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u.s. news Diaranson 22 Juni 2022

We fought Trump pressure, GOP state officials tell 1/6 panel

(AP) — The House 1/6 account of being called by
committee outlined on Trump on a Sunday after re- Republican Rep. Liz Cheney,
Tuesday Donald Trump’s turning from church when the panel’s vice chair, em-
relentless pressure to the defeated president laid braced Bowers during a break
overturn the 2020 presi- out his proposal to have the in the hearing.
dential election, aiming to state replace its electors for
show it led to widespread Joe Biden with those favor- She implored Americans to
personal threats on the ing Trump. pay attention to the evidence
stewards of American de- being presented, declaring,
mocracy — election work- “I said, Look, you’re asking “Donald Trump didn’t care
ers and local officials who me to do something that is about the threats of violence.
fended off the defeated counter to my oath,” Bowers He did not condemn them,
president’s efforts. testified before the commit- he made no effort to stop
tee. them.”
The panel investigating the
Jan. 6, 2021, attack at the U.S. Bowers insisted on seeing “We cannot let America be-
Capitol resumed with a focus Trump’s evidence of voter come a nation of conspiracy allies they felt unable to live Raffensperger came weeks
on Trump’s efforts to undo fraud, which he said Trump’s theories and thug violence.” normal lives. after he appeared before a
Joe Biden’s victory in the team never produced beyond special grand jury in Georgia
most local way — by lean- vague allegations. He recalled The public hearing, the While the committee can- investigating whether Trump
ing on officials in key battle- Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani fourth by the panel this not charge Trump with any and others illegally tried to
ground states to reject ballots at one point told him, “‘We’ve month, stemmed from its crimes, the Justice Depart- intervene in the state’s 2020
outright or to submit alterna- got lots of theories, we just yearlong investigation into ment is watching the panel’s election, and after Raffens-
tive electors for the final tally don’t have the evidence.’” Trump’s unprecedented at- work closely. Trump’s actions perger beat a Trump-backed
in Congress. The pressure tempt to remain in power, in Georgia are also the subject challenger in last month’s
was fueled by the defeated Trump wanted Bowers to a sprawling scheme that the of a grand jury investigation, primary election.
president’s false claims of hold a hearing at the state chairman of the Jan. 6 com- with the district attorney ex-
voter fraud which, the panel Capitol, but the Republi- mittee has likened to an “at- pected to announce findings Sterling, Raffensperger’s
says, led directly to the riot at can leader said there was al- tempted coup.” this year. chief operating officer, be-
the Capitol. ready a “circus” atmosphere came a notable figure in
over the election. The panel Thompson, D-Miss., pointed Trump defended himself on Georgia’s long post-election
Chairman Bennie Thomp- showed video footage of pro- to recent election disputes in social media, describing his counting, and recounting,
son declared, “A handful of testers at the Arizona state New Mexico and said, “The phone call to Raffensperger of the presidential ballots,
election officials in several house including a key figure, danger hasn’t gone away. It’s as “perfect,” similar to the with his regular updates of-
key states stood between the horned-hat wearing Ja- corrupting our democratic way he described his 2020 ten broadcast live to a divided
Donald Trump and the up- cob Chansley, who was later institutions.” call with Ukraine President nation. At one point, the soft-
ending of American democ- arrested at the Jan. 6, 2021 Volodomyr Zelenskyy that spoken Republican implored
racy.” Capitol riot. Georgia Secretary of State resulted in his first impeach- Americans to tone down the
Brad Raffensperger testified ment. heated rhetoric.
The hearing opened with Trump nevertheless pressed about Trump’s phone call
chilling accounts of the bar- the Arizona official, includ- asking him to “find 11,780” During the call, days before “Death threats, physical
rage of verbal attacks facing ing in a follow-up call, sug- votes that could flip his state the Jan. 6 attack, Trump re- threats, intimidation — it’s
state and local elected of- gesting he expected a better to prevent Biden’s election peatedly cited disproven too much, it’s not right,” he
ficials, including Arizona’s response from a fellow Re- victory. claims of fraud and raised the said.
Republican House speaker publican. prospect of a “criminal of-
Rusty Bowers who said he Raffensperger and his deputy fense” if Georgia officials did Bowers also revealed a sec-
was subject to a “disturbing” But Bowers testified under Gabe Sterling were key wit- not change the state’s count. ond phone call with Trump
smear campaign online, bull- oath that because of his faith, nesses, along with Wandrea The state had counted its in December 2020 that he
horn protests at his home and including a belief the U.S. “Shay” Moss, a former Geor- votes three times before cer- said was mainly small talk,
a pistol-wielding man taunt- Constitution is divinely in- gia election worker who, tifying Biden’s win by a mar- although Trump also refer-
ing his family and neighbors. spired, what the president with her mother, has said gin of 11,779. enced their first conversa-
was asking him to do was they faced such severe pub- tion.
Bowers walked through an “foreign to my very being.” lic harassment from Trump The public testimony from

Supreme Court: Religious schools must get Maine tuition aid

(AP) — The Supreme aid for private education, The 6-3 outcome could fuel mediately after games.
Court ruled Tuesday that a decision that could ease a renewed push for school Chief Justice John Roberts The court’s three liberal jus-
Maine can’t exclude reli- religious organizations’ choice programs in some of wrote for a conservative ma- tices dissented. “This Court
gious schools from a pro- access to taxpayer money. the 18 states that have so far jority that the Maine program continues to dismantle the
gram that offers tuition not directed taxpayer money violates the Constitution’s wall of separation between
to private, religious educa- protections for religious free- church and state that the
tion. The most immediate doms. Framers fought to build,”
effect of the court’s ruling Justice Sonia Sotomayor
beyond Maine probably will “Maine’s ‘nonsectarian’ re- wrote.
be in nearby Vermont, which quirement for its otherwise
has a similar program. generally available tuition Justice Stephen Breyer not-
assistance payments violates ed in a separate dissent that
The decision is the latest in a the Free Exercise Clause of Maine “wishes to provide
line of rulings from the Su- the First Amendment. Re- children within the State
preme Court that have fa- gardless of how the benefit with a secular, public educa-
vored religion-based discrim- and restriction are described, tion. This wish embodies, in
ination claims. The court is the program operates to iden- significant part, the constitu-
separately weighing the case tify and exclude otherwise tional need to avoid spend-
of a football coach who says eligible schools on the basis ing public money to support
he has a First Amendment of their religious exercise,” what is essentially the teach-
right to pray at midfield im- Roberts wrote. ing and practice of religion.”