The strange timing of Trump’s new offensive against Ruby Freeman

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Late last week, on the anniversary of the January 6 attack, President Joe Biden hosted a special event at the White House to present the Presidential CitizensMedals to a small group of Americans. The point, as NBC News reported, was to honor a select, bipartisan group of election workers, officials, and law enforcement officials for their contributions to our democracy before and during the turmoil.

Among the eligible recipients were Shaye Moss, a clerical worker at a county election office in Georgia, and her mother, Ruby Freeman, who took a temporary job helping count 2020 ballots. election. Both women are the targets of a baseless and dangerous right-wing smear campaign, and Biden made sure to applaud Moss and Freeman for their work and perseverance.

Despite all of this, Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss had the courage to testify openly and honestly for the entire country and the world about their experience to set the record straight about the lies and defend the integrity of our people. election, the Democratic president said. Ruby and Shaye, you did not deserve what happened to you, but you deserve the nations eternal gratitude for showing the dignity and grace of We the People. [Its] presumptuous of me, but Im so proud of you both.

Late yesterday, Donald Trump returned to his social media platform to peddle lies about women and to argue that Freeman may not retain his Presidential CitizensMedal.

Ruby, her daughter, and the others ran back to the counting room, grabbed the cases from under the skirted table, and then returned to their counting machine where they came from before hearing the water main break ( which didn’t happen) got a lot to explain. I predict that this medal, at the very least, will be removed at some point.

Again, there is no doubt that the former president is lying. His fabricated claims were thoroughly debunked by, among others, state law enforcement and his own Justice Department appointees who investigated the allegations. There is no real basis for Republicans to attack these women.

Or more accurately, to keep attacking these women.

As regular readers know, as Trump’s big lie developed after his 2020 defeat, the former president went after two Black women, by name, repeatedly, causing Republican activists to threaten the women’s lives and show in their homes.

Freeman, a retiree who started a small boutique business selling fashion accessories, was forced to flee his home, close his business, and move to an undisclosed location on the advice of the FBI for his own safety because in a funny lie.

Over time, Trump’s interests shifted, until last week, when he resumed the offensive. Around midnight on Jan. 2, he published a trio of ludicrous missives, falsely accusing Freeman of committing election crimes.

Two days later, on Jan. 4, the former president continued the attacks, prompting new, equal lies about Freeman. Last night, apparently, the Republican felt compelled to return to his arrangement, apparently unconcerned about