As a Senate committee continues to hear from witnesses in an investigation into the Big Lie told by Donald Trump, the lie that said he really did win the 2020 presidential election but a conspiracy between a wide and varied number of actors – Democrats, Republicans, vote tabulating machine companies, non-partisan election officials, and the Italian government, to name just a few – stole it from him, yet another bombshell testimony unfurled on Wednesday.
Former ATL US Attorney Byung Pak testified today that he abruptly resigned when Trump told him that he would be fired if he refused to say there was voter fraud in GA. https://t.co/A6Y99RDG9z
— Ron Filipkowski (@RonFilipkowski) August 11, 2021
The witness, former U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak, testified that he resigned abruptly in January because Trump intended to fire him for refusing to say that an investigation into the election in Fulton County, Georgia found a significant amount of fraud, enough to overturn the election results in Georgia.
‘While he did not discuss Mr. Trump’s role in his decision to resign at the time, he told the Senate panel that the president had been dismayed that Mr. Pak had investigated allegations of voter fraud in Fulton County, Ga., and not found evidence to support them, according to the person familiar with the statements.
‘Mr. Pak testified that top department officials had made clear that Mr. Trump intended to fire him over his refusal to say that the results in Georgia had been undermined by voter fraud, the person said. Resigning would pre-empt a public dismissal.’
The top federal prosecutor in Atlanta is leaving his position, a day after an audio recording was made public in which President Trump called him a “never-Trumper." Byung J. Pak, who was appointed by Trump, did not say why he is leaving. https://t.co/4tfpA57DzO
— The Associated Press (@AP) January 4, 2021
Pak’s name was mentioned during that infamous phone call in which Trump ordered Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and others in Georgia to “just find” the correct number of votes to overturn the election. Trump, who appointed Pak as U.S. attorney in 2017, referred to him as a “Never-Trumper.”
‘During a phone call with Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger of Georgia on Jan. 2, two days before Mr. Pak resigned, Mr. Trump asked Mr. Raffensperger to find enough votes to reverse the state’s presidential election results and described fraud allegations that Mr. Raffensperger said were not supported by facts, according to leaked audio of the call.
‘Mr. Pak had refused to support similar election fraud claims because of the lack of evidence, according to two people familiar with his investigation. “You have your never-Trumper U.S. attorney there,” Mr. Trump told Mr. Raffensperger during their phone call.’
Former Georgia U.S. Attorney Byung Pak is set to be interviewed by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday as the panel seeks to learn more about Trump’s efforts to interfere with Georgia’s presidential election results https://t.co/UFRQjXgbp6
— John FitzGerald (@TheTweetOfJohn) August 11, 2021
Hours after a meeting in which a letter to Georgia officials demanding statements about voter fraud was discussed, Pak says he received a phone call from Deputy Attorney General Richard P. Donoghue, the number two guy at the U.S. Justice Department.
‘During that phone call, Mr. Donoghue relayed that Mr. Trump remained fixated on the false notion that he had won Georgia, and said the president was angry that Mr. Pak did not support that conclusion, according to a person familiar with the call.
‘Early the next morning, Mr. Pak sent Mr. Donoghue resignation letters addressed to Mr. Trump and Mr. Rosen, effectively immediately.’
7+ months ago, I broke the story that the US Attorney in Atlanta, BJay Pak had abruptly resigned amid Trump's attacks on GA's election.
Now, Pak is talking to a Senate panel behind closed doors about why he left his post early https://t.co/C6XlB0sTqx
— Tierney Sneed (@Tierney_Megan) August 11, 2021
