Washington, DC —Today former U.S. Senator Doug Jones, president of Lake Research Partners Celinda Lake, former ambassador Norman Eisen, executive vice president of Public Citizen Lisa Gilbert, and deputy executive director of Fair Fight Action Esosa Osa joined Defend Democracy Project to drive home the importance of the upcoming January 6 Select Committee hearings, the first of which will be held this Thursday, June 9 in primetime. The speakers discussed new polling on the public’s view of the events of January 6 and the plot to overturn the election, the potential criminal charges that could be faced by Trump and his allies, and grassroots energy around the hearings.
These hearings will lay out real evidence gathered by career prosecutors proving that Trump and his MAGA allies planned, promoted, and paid for a criminal conspiracy to overturn the election they lost. This criminal conspiracy extends well beyond the violence perpetrated on January 6, 2021, that injured 140 police officers, including making it harder for people to vote, attempting to appoint bogus electors to overturn the will of voters, and intimidating state officials to change the results in contested states.
“The attack on our country did not end on January 6, it has only gotten worse,” said former Senator Doug Jones. “Donald Trump and MAGA Republicans continue to spread a deliberate disinformation campaign to sow distrust and discredit future elections. They are changing state-level laws to give 2020 election deniers the final say over election results, making it easier for them to overturn future elections. They are also making it harder for people to vote by limiting early voting, cutting down on the number of mail-in ballots, and criminalizing routine practices like handing out water on voting lines. It’s time for all Americans who believe in democracy, but particularly Republicans who seem to be being held hostage by the MAGA faction of their party, to stand up and help protect it. We need truth-telling and courage, not partisanship.”
“The polling is clear: every group of voters was less likely to vote for someone who was supportive of these attacks,” said President of Lake Research Partners Celinda Lake. “People think of this as a potential attack on our country. They see the actions on January 6 as crimes, and they want accountability for both the attackers and the politicians who encouraged and supported these attacks. A solid majority of voters support punishment for both the perpetrators and the politicians who supported the assault on our country.”
“Starting on Thursday night, we’re going to see live on tape the accumulation of substantial evidence,” said former ambassador Norman Eisen. “There’s already enough evidence for a federal judge to say there were likely federal crimes, and there will only be new evidence presented at the hearings this month. Thousands of documents and hundreds of interviews have all led to the American people getting to see the truth.”
“Members of the public are gathering to watch these hearings to underscore the message that MAGA Republicans’ attacks on our elections and our democracy are not flying under the radar,” said Executive Vice President of Public Citizen Lisa Gilbert. “People get that this is a criminal conspiracy that has been unfolding for more than a year, and they are taking it seriously. It’s a top story that includes the fragility of our democracy and the ongoing threats to its integrity.”
“As these critical hearings begin to seek truth, justice, and accountability for the attack on the U.S. Capitol, we must recognize our work to defend our democracy is far from over,” said Deputy Executive Director of Fair Fight Action Esosa Osa. “The desecration of our democracy on January 6 emboldened the purveyors of voter suppression, who in the months following the attack doubled down on falsehoods to justify further barriers to the ballot box. Since then, hundreds of bills have been proposed nationwide taking aim at the right to vote for Black and brown voters and marginalized communities. Working alongside the Defend Democracy Project and coalition allies, Fair Fight Action will continue the work to protect our freedom to vote. Because the freedom to vote is about so much more than winning or losing elections–the freedom to vote is the freedom to live.”
“Americans deserve to hear the truth about the months leading up to January 6, the events of that day, and the ongoing threat our country still faces,” said Defend Democracy Project co-chair Leslie Dach. “The attempt to overturn the will of the voters continues, and the Committee will lay out the conspiracy to the American people in order to make sure the plot is stopped and the events of January 6th never happen again.”
