an election thief. annie lee moss was a loyal government employee who had no idea what joe mccarthy was talking about. i'm afraid i'm going to have to accuse myself on this. >> it was a complete farce. highlighted a few days later by edward r murrow the smear campaign backfired. drew pearson wrote that wisconsin folks saw her as a nice old lady who wasn't harming anyone. there were other disgraces of

course. by the end of the year the republican party in the u.s. and and distance themselves from joe mccarthy and his smears and lies. one wonders what the legacy will be. will the bullying and attempted destruction of her life and livelihood mean anything to today's public? well said. the echoes of history being heard today. let's turn it over to dawn vinning tonight. >> you're going to made a very special woman and her mother. you're going to hear from this true american hero. this is about the kind of country that we are.

the kind of country that we should be. andrea moss is her name. she may not call herself a hero but that is exactly what she is. a black woman who stood up for our democracy. who waived this level the way generations of black, white and brown people have fought and died to preserve the right to vote. shea moss was doing her job as an election worker. helping them to vote. processing the vote count. she worked in the department of registration until this year. for that, she was targeted by the then president of the u.s. and his minions. targeted with lies and racist accusations. her life turned upside down. >> i felt horrible. like it was all my fault. if i would have never decided to be an election worker i

could've done anything else. but that is what i decided to do. and now people are lying and spreading rumors. attacking my mom. going to my grandmother's house. and my kid i just felt so bad. i felt bad for my mom and i felt horrible for picking this job and being the one that always wants to help. that is always there. i feel like it was my fault for putting my family in the situation. >> did you hear that? the perfect person to testify. a regular american trying to do her job and help people.

not quite sure how to work the microphone. nervous on being in front of the camera and sharing her story. it was real. did you hear what she said? she felt like it was her fault. and all she was doing was being a patriotic american. >> i've always been told how important it is to vote. and how the older people before me did not have that right. >> she talks about being an only child and the only grandchild. she said she loved her job until it was taken away from her by a few people who decided their lie was more important than her life. she and her family were subjected to outrageous accusations and death threat. being told to be glad that it was 2020 and 1920.

>> quite obviously passing around this as if it was files of heroin or cocaine. they had at least 18,000 on tape. having to do with ruby freeman who is a professional hustler. >> i mean? come on. that's just disgusting. no other way to put it. a hustler cut donald trump and rudy giuliani revealing themselves for who they really are. they are the ones trying to pull the scam and the hustle. listen to ruby freeman.

she had to go into hiding after the fbi said she would not be safe. this was safe in general at least until the inauguration. >> now i can't even introduce myself by name anymore. i get nervous bumping into people and i know in the grocery store who says my name. i'm worried about who is listening. i get nervous when i have to give my name for food orders. am always concerned on who is around me. of lost my name and my reputation. i have lost my sense of security. all because a group of people starting with number 45 and his ally rudy giuliani deciding to scapegoat me and my daughter. pushing their own lies about how the presidential election

was stolen. >> imagine that. to be afraid to say your own name? think about it. and think about the courage that it took to go before the january sixth committee and stand up for what is right. to stand up against the liars and the bullies. those who put their lives in danger. another principled american calling out the lies that we've seen lead to violence. >> i urge those watching today to focus on the evidence the committee will present. don't be distracted by the politics. this is serious. we cannot allow america to become a nation of conspiracy theories and thug violence. >> and she is correct. don't be distracted by the politics. this is not about right versus left. it's not bad at all. this is about democracy. this is about calling out the lies and who is doing it.

quite frankly, that is donald trump and members of the republican party. the ones who are not saying anything and allowing all of this to happen. she said a nation of conspiracy theorists and thug violence. like the threats against rusty bowers who refuse to play along with the plan to decertify his election results. only to be harassed by protesters outside of his home calling him a pervert and a pedophile. even his gravely ill daughter was harassed. >> it is a tenant of my faith that the constitution is divinely inspired. my most basic foundational beliefs. for me to do that because someone asked me to? it is foreign to my very being.

