Arizona House speaker refutes Trump's statement against him during Jan. 6 testimony

Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R) testified before the Jan. 6 select committee on Tuesday, detailing the pressure he was under from both former President Donald Trump and his allies to help reverse the results of the 2020 election, as well as the harassment he received when he refused to comply.
At the start of his appearance, however, Bowers refuted a statement Trump had released just hours prior that called Bowers a "RINO," or Republican In Name Only, and claimed Bowers had told the former president he won Arizona and that the election was "rigged."
"I did have a conversation with the president," Bowers told the committee. "That certainly isn't it, but there were parts of it that are true, but there are parts that are not."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
When asked by Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) if he told Trump the election was rigged, Bowers replied, "Anywhere, anyone, anytime has said that I said that the election was rigged, that would not be true." It's also "false" that he told Trump he won in Arizona, he continued.
Later, the Arizona House speaker recounted some of the "disturbing" threats he and his family received after refusing to bend to the president's requests, which included protests outside his home and a deluge of messages at his work.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Brigid Kennedy worked at The Week from 2021 to 2023 as a staff writer, junior editor and then story editor, with an interest in U.S. politics, the economy and the music industry.
-
August 23 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Saturday's political cartoons include deficit dimness, steamroller-in-chief, and more
-
5 museum-grade cartoons about Trump's Smithsonian purge
Cartoons Artists take on institutional rebranding, exhibit interpretation, and more
-
Settling the West Bank: a death knell for a Palestine state?
In the Spotlight The reality on the ground is that the annexation of the West Bank is all but a done deal
-
Judge: Trump's US attorney in NJ serving unlawfully
Speed Read The appointment of Trump's former personal defense lawyer, Alina Habba, as acting US attorney in New Jersey was ruled 'unlawful'
-
Third judge rejects DOJ's Epstein records request
Speed Read Judge Richard Berman was the third and final federal judge to reject DOJ petitions to unseal Epstein-related grand jury material
-
Texas OKs gerrymander sought by Trump
Speed Read The House approved a new congressional map aimed at flipping Democratic-held seats to Republican control
-
Israel starts Gaza assault, approves West Bank plan
Speed Read Israel forces pushed into the outskirts of Gaza City and Netanyahu's government gave approval for a settlement to cut the occupied Palestinian territory in two
-
Court says labor board's structure unconstitutional
Speed Read The ruling has broad implications for labor rights enforcement in Texas, Louisiana and Mississippi
-
Feds seek harsh charges in DC arrests, except for rifles
Speed Read The DOJ said 465 arrests had been made in D.C. since Trump federalized law enforcement there two weeks ago
-
Trump taps Missouri AG to help lead FBI
Speed Read Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey has been appointed FBI co-deputy director, alongside Dan Bongino
-
Trump warms to Kyiv security deal in summit
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called Trump's support for guaranteeing his country's security 'a major step forward'