PHOENIX — Arizona Speaker of the House Rusty Bowers testifies Tuesday before the January 6th Committee as part of its investigation of the Capitol riot and the attempts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The hearing will focus on the pressure put on local and state officials to change the results.
In the weeks following the 2020 presidential election, Bowers received phone calls from President Trump and his attorney Rudolf Guiliani as well as emails from Ginnie Thomas. Thomas is the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. They wanted Bowers to block the legislature from formalizing the election results.
"I did what my conscience demanded of me," Bowers said in April after he was announced as one of the recipients of the John F. Kennedy Profiles in Courage awards. "I did what my duty required of me. I wasn't going to do anything illegal."
The speaker is responding to a subpoena to testify before the committee. He will be asked to describe the pressure placed on him. During a phone call in late November, Bowers said he received a phone call from the former president and Guiliani wanting him to allow the legislature to pick the slate of electors. He refused, telling Trump and Guiliani he would not violate his oath of office.
"This was a concerted effort to overturn the election," House Minority Leader Reginald Bolding said Monday. "If it wasn't for the constitution and courageous individuals, Speaker Bowers being one of them, I bet this really could have happened."
Bowers was not the only Arizona lawmaker subpoenaed by the January 6th Committee. Congressman Andy Biggs, State Representative Mark Finchem, who is running for Secretary of State, and state Republican party chair Kelli Ward are all fighting their subpoenas.
"I wasn't especially going to take away the vote of the public of Arizona. All those 3.2 million people. I just wasn't going to do it," Bowers said in April.
Bowers will appear alongside Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and his deputy Gabe Sterling. The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. Phoenix time. You will be able to watch it on ABC15 and abc15.com.
