On January 2, 2021, four days before the deadly attack on the US Capitol, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger received a desperate call from Donald Trump, the president at the time.
In the now infamous hour-long call, which Mr Raffensperger recorded, Mr Trump not only threatened the official, but he also begged him to “find 11,780 votes” — enough for him win the state in the already concluded 2020 presidential elections.
I thought that... Secretary Raffensperger did a very good, respectful job of dealing with somebody who was not on the plane of reality
Gabriel Sterling
On the anniversary of the attack, The National sat down with Gabriel Sterling, chief operating officer and chief financial officer of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, a lifelong Republican and one of the former president’s most vocal critics.
“At first, I was really upset not to be part of that call,” Mr Sterling said.
Speaking from the rotunda of the Georgia state capitol in Atlanta, Mr Sterling said that once he heard Mr Raffensperger’s record of the call, he changed his mind.
“I thought that [state’s attorney] Ryan Germany and Secretary Raffensperger did a very good, respectful job of dealing with somebody who was not on the plane of reality when it came to came to the election,” he said.
Mr Sterling, who has recently been questioned by the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack, said that he does not think that he would have been able to keep a cool head on the call.
“I don't know if I could have contained myself as much because I was still pretty angry about a lot of the stuff I had been going through the previous month,” he said.
A campaign of harassment that included threats of violence against both Mr Sterling and Mr Raffensperger and his wife started on November 9, 2020, after both sitting Republican senators, David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, lost their elections to Democrats Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock.
After Mr Perdue and Ms Loeffler called for the secretary’s resignation and fuelled Mr Trump’s claims of a stolen election, cars circled Mr Raffensperger’s house, his son’s residence was broken into, and his wife received “sexualised threats”.
Pictures of Mr Sterling’s home along with his address were posted online and intimidating emails became a regular occurrence.
“The secretary and I, we kind of put ourselves out there … we're going to get threats like that. It's not right, but it's not to be unexpected in the world we live in,” he said.
But the tipping point for Mr Sterling was a tweet directed at an election worker.
“I saw the tweet that had the little swinging noose in it and said, ‘May God have mercy on your soul’ and named the young man,” Mr Sterling said. “They tracked down family members of his, too. I guess at that point I said, this is all gone too far. And of course, on January 6, the worst outcome of that came true.”
In December 2020, Mr Sterling, who voted for Mr Trump in 2016, held a press conference at the Georgia capitol and pleaded with Mr Trump to “just stop”, condemning fellow Republicans Mr Perdue and Ms Loeffler for their actions.
“Mr President, you have not condemned these actions or this language,” Mr Sterling said at the Georgia state Capitol.
“Senators, you have not condemned this language or these actions. This has to stop. We need you to step up. And if you’re going to take a position of leadership, show some.”
While pedalling his stolen election theories, Mr Trump accused a Fulton County, Georgia, election worker, Ruby Freeman, of throwing away thousands of ballots, even showing security footage of Ms Freeman and others working during the recount at rallies across the country.
“She was terrorised … she had people coming to her house,” said Mr Sterling.
Trump backer Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, even sent a publicist to Georgia to threaten Ms Freeman and her daughter into admitting that they broke the law.
“Me even saying the words right now just sounds so ludicrous that it has to be part of a bad movie plot … but her life and her daughter's life, Shay, were both wildly affected.”
The threats of violence became so extreme that both have been forced to move several times, and one of the men arrested at the US Capitol on January 6 had Ms Freeman’s name on what prosecutors are calling a “hit list”.
Mr Sterling said that Ms Freeman and her daughter are seeking some sort of recompense following the false accusations and the consequent upheaval in their lives.
“[Mr Trump] had many people around him telling him, none of this is true, and he chose not to listen to them, because it's not what he wanted to hear; it's not what leaders are supposed to do,” Mr Sterling said.
“And he kind of, you know, for lack of a better word, crapped over his own legacy by doing what he did at the end of it, and then really damages my party in future elections in this country by undermining it.”
Fuelled by Mr Trump's claims of electoral fraud, the Georgia state legislature has introduced a law that imposes new limits on voting, including the distribution of water or food to people waiting in long queues at polling places.
Critics of the law say it disproportionately affects black and brown voters, who traditionally vote Democrat.
The John Lewis Voting Rights Act is a congressional bill named after a late Georgia congressman that is designed to strengthen the federal government's ability to respond to voting discrimination.
Mr Sterling expressed reservations over such legislation because he believes that it creates nationalised elections and eliminates voter identification laws from which his state has benefited.
“John Lewis was a hero … an icon and a lion of his generation. This final bill the bears his name, it does things that I think are not going to be long-term helpful to people's faith in elections because it can be nationalising elections,” said Mr Sterling.
“If you start standardising the rules across every state boundary and doing a one-size-fits-all, you're going to raise costs, you're going to actually make it more difficult for people to actually vote.”
Under Mr Raffensperger’s provision, a person who has not voted in two general elections can be declared inactive and consequently purged.
