Thread by @lmchervinsky

A recap of today’s hearings, which focused on President Trump’s attempts to overturn the election in the states, including his calls *personally* with Arizona and Georgia officials. And the impact of his lies on election workers with some of the most compelling testimony yet.🧵

If you missed the previous hearings, here are recaps:

Hearing 1:

https://twitter.com/lmchervinsky/status/1535245653181440000?s=20&t=3_9Rnj4sZPMojptCwLb6IA

Hearing 2:

https://twitter.com/lmchervinsky/status/1536491265520459776?s=20&t=3_9Rnj4sZPMojptCwLb6IA

Hearing 3:

https://twitter.com/lmchervinsky/status/1537575663493861376?s=20&t=3_9Rnj4sZPMojptCwLb6IA

This hearing demonstrates that pressuring public servants to betray their oath was a fundamental part of Trump’s playbook. Part 1: When Trump wanted to overturn the election, he pressured officials to say the vote was tainted by widespread fraud. /1

Part 2: When these public servants wouldn’t embrace the Big Lie, Donald Trump worked to ensure they’d face the consequences to their livelihoods and lives. /2

Critically, this hearing emphasized that the danger has not passed. This is not history. The threat has not gone away. Thompson said that institutions aren’t just abstract ideas, they require people to uphold their duties. /3

In a democracy, institutions require social acceptance. They require trust. They require collective buy-in. Once those things are destroyed, so too are the institutions. /4

Today’s hearing proved that Trump and his advisors waged a relentless campaign, based on lies, on state and local officials. They knew it was a lie, they did it anyway. The threat has not gone away. People who believe that lie are now seeking positions of public trust. /5

Liz Cheney said that each of these efforts is serious on its own, let alone together. They both deserve the attention of Congress and Department of Justice. [Just in case Attorney General Merrick Garland and his staff weren’t paying attention]. /6

Cheney draws our attention to two points: 1) When Trump called officials in GA and AZ, he had been told the stolen election allegations were nonsense by Attorney General Bill Bar, Acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue, and more. /7

2) Trump was warned his threats to pressure officials to change votes would lead to violence. He did not care, he did not condemn threats of violence, he made no effort to stop them, he went forward with false allegations anyway. /8

Cheney then urged those watching not to focus on politics today, but to focus on evidence. She said, “We cannot let our nation become one of conspiracy theories and thug violence.” /9

She said, “Today you will see examples of dedicated public servants, who did their duty. We will see an example of what truly makes America great.” Which is a nice inversion of Trump’s slogan. /10

Trump’s plan focused on AZ, MI, PA, and GA - the battleground states. He sought to stop the counting of the vote, when that failed, he went to the courts with allegations of fraud. He then tried to stop states from certifying electors or to change the votes. /11

That last piece was the focus of today’s hearings. In Arizona, Trump pressured the legislature to go back into session. If they refused, then to arrange for a group of individuals to gather, style themselves electors, and submit a fake slate of votes. /12

Judge Carter said of this plan, that it “likely violated multiple federal laws including conspiracy to defraud United States by participating in this scheme.” /13

The first witness, Speaker of the House in Arizona, Rusty Bowers, testified to this campaign in his home state. A lifelong Republican, he campaigned and voted for Trump in 2020. He testified that Joe Biden won the election. /14

Rep. Schiff asked about Trump’s statement, released today, asserting that they spoke in November 2020 and Bowers said Trump had won Arizona. When asked about this statement, Bowers testified, “I did have a conversation with the president. That certainly wasn’t it.” /15

Just in case that was unclear, he said, “Anyone, anywhere, anytime that I said the election was rigged, that would not be true.” /16

Bowers then spoke about the series of calls he had with Rudy Giuliani, Jenna Ellis, and Donald Trump. Bowers repeated asked for evidence of the allegations that illegal immigrants or dead people had voted.
He never received that evidence. /17

Giuliani, Ellis, and Trump asked him to convene a special session to investigate the allegations. Bowers asked Giuliani “to what end?” Giuliani said that Bowers could replace the Biden electors with fake Trump electors. /18

Bowers replied, “you are asking me to do something that is counter to my oath to the constitution and the laws of the state of Arizona...I would never do anything of such magnitude without deep consultation without qualified attorneys. I will not break my oath.” /19

Schiff asked Bowers to explain why this request would violate his oath of office. Bower said the legislature established manner of electing electors; it had become a fundamental right of the people. “I will not deny my oath to the people.” /20

