The televised January 6th Committee hearings have brought to light quite a bit of evidence not previously available to the public showing Donald J. Trump knew he lost the 2020 election, that there was no widespread voter fraud, and conspired to overturn the results. Most elected Republicans at the state and federal levels will not admit this as they need the support of the most rabid members of the electorate and don’t have the spine to tell the truth if it means losing an election. Only a relative handful are like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, both dyed in the wool Republican hardliners, who are committed to a democratically elected government. There is little I agree on with either of them but I have to admit they are among the very few patriots among elected Republicans today.
The committee heard testimony from Trump's own aides and
advisers that he knew the claims he was making of election fraud were untrue
and that steps he was taking to overturn the results were illegal.
Ronna McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee,
testified that the president called her to discuss plans to organize
"alternate" presidential electors who would claim that Trump actually
won their states. Republican officeholders in Georgia and Arizona appeared before
the committee to describe Trump's efforts to pressure them into taking steps to
reverse Joe Biden's victory in their states. Georgia Secretary of State Brian
Raffensperger spoke in detail about a nearly hour-long phone call during which
the president urged him to "find" the votes necessary to put him
ahead in the state's vote tally.
Evidence was presented that Texas congressman Louie Gohmert,
among others, asked for a pardon from Trump before he left office. As committee
member Adam Kinzinger pointed out "The only reason I know to ask for a
pardon is because you think you committed a crime."
Trump Justice Department officials testified that the
president personally pressured them to issue findings of possible election
fraud and encourage state legislatures to overturn results showing Biden won. Trump
told them to "just say that the election was corrupt and leave the rest to
me and the Republican congressmen," according to acting deputy attorney
general Richard Donoghue’s testimony.
Those same former Justice Department officials also detailed
how Trump himself had urged them and senior officials at the Department of
Homeland Security to seize voting machines from state governments in pursuit of
a conspiracy theory that Italian satellites changed vote totals, without evidence
for taking such an unprecedented step. According to testimony from Donoghue,
during a December 2020 meeting at the White House, Trump said "Why don't
you guys just seize machines?"
Among those testifying were two Atlanta election workers,
Shaye Moss and her mother, Ruby Freeman, who spoke of facing death threats and
being forced to leave their home after Trump's lawyer Rudy Giuliani mentioned
them by name, claiming they were "trying to steal the election".
Freeman said "There is nowhere I feel safe." Even Republican
officials who have debunked Trump’s election fraud claims have faced multiple
death threats such as Arizona state senator Rusty Bowers who also testified.
The actions of Trump, his congressional enablers, the
rioters, and those who have threatened to murder opponents are frighteningly
similar to those of Benito Mussolini and his Black Shirts as they took power in
Italy in the 1922.
Retired federal circuit court of appeals judge and icon
among conservative legal scholars Michael Luttig, testified on June 16 and said
"the former president and his party are today a clear and present danger
for American democracy." I believe Judge Luttig.
Published in the Seguin Gazette - June 29, 2022
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