i will not do it. >> thug politics. like the attack on brad roethlisberger who refused the then president's demand that he find 11,784. >> my wife started getting text. hers came in as sexualized attacks were disgusting. someone broke into my daughter- in-law's home and my son has passed. she is a widow and has two kids. were very concerned about her safety. >> conservative trump supporting republicans standing up for what is right refusing to break the law or betray their oath spoke shea moss and her mother ruby friedman are women that testified in spite of the threat's them. thanks to them things were not worse. i know they are bad now but at least they are not worse.

but who will stand up for the right thing the next time that is the question. it's good to see all of your. compelling testimony today. >> i certainly think so. >> i want to start with you first. you have the integrity of last hours and shea and her mother. lady ruby trending on social media. and it should be stuff like this book refusing to be pulled into the scheme. >> i'd forgotten what it sounded like when principled conservative republicans put their convictions ahead of donald trump. we hear from time to time from liz cheney and addington's anger. but you don't hear that often. and i was reminded that these election officials in the secretary of state you didn't

know about them until january sixth. and everything that they did to prevent worse. i am grateful for those people. a gives me a sense of hope that there may be more out there like them. because they want to try it again. the republicans will continue to try breaking our democracy and they are going to vote for secretaries of state who want to keep breaking our elections. and weakening the integrity of them. these are the people that we need more of. and i hope there are more of them. >> we must reminder audience that you are republican? >> yes. i am a conservative and i felt like an orphan and very alone thinking that what was being done was awful. and to hear to who i knew wanted trump to be president

who are conservative to their core saying i would not do this, you've not heard a lot of that conviction of the past five years. and we saw a lot of emotional and compelling testimony if that's what you want to call it. we also heard from professional vote scammers. it wasn't lady ruby red roethlisberger or hours. we heard from professional vote scammers that this was the former president trump and rudy giuliani. those involved in questionable activities. and it wasn't the four people that i named. it was the former president and rudy giuliani. look at shea moss. she was not a professional speaker. she was nervous and did not want to be there. she gave such a compelling testimony about how she loved her job. she loved helping older people vote. she gave absentee ballots in the hospital. she would give out her business

cards so they can ask your information. that is what the election system is filled with the. people like her that make sure the elections are free and fair. i was deputy secretary of state and arkansas. we have people like her that woke up every day doing their constitutional duty to execute free and fair elections. and it is a darn shame that she was chased out of her job because of someone who was so obsessed with trying to win an election that was clearly lost and it is a shame. >> i know you are a lady but it's after 10:00. >> you said that we got a glimpse into an attempt at a cool. fake it and hope it works? >> i know there's a certain population that will never believe the truth. that they will cling to this conspiracy theories that these hearings matter in a big way.

we now know the truth. i don't think there's any serious person who can argue that there was meaningful election fraud. how can you watch these hearings and possibly argue that with a straight face? i think it is advancing the cause of truth. and they the veil off the strategy today. we heard that what they were going to do was make it up and throw it out there. opening it gets echoed in social media or wherever until it blends in and get some air of authority. it is bogus and that is the way myths are made. >> we sort of have an inside glimpse of that pushing this fake election scheme they acknowledge but contend that they have no idea who is behind it and they had no involvement.

>> why was even asking for that? >> someone delivered this from our office. >> did you support his efforts to get that to the vice president? >> i had no knowledge. no involvement in this alternate state of electors. contact the vice president's staff. that's the end of the story. >> you're talking about chief of staff to the senator. this is not something that evokes a credit dubious response. this expands it out of january sixth. we get an idea of how many levels there were to a real

concerted effort to subvert democracy at every step. to pressure state legislators and election workers to conspiracy. this was a culmination of that. >> these are fake. these are not real elect jurors. >> to the point about fact we know the journalist talk about having a first draft of history. this is a real place for the hearings are doing a journalistic service. there is no question of evidence or fact. these are not things that are disputed even by the other side. they've not said that this isn't true. with that these are the responses you get from the senator. this is them just throwing their hands up. they're not even contesting it on a level of fact. we know that every piece of evidence tells us the president and those around him did not care at all about the basic tenants of reps american voters

