January 6 hearing: attack on the Capitol, Donald Trump, Ms. Ruby, Georgia, Arizona, Adam Schiff

Arizona Speaker Rusty Bowers is first individual to be questioned

Speaker of the Arizona House Rusty Bowers, a conservative Republican who campaigned for Donald Trump was the first member of the panel to testify. Bowers says he voted for President Trump and hoped he would win.

Just before the hearing began, Donald Trump released a statement that called Bowers a Republican in Name Only (RINO). Trump also claimed that Bowers told him that he said that Trump had won the election in Arizona. Bowers has made clear that he never made any claims that the election was rigged or the Trump had won in Arizona.

Speaker Bowers receives a call from the White House

After the 2020 election, Bowers received a call from the White House. Both President Donald Trump and Rudy Giuliani were on the phone. Bowers asked for evidence that there was widespread fraud in Arizona. Both Trump and Giuliani said that there were hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants and dead people who voted. Bowers asked for names, but none were ever provided.

The Speaker was also asked if he would come to hold an official committee hearing in the Arizona legislature to present the White House’s evidence. Bowers rejected the offer when no evidence was provided because he “did not want to be used as a pawn.”

The White House did host a hearing in a ballroom at a hotel in Phoenix, Arizona to talk about the “evidence” of election fraud. Bowers rejected that this was an “official” hearing of the Arizona legislature. Bowers had denied the request to hold an office meeting but told the White House they were free to hold their ownunofficial hearing.

The President then told Bowers that their legal counsel had heard of a legal theory that would allow him to appoint electors that would overturn the results of the election. At that point, he told them that all future contact should go through his attorney.

“I will not violate my oath of office”

Bowers told the White House that he would not violate his oath on more than one occasion.

Bowers recalled a conversation with Rudy Giuliani where he said that they had a lot of theories but no evidence, which shocked the Speaker and his legal team. When speaking with his lawyers this comment confused them and they thought that it may have been a gaff.

Still today, protestors visit the home of Speaker Bowers and threaten his neighbors and make false statements that he committed treason and even attack his character by calling him a pedophile. The protests have upset his children and his wife and they have all found the events disturbing.

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