnson press secretary Alexa Henning wrote in a tweet Tuesday afternoon.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) praised election worker Ruby Freeman for her service to the country and also her courage after facing death threats and more harassment from Trump supporters wanting her to help change the results of the 2020 presidential election.

“Thank you for your courage,” she said Tuesday in her closing testimony. “Thank you for your strength. Thank you for being here today. It means so much for everyone to hear your story. So thank you for that. We have had tremendous testimony today.”

We got an interesting moment at the end of the hearing, when Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), the committee’s vice chair, went direct to camera to pressure former White House counsel Pat Cipollone to testify, saying she knows that former president Donald Trump doesn’t want the public to hear his testimony. The committee is still in discussions with Cipollone.

Cipollone was often berated by Trump and had a fraught relationship with the former president, but he has largely stayed quiet after Jan. 6 and has rejected many opportunities to speak out. Getting him to testify would be a significant win, people on the committee have said.

Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.) said the committee has obtained text messages showing White House chief of staff Mark Meadows wanted to send Georgia election investigators a “s---load of POTUS” stuff as the officials were investigating Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud.

“The subcommittee has received text messages indicating that Mark Meadows wanted to send some of the investigators in her office, in the words of one White House aide, 'a s---load of POTUS stuff, including coins, autographed MAGA hats, etc. White House staff intervened to make sure that did not happen,” Schiff said.

The committee’s narrative strategy has been defined by its decision to frame the story of President Donald Trump’s bid to overturn the results of the election in the words of Republicans and his top allies. It’s also been defined by the committee’s ability to draw out emotional testimony from live witnesses in the hearing room, about the tragic life moments caused by Trump’s actions.

In Tuesday’s hearing, Arizona House Speaker Russell “Rusty” Bowers (R) spoke tearfully about receiving threats to his family, as his daughter was seriously ill. Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) described the harassment directed at his wife and talked about how people broke into his daughter-in-law’s home. “My son has passed, and she’s widowed and has two kids, so we’re very concerned about her safety also,” Raffensperger said.