and were actively working to subvert all of them. >> as a juror you have the right to reject a testimony. we can use our common sense. stick around. we have a lot more to talk about. let's talk about the emotional testimony and the personal cost of standing up to the former president. >> do you know how it feels to have the president of the united states target you? the president of the united states is supposed to represent every american. not to target one. ♪ my name is austin james. as a musician living with diabetes, fingersticks can be a real challenge. that's why i use the freestyle libre 2 system.

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witnesses testifying before the select committee today about the pressure and intimidation that they faced from the highest levels of government. liz cheney saying that we cannot let america become a nation of conspiracy theories and thug violence. when the relentless pressure campaign did not work, that is when the terrorizing began. we heard about death threat and home break-ins. we heard about constant

harassment. is that the cost for standing up to the ex-president? >> wishing that over and over. the weapon eyes to harassment that comes from standing up. it comes from standing up to the president. it can be at div or passive. it simply doing anything outside of the purview of what's donald trump want's. it would invite harassment specifically from media outlet in conservative sources who have pushed the lies and harassment on individuals who are frankly doing the work of the american democracy. these are people who have taken it upon themselves to actually hold up the tenant of our government. as a reaction to doing their job they experience these things, specifically targeted at them from the highest levels of government. that is not a feature but a bug of the administration.

they've seen this over and over. to former friends and became enemies to longtime enemies in the media and everyone. >> and former friend to told the truth. than of itself is a disqualifying factor. >> you didn't have to stand up to the president to be the target of this fire. you just had to be a perceived opponent. he told people all the time over years conditioning this environment that his opponents were enemies of the state. that such and such group was not to be believed. go after opponents now cover your legal costs. he condition this environment and radicalized a group of people to do this on his behalf in his name. and i want to say something about shea and her mother. and the other women that were mentioned today with the target of harassment that they received. this is not just around an election issue.

i wrote about the harassment of women public health administrators. they want big-name people will. they were just doing their jobs. but because they said that covid was a cold and taking precautions was known assault on your freedom they received death threat and off all kinds of harassment. specifically targeting women in a way. it is part of the hatred and harassment that has been seeded that women get. i have been the target of his harassment on line. they get a particular kind of harassment. and i think it needs calling out. because women have been going through this. not just for election stuff but for the course of his administration.

>> when next question is for you allison i want to quote the former commissioner here who was on with my colleague earlier. he said that it has nothing to do with the republican whether not you are willing to lie for the former president or not. >> absolutely. these are republican election officials that stood up for the right thing. brad roethlisberger has a beginning going to do my constitutional duty and follow the law. we are a nation of laws. not the current elected president being able to decide if they will continue being the elected president. they wanted the president to win. brian kemp wanted him to win. bowers in arizona wanted him to win. but they did the constitutional duty by certifying the electoral's as they came in.

>> this is whether or not you are willing to lie for the former president. and they were not going to do so. this is a far-reaching consequence. a small number that did not get a lot of attention but was pointed out today, the president's tone, demeanor and wrath of a lot of things he doesn't like what people do things. and his base goes after critic's. that took a toll on him. he traveled with the president in 2020 before the election. he saw the vitriol that republican voters had against the president for his demeanor his tone in the way he treated people. that took a toll on him running in 2020 as well as the senator's running in midterm elections. he said specifically, looking at the numbers 20 thousand republicans went to the polls in georgia and voted down ballot.

