On Tuesday, Arizona Republican state House Speaker Russell "Rusty" Bowers testified before the House Select Committee's investigation relating to the January 6 US Capitol attack and revealed that former President Donald Trump and his then-lawyer Rudy Giuliani pressured him to help overturn the 2020 presidential election.
In his attempt to overturn the election results in favor of President Joe Biden which was perpetrated by Trump's Big Lie about voter fraud, Giuliani promised to present Bowers with evidence of the allegation but failed to provide any.
According to his recollection, Bowers claimed Giuliani told him:
“We’ve got lots of theories. We just don’t have the evidence.”
"Or maybe he didn’t think through what he said. But both myself and others in my group—the three in my group and my counsel–remember that specifically and afterwards, kind of laughed about it”
Twitter had a chuckle over Giuliani's statement as well.
During the fourth Committee hearing, Democratic Representative Adam Schiff asked Bowers:
“He wanted you to have the legislature dismiss the Biden electors and replace them with Trump electors on the basis of these theories of fraud?”
Bowers clarified:
“He did not say in those exact words, but he did say that under Arizona law, according to what he understood, that would be allowed and that we needed to come into session to take care of that.”
He added that this “initiated a discussion about … what I can legally and not legally do. I can’t go into session in Arizona unilaterally or on my sole prerogative.”
Bowers said he received a phone call on a Sunday after attending church from the White House and was asked to be "on hold for the President," but wound up speaking with Giuliani–who with Trump tried to convince Bowers to change the 2020 election results in his state.
Giuliani informed Bowers there were "200,000 undocumented immigrants" who voted in Arizona and "over 5,000 dead people."
When Bowers asked for proof of his allegation of voter fraud with names, Giuliani assured him he would get that information but failed to deliver.
Bowers recalled the conversation he had with Giuliani on the call.
"He said they did have proof, and asked him do you have names? For example, we have 200,000 illegal immigrants. Some large number. 5,000 or 6,000 dead people, et cetera."
"I said do you have their names? Yes. Will you give them to me? Yes. The president interrupted and said give 'The man what he needs, Rudy.' He said, 'I will.'"
"And that happened on at least two occasions, that interchange."
When Schiff asked Bowers, "And did he ever receive — did you ever receive from him that evidence either during the call, after the call, or to this day?" the Arizona official said he never did.
Bowers added under oath that he never told anyone the election was stolen, contrary to what Trump has perpetually claimed.
He also said his interaction with Trump and his legal team was a "tragic parody" because it reminded him of the 1971 bungled crime film, The Gang Who Couldn't Shoot Straight–based on the eponymous 1969 novel written by the late Jimmy Breslin.
Although he supported Trump's candidacy, Bowers once asserted, "I do not want to be a winner by cheating."