After Governor Doug Ducey certified the election results, Bowers met with Giuliani and Ellis in Arizona. They again pressed him to open a hearing. Bowers asked for the evidence, Giuliani said “we’ve got lots of theories, we just don’t have evidence.” /21

Bowers also spoke with the president again, said he supported him, but wouldn’t do anything illegal for him. /22

On the morning of Jan. 6, Bowers received call from Rep. Andy Biggs, who asked if he would sign onto letter sent from AZ or support decertification of electors. Bowers said he would not. [Fascinating move to bring in other people from Congress to the plot.] /23

Bowers talked about a statement he issued that cited Reagan’s inaugural address, noting that in the US, officials follow the outcome of the election, even if they lose. They follow the will of the people. That will means a lot to me and meant a lot to him.” /24

[Side note: Schiff’s prosecutorial training really comes into play here. He just let this line hang for a bit. It’s hard to let the silence speak volumes, but he did and it’s really compelling]. /25

While Trump and his advisors were working this avenue, they were also planning a separate meeting of “alternate electors.” This plan began around Thanksgiving. Trump was intimately involved. The electors met, signed documents, and submitted them to the National Archives. /26

The fake electors had no legal effect and hadn’t been certified by any state authority. Eastman claimed said it didn’t matter. If there were multiple slates, it would sow enough confusion. The committee showed the real and fake slates side by side, there is no comparison. /27

Many lawyers in Trump’s campaign, part of “team normal,” became convinced this plan was inappropriate once litigation in the courts was no longer pending. Despite these objections, the campaign made sure copies of the fake electors were in DC on January 6. /28

In fact, the campaign flew the original copies of the fake slates of electors to Washington because Senator Ron Johnson wanted to personally hand them to Mike Pence on January 6. [More congressional participation.] White House counsel staff intervened. /29

Next, the committee turned to Georgia and called Brad Raffensperger, the Secretary of State since 2019, and Gabriel Sterling, the COO and manager of the statewide voting system. Both Raffensperger and Sterling voted for Trump and wanted him to win. /30

Thompson stressed that this part of the “investigation is ongoing. If you have relevant information or documentary evidence, we welcome your cooperation.” /31

They both testified that the Georgia election went remarkably smooth. The average wait time was 3 minutes. They counted they recounted the votes three times: by machine, by forensic audit, and by hand count. “Joe Biden carried the state of Georgia by approximately 12k votes.” /32

Sterling testified that they held regular press conferences to combat misinformation. Before the press conference that went viral, the one where he spoke directly to the president, he had learned of several specific, violent threats. /33

He received Raffensperger’s permission to make a statement and Sterling says he lost his temper. [editorial note, going forward I will refer to Raffensperger as BR. Not as any sign of disrespect, just to save on characters and reduce typos]. /34

Trump did not urge followers to avoid violence. Instead, he retweeted threatening tweets and released additional videos alleging voter fraud. /35

Two days after Trump’s latest video, his advisors arrived in GA with a new conspiracy: that Biden supporters had delivered suitcases full of ballots. This claim had zero evidence. Trump amplified it on social media anyway. /36

Over the next several months, local, state, and federal officials, from Sterling to Attorney General Barr reviewed footage of this election site and concluded that the officials had acted appropriately. They found no fraud. /37

Trump continued to make these allegations up until the “Stop the Steal” speech on January 6, after all of his lawyers at DOJ and the White House counsel’s office told him the allegations had been explored and were false. /38

Trump then turned his attention to the secretary of state. Prior to Trump’s call with BR, his staff called and texted BR and BR’s staff repeatedly. Meadows even went to an auditing center in person (a HIGHLY unusual move for the White House Chief-of-Staff). /39

By the time Trump called BR, he knew his claims of fraud were false. He knew the election had been certified. He called BR anyway and they spoke for 67 minutes. /40

Trump said there’s “nothing wrong with saying you’ve recalculated.” Then, he said, “I want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.” Later, ““I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes.” /41

When BR pushed back on the fraud claims, Trump threatened him with legal implications: “I think it’s very dangerous for you to say there’s no criminality.” We’re talking about a “criminal offense….can’t let that happen, you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk.” /42

Schiff read a passage from BR’s book, in which he said of Trump’s insinuations about criminal offense: “I felt then and still believe today that it’s a threat.” Four days later was January 6. /43

At every stage of the hearing today, the committee asked about the repercussions of Trump’s pressure and threats. Public servants received angry texts and messages, faced armed protests, intimidation, threats of violence and death. /44

