Posted at 5:00 a.m.
“So I accepted what he said”
PHOTO MANDEL NGAN, REUTERS ARCHIVES
Ivanka Trump appearing on screen during the first Commission hearing
At the first hearing on June 9, William Barr, a former United States Attorney General who resigned in December 2020, called President Trump’s claims of voter fraud “bullshit.” Ivanka Trump, the president’s daughter, welcomed Mr. Barr’s remarks, saying: “It affected my perspective. […] I respect District Attorney Barr. So I accepted what he was saying. But a few days later, an excerpt from a documentary made her look bad when she said that her father “must keep fighting until all legal remedies are exhausted”.
“Scam” of 250 million US
Not only did Donald Trump follow the advice of his lawyer, Rudy Giuliani, rather than those of White House advisers and claim a theft of the results in the hours following the presidential election of November 3, 2020, but in addition , his party has collected donations of 250 million US to be used for legal challenges. However, this money was not used for this purpose, considers the Commission. One of the Commission’s Democratic members, Zoe Lofgren, said: “The big lie [dénoncé par Trump] was also a big scam”. According to Jason Miller, a former adviser to the president, Rudy Giuliani was “definitely intoxicated” the night after the vote.
Pence 12 yards from death
PHOTO JEFF DEAN, ASSOCIATED PRESS ARCHIVES
Mike Pence, former Vice President of the United States
When the rioters invaded the Capitol where the certification of the results of the election took place on January 6, 2021, and the elected officials left in a hurry, a distance of only 12 meters separated them from Vice President Mike Pence. Faith of an FBI informant, “the Proud Boys would have killed Mike Pence if they had been given the opportunity”. Democratic Speaker of the House of Representatives Nancy Pelosi was also in their sights. However, Donald Trump has done nothing to defend his vice-president.
“The President of the United States targeted me”
At its fourth session on June 21, the Commission called Ruby Freeman and her daughter Shaye Moss, two poll workers in Fulton County, Georgia, targeted by Donald Trump and his custody for the loss of that state at the hands of by Joe Biden. “The president targeted me,” said Mr.me Freeman, moved, about the pressures and threats received. “I lost my name and my reputation. I lost my sense of security, all because a group of people, starting with number 45 [Trump] and his ally Rudy Giuliani, made me a scapegoat. »
Refusal to turn his back on his oath
On the same day, Republican officials in Arizona testified to the pressure exerted among others by Rudy Giuliani to replace the Great Electors won by Joe Biden with individuals favorable to Donald Trump. Rusty Bowers, Speaker of the Arizona House of Representatives, testified that he told Mr Trump: “You are asking me to do something that is against my oath, when I swore on the Constitution to enforce it. »
The Department of Justice on the brink of collapse
PHOTO JONATHAN ERNST, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Former top Justice Department official Steven Engel, former attorney general Jeffrey Rosen, and former deputy attorney general Richard Donoghue swearing in before the Commission on June 23.
The fifth sitting (June 23) showed the Justice Department on the brink of bursting following pressure from Donald Trump and his entourage to reverse the results. Following the resignation of William Barr, Jeffrey Rosen becomes Attorney General of the United States on December 24, 2020. However, on December 27, Rosen and his deputy Richard Donoghue are suggested by a close friend of Trump, lawyer Jeff Clark , to sign a letter noting serious irregularities in Georgia. Faced with their refusal, Donald Trump is considering dismissing Rosen and replacing him with… Jeff Clark. A Justice Department adviser then told the president that such a move would be followed by “mass resignations.” Trump backed down.
“Your dishonor will remain”
PHOTO J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE, ASSOCIATED PRESS
Liz Cheney, Republican Representative from Wyoming
Along with Adam Kinzinger, who will not run again this fall, Liz Cheney, representative of Wyoming in the House, is the only Republican who has agreed to join the commission chaired by Democratic Representative Bennie Thompson. At the opening of the commission, Mr.me Cheney, who also voted for impeachment (impeachment) of President Trump after Jan. 6, said, “Tonight I say to my fellow Republicans who defend the indefensible: there will come a day when Donald Trump will be gone. But your dishonor will remain. Recent polls indicate that Mr.me Cheney is trailing for re-election.