in these are republicans who are fed up willing to report republicans but they had that message moving forward. they are tired of it. >> the threats of violence and harassment on and on is horrific. was there any case of anything that was against the law that was illegal? >> over the course the last several we the focus for potential prosecution is shifted. we used to be focused on january sixth itself. was it legal incitement a variety? the only people that were prosecuted were those that went in. but now the focus is on a broader conspiracy. the effort to block the electoral certification. it is a better and smarter way to look at this. charging incitement of right is a difficult charge. but if you're talking about conspiracy just deal a fair election the case for that is

really crystallizing. and i think we are seeing vastly increased pressure on the u.s. department of justice. >> even the folks at fox news said this looks bad for the president. you know it is bad if they admitted. >> what she said. at the same time you trump endorsed backers winning across the country. we had to be clear that this is not only in legal question but a political question as well. this is flattening it to say that donald trump himself was the one who is inciting it. he is mobilized a portion of america that is not insignificant. that is a real electorate in this country. and the message that a lot of republican electors have gotten from this is that some have stepped away but others are scared. of the real base that is true and we know what comes from that.

there is the same type of belief in democracy that we see. it has to become true among the elect threat or this will be a consistent political problem. was penalizing voters and not just abstract americans but those really have an impact. >> there is one party to has abandoned the truth. abdicating the truth in reality. saying they've gone too far left. will we've dealt with that. but when you abdicate and abandon the truth how do you turn back from that? how do you stand up and fight for those that are not standing up for themselves? >> there is a nefarious inmate apply that you weapon nice with no consequence to and no care for what is about to happen because of it. >> be glad it's 2020 and not 1920. that's what shea moss was told

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the committee hearing today from ruby freeman in atlanta during the 2020 election. there both put at the center of the unhinged and racist lies about voter fraud in georgia. speaking to legal analyst joy jackson. it's good to have you both here. so much listen to the testimony now talking about the threats received after the president target over election lies.

>> yes there were a lot of threats. wishing death upon me. telling me that i will be in jail with my mother. saying things like be glad it is 2020 and not 1920. >> were these threats and file comments racist in nature? >> they were hateful. >> this is a woman who loved her job and was proud to be an election worker. and this is how it ended. it is despicable. >> loves her job loves democracy. and knows about the history of this country particularly in terms of the african-american people and how hard-fought the right to vote has been over

these last many decades in the country. i thought about what happened today almost 60 years ago and that was the death of three civil rights workers going to mississippi to try to register black people to vote. that is a history that they are trying to uphold spreading word about voting and registering them to vote. talking about the importance all those in her community. disheartening and frightening to hear about the six variance of racial lies and violent threats that she got. all of those things she had to go through because she was targeted by this president. people coming after her verbally. her grandmother and her mother and essentially saying they didn't want to participate in the same way because of the way they were spotlighted and targeted by this president.

it was very emotional. and very emotional for a lot of years it washed her testimony today. >> we had them coming through painstakingly. 18,000 voters having to do with ruby freeman. she was a vote scammer. >> they attacked you and your mother using that name 18 times. >> i felt horrible.

like it was all my fault. >> these crazy people believe that all of this stuff that has been said that she's a scammer and a hustler. they were attack and then faced serious and racist threat. so what responsibility does the former president have your >> i think everyone should be responsible. they're talking about opinions in this tensions between that and definite defamation. but the reality is it's

celebrated for being an election worker. instead you're denigrating them without any factual basis. they had to be very careful when the use language. and destroy people. >> those of us know of color know what it's like to be attacked and i think you have personal experience here . but that's not what these women signed up for. >> and it has completely changed your lives.

we all know how important naming is for african-americans. someone who built this business in georgia and they live in fear because of what the former president date aligning them in a racist way. we will be right back. only from discover.

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liz cheney issued a challenge to the white house counsel pets alone. >> we are certain that donald trump does not want him to

testify. our evidence shows that the office tried to do what is right. we think the american people deserve to hear from them personally. he should appear before this committee. and we are working to secure his testimony. >> is already come in with alice stewart. the committee clearly wants the former white house counsel to testify. he is a critical figure. they believe they've already cooperated enough. the committee is entirely at their mercy now. especially for where we are on