The Michigan Sec. of State was trying to put her kid to bed when she heard noises from a mob outside. Mike Shirkey, the Michigan State leader received 4k messages urging him to decertify. /45

The PA Speaker of the House Bryan Cutler had all of his private information doxed. Steve Bannon announced protests as Cutler’s home and office. His son was home alone during one such protest. /46

BR’s email and cell were doxed. Trump’s supporters came for his wife, most were sexualized threats. They broke into his daughter-in-law’s home, who is a widow and lives with her two kids. /47

These public officials are all Republicans. The threat is ongoing. Staying quiet is not the answer. /48

https://twitter.com/thehill/status/1539001509366665217?s=20&t=3_9Rnj4sZPMojptCwLb6IA

Schiff asked BR why he didn’t just quit and walk away? BR said, “We had followed the law and the constitution, these moments require you to stand up and take the shots and do your job.” /49

In his diary, Bowser wrote, “it is painful to have friends who have been such a help to me, turn on me with such rancor….I do not take this current situation in a light manner, in a fearful manner, or in a vengeful manner. I do not want to be a winner by cheating.” /50

The committee then turned to its final witness, Shaye Moss, who had worked as an election worker for ten years. You should watch this testimony in full if you can. Words won’t do it justice. /51

She said she loved her job because “people before me in my family didn’t have the right” to vote. She loved helping people. She had even taken an absentee ballot to someone in the hospital. /52

She was nervous, really nervous. She is the first witness who hadn’t run for office or served as a police officer or counsel. Under normal circumstances, she would be one of the countless “faceless” citizens that make elections work. /53

After the election, Giuliani posted a video of Moss and her mother counting ballots on election night. He alleged that they were passing back and forth USB ports as though they are vials of heroin or cocaine. [Hoo boy, that’s quite a dog whistle.] /54

Schiff asked about this video and asked what they were sharing.

She answered: “ginger mints.”

/55

After Giuliani shared this video, Moss received thousands of hateful and violent messages. She said she wished she had a different job because then her family wouldn’t be going through this experience. She said she felt like it was all her fault. /56

Later Trump posted a video, using her mother’s name (Ruby Freeman) 18 times. The committee then showed Ruby’s testimony. She has lived in Georgia all her life. She has always been known as “Lady Ruby.” /57

She owns a small business and has a shirt in every color that says Lady Ruby. She wore one the night of the election. She hadn’t worn it since and will never wear it again. /58

#LadyRuby testified that she gets nervous about giving her name for food orders, introducing herself at the grocery store. She is always worried about who might be listening. She has lost her name and her reputation. /59

The FBI instructed Lady Ruby to leave her home before January 6. “There is no where I feel safe. No where. Do you know how it feels to have the United States target you? The President of the United States is supposed to represent every American, not target one.” /60

Schiff’s closing statement was full of history: “For more than 200 years our democracy has been distinguished by the peaceful transfer of power.” /61

The power of the presidency “is an awesome power to acquire, it is even more awesome when it is handed on peacefully.” When George Washington relinquished the office of the presidency, it set a precedent that served as a beacon for other nations struggling against tyranny.” /62

Let me just say, as a historian of this time period, that George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson didn’t take that for granted. They carefully cultivated a reference for the peaceful transfer of power. /63

Schiff said that “it’s for others to decide” if Trump’s actions were illegal, but without a doubt, they were “unconstitutional, unpatriotic, unamerican.” He broke a “sacred covenant.” /64

“We have been blessed beyond measure to live in the world’s greatest democracy….because we have lived in a democracy for more than 200 years does not mean we will tomorrow.” Democracies are fragile and must be cherished. /65

Cheney then offered her closing statement: “Institutions don’t defend themselves, individuals do that. It takes public servants, people who have made a commitment to our system, to defend our system.” /66

She continued, “to date more than 30 witnesses have pled the 5th, including Roger Stone, Michael Flynn, John Eastman. Others like Bannon and Navarro have refused to comply with lawful subpoenas.” Meadow has “hid behind Trump’s claim of executive privilege.”/67

The American people have heard from many staff in the White House counsel’s office. But they have not yet heard from White House Counsel, Pat Cipollone. “Trump doesn’t want him to testify…We think the American people deserve to hear from Cipollone directly.” [Bold choice]. /68

The big question of today’s hearings: The Big Lie was a cancer on the body politic. "If you can convince Americans not to trust their own elections, that any time they lose it is somehow illegitimate, then what is left but violence to determine who should govern?” /fin