Trump is not a graceful loser. Lose he did. Voters in states with a majority of electoral votes decided a single term was enough.
Since then, Trump and his allies have falsely claimed the election was stolen and peddled absurd conspiracy theories. In their relentless hunt for scapegoats and bogeymen, they’ve targeted election officials and even lowly election workers.
Ruby Freeman and Wandrea Moss got caught up in it. They took temp jobs with the Atlanta election department to make a few bucks. Then they became rightwing bogeymen, the objects of conspiracy theories and lies.
CNBC explains (here), “Starting on Dec. 3, Trump and his campaign repeatedly accused Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea ‘Shaye’ Moss, of illegally counting phony mail-in ballots after pulling them from mysterious suitcases while working on Election Day at Atlanta’s State Farm Arena. In fact, the ‘suitcases’ were standard ballot containers, and the votes were properly counted, county and state officials quickly confirmed, refuting the fraud claims.”
But Trump and his minions don’t care about facts, and have no use for truth that gets in the way of their narratives. Rightwing outlets like Gateway Pundit helped spread lies about Freeman and Moss. (Freeman and Moss are suing Gateway Pundit for defamation.) They and their families began receiving death threats.
Then a woman named Trevian Kutti (photo, above) knocked on Freeman’s door. She seemed to bring a warning, and an offer of help. That was on January 4, 2021, two days before the Capitol riot.
Freeman, wary, called 911 and told the dispatcher, “They’re saying I need help, that it’s just a matter of time that they are going to come out for me and my family.” An officer arrived and spoke with Kutti. She told him she’s a “crisis manager.”
She’s not. She’s a marketer and publicist who works for billionaire rapper Kanye West, a personal friend of Trump and a supporter. Kutti is a Trump supporter, too. She didn’t go to Freeman’s home just to tip an innocent election worker that a mob was coming for her. She was there to offer a deal.
Freeman agreed to go with Kutti to a police station and listen to what Kutti wanted to say. At the police station, Kutti told Freeman she was a “loose end” and insinuated “federal people” were involved. Kutti then asked the cop watching them for privacy — because she was about to commit a crime.
Kutti put Freeman on the phone with a man who “tried to get Freeman to implicate herself in committing voter fraud,” CNBC says. Then Kutti offered the deal: “Legal assistance” in exchange for admitting voter fraud, otherwise “you’re going to jail.”
This was a crime.
The elements of the crime of extortion are (a) a threat, (b) to obtain (c) something of value (details here). If the scheme also would involve getting Freeman, at some point, to state under oath that she committed election fraud, that would constitute the additional crimes of witness tampering and suborning perjury.
If Kutti did this on her own, without Kanye West’s knowledge, then he’s not implicated. But that strikes me as unlikely. If he sent her to Freeman on that mission, he’s as guilty as she is, whatever that guilt may be.
The FBI should investigate whether a crime was committed, and if it finds credible evidence that West and/or Kutti offered Freeman protection from a mob or the prosecution that Kutti threatened Freeman with, in exchange for a false admission of election fraud, they should be prosecuted. Then a jury will decide their guilt or innocence. If they’re found guilty of this, they should end up behind bars.
Why? For the same reason law enforcement investigates and prosecutes any crime: To protect society from criminals, hold them accountable, and deter others from committing similar crimes.
Our democracy was attacked. This was an assault on our freedoms. Where specific crimes were committed, whether it was assaulting police at the Capitol or intimidating innocent election workers, the perpetrators should face justice. Deterring such conduct is why it was important to impeach Trump for inciting the Capitol riot, prosecute the rioters, sanction attorneys who pursued frivolous election lawsuits, and sue spreaders of election lies who defamed companies and individuals.
Rule of law is what civilizes society. There’s nothing civilized about lying, trying to overthrow a democratic election, or threatening or extorting election workers. If we are to live in a society ruled by law, instead of violent mobs, people who do these things must face consequences for their actions.
“Kanye West publicist pressured Georgia election official to confess to bogus election fraud charges.”
Kanye described as a “long time billionaire friend of trump.”
https://www.reuters.com/business/media-telecom/kanye-west-publicist-pressed-georgia-election-worker-confess-bogus-fraud-charges-2021-12-10/