the calendar. the hearings will be over soon so it's only based on his goodwill and i wouldn't bank on that. >> he sat down with the committee along with his deputy why you think it's so important for the american people to hear from him? >> all of the reasons. anyone that was that close to these moment should have to talk. what i don't like is the public airing during the hurry hearing of what we want to were not getting. i want to feel like they have this and they know what is happening. they've everyone lined up that they need. it reeks of insecurity and i don't like it. >> i've been on the camping with them before. he is a man of the utmost

integrity. and he has done all the right things in terms of advice to the former president. he has provided information in it would be nice if there was more but in his mind he has done what he needs to do. we can all acknowledge what we've seen on videotape testimony from jason miller and bill step in this information has been damning. and that in and of itself hearing from them on whether or not it's videotape or if he comes forward i would not expect him to do that. what he has provided so far i'm sure of. if he is a man of integrity i take your word for it. i feel as if there so much pressure on this hearing that i

imagine there are a lot of different fact there is. but at the same time there should not be. that is the pitch the committee is trying to deal with. if you're looking at that and say how does someone like the sign up again? that's the point. is not only about right now it's about the future and about putting up higher barriers for regular people to stand that for democracy. so as we talk about the conspiracy or harassment the attention is ongoing. so that will be present now and for the future. >> thank you all. we will have much more today's hearing on the hill. but we have big developments another hearing. one about the rob elementary school shooting.

the volte mayor has thrown people under the bus? that is next.

tonight the mayor of uvalde, texas, lashing out in anger at the director of the department of public safety accusing colonel mcgraw of giving officials and the public contradictory information about the mass shooting at the school that killed 19 children and two teachers. >> since that day colonel mcgraw has continued to whether you want to call it lie, leak, excuse me, mislead, misstate information in order to distance his own troopers and rangers from the response. every briefing he leaves out the

number of his own officers and rangers that were on scene that day. >> earlier today the colonel himself slammed the response by law enforcement to the mass shooting as an abject failure. much more on the late developments in our next hour when we're live in texas. also ahead, today was january 6 committee's fourth public hearing on the hill. how does it fit into the big picture of what we've learned so far? we will lay it out for you, next. what do you think healthier looks like? ♪ ♪ with a little help from cvs... ...you can support your nutrition, sleep, immune system, energy...even skin. and before you know it, healthier can look a lot like...you. ♪ ♪ cvs. healthier happens together. ♪ my name is austin james.

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the january 6th committee today laying out in point by point detail the intense campaign by the then president and his allies to get state officials to overturn election results. a top arizona state gop official testifying he would not violate his oath to the constitution. georgia's secretary of state also a republican testifying he fought back against attempts to

get him to change the results, saying trump lost the election in his state. those officials and two georgia election workers testifying they and their families faced threats because of trump's tactics. more tonight from cnn's manu raju. >> you're a tyrant. you're a felon. and you must turn yourself in to the authorities immediately. >> reporter: tonight the january 6th committee laying out in stark terms the intimidation and pressure campaign from then president donald trump and his allies against state officials who were attempting to uphold democracy in states where joe biden won. >> what are we going to do? what can you and i do to a state legislature besides kill them? >> reporter: trump urging them to reverse the election results even though he was told repeatedly it was illegal. >> i said something to the effect of, sir, we've done dozens of investigations, hundreds of interviews. the major allegations are not supported by the evidence developed. >> reporter: rusty bowers the

republican arizona state house speaker testified that trump, rudy guiliani, congressman andy biggs, and others, pressured him to decertify biden's win in his state. biggs ignored cnn's questions about it. bowers said guiliani never provided evidence of their conspiracy theories. even admitting there was none. >> what exactly did he say and how did it come up? >> my recollection, he said we've got lots of theories. we just don't have the evidence. i don't know if that was a gaff or maybe he didn't think through what he said. afterwards we kind of laughed about it. but i do not take this current situation in a light manner, a fearful manner, or a avengeful manner. i do not want to be a winner by cheating. >> reporter: trump's lawyer john eastman allegedly told bowers to just replace the electors even if he did not have the authority. >> he said, just do it and let the court sort it out. i said, you're asking me to do something that