In 2019, about 309,000 names — 4 per cent of the state’s electorate — were purged from Georgia’s voter rolls. According to a report released by the ACLU of Georgia, 63 per cent of those voters were purged in error.
Mr Lewis served 17 terms as Congressman in Georgia’s fifth district, which includes the city of Atlanta and Fulton County, the largest in the state. He fought for voting rights his entire adult life, and spoke at the March on Washington in 1963.
Mr Lewis succumbed to cancer in July of 2020.
Racecard
6.35pm: American Business Council – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
7.10pm: British Business Group – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: CCI France UAE – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m
8.20pm: Czech Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,400m
8.55pm: Netherlands Business Council – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Indian Business and Professional Council – Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,200m
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The biog
Family: wife, four children, 11 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren
Reads: Newspapers, historical, religious books and biographies
Education: High school in Thatta, a city now in Pakistan
Regrets: Not completing college in Karachi when universities were shut down following protests by freedom fighters for the British to quit India
Happiness: Work on creative ideas, you will also need ideals to make people happy
How to help
Call the hotline on 0502955999 or send "thenational" to the following numbers:
2289 - Dh10
2252 - Dh50
6025 - Dh20
6027 - Dh100
6026 - Dh200
Kanye%20West
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'Jurassic%20World%20Dominion'
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct to Kolkata from Dh1,504 and Dh1,450 return including taxes, respectively. The flight takes four hours 30 minutes outbound and 5 hours 30 minute returning.
The trains
Numerous trains link Kolkata and Murshidabad but the daily early morning Hazarduari Express (3’ 52”) is the fastest and most convenient; this service also stops in Plassey. The return train departs Murshidabad late afternoon. Though just about feasible as a day trip, staying overnight is recommended.
The hotels
Mursidabad’s hotels are less than modest but Berhampore, 11km south, offers more accommodation and facilities (and the Hazarduari Express also pauses here). Try Hotel The Fame, with an array of rooms from doubles at Rs1,596/Dh90 to a ‘grand presidential suite’ at Rs7,854/Dh443.
Company%20profile
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raha%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kuwait%2FSaudi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tech%20Logistics%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2414%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Soor%20Capital%2C%20eWTP%20Arabia%20Capital%2C%20Aujan%20Enterprises%2C%20Nox%20Management%2C%20Cedar%20Mundi%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20166%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
RESULT
Manchester United 1 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Man United: Dunk (66' og)
Man of the Match: Shane Duffy (Brighton)
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
Fresh faces in UAE side
Khalifa Mubarak (24) An accomplished centre-back, the Al Nasr defender’s progress has been hampered in the past by injury. With not many options in central defence, he would bolster what can be a problem area.
Ali Salmeen (22) Has been superb at the heart of Al Wasl’s midfield these past two seasons, with the Dubai club flourishing under manager Rodolfo Arrubarrena. Would add workrate and composure to the centre of the park.
Mohammed Jamal (23) Enjoyed a stellar 2016/17 Arabian Gulf League campaign, proving integral to Al Jazira as the capital club sealed the championship for only a second time. A tenacious and disciplined central midfielder.
Khalfan Mubarak (22) One of the most exciting players in the UAE, the Al Jazira playmaker has been likened in style to Omar Abdulrahman. Has minimal international experience already, but there should be much more to come.
Jassim Yaqoub (20) Another incredibly exciting prospect, the Al Nasr winger is becoming a regular contributor at club level. Pacey, direct and with an eye for goal, he would provide the team’s attack an extra dimension.
Results:
CSIL 2-star 145cm One Round with Jump-Off
1. Alice Debany Clero (USA) on Amareusa S 38.83 seconds
2. Anikka Sande (NOR) For Cash 2 39.09
3. Georgia Tame (GBR) Cash Up 39.42
4. Nadia Taryam (UAE) Askaria 3 39.63
5. Miriam Schneider (GER) Fidelius G 47.74
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Review: Tomb Raider
Dir: Roar Uthaug
Starring: Alicia Vikander, Dominic West, Daniel Wu, Walter Goggins
two stars
RACECARD
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The%C2%A0specs%20
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New process leads to panic among jobseekers
As a UAE-based travel agent who processes tourist visas from the Philippines, Jennifer Pacia Gado is fielding a lot of calls from concerned travellers just now. And they are all asking the same question.
“My clients are mostly Filipinos, and they [all want to know] about good conduct certificates,” says the 34-year-old Filipina, who has lived in the UAE for five years.
Ms Gado contacted the Philippines Embassy to get more information on the certificate so she can share it with her clients. She says many are worried about the process and associated costs – which could be as high as Dh500 to obtain and attest a good conduct certificate from the Philippines for jobseekers already living in the UAE.
“They are worried about this because when they arrive here without the NBI [National Bureau of Investigation] clearance, it is a hassle because it takes time,” she says.
“They need to go first to the embassy to apply for the application of the NBI clearance. After that they have go to the police station [in the UAE] for the fingerprints. And then they will apply for the special power of attorney so that someone can finish the process in the Philippines. So it is a long process and more expensive if you are doing it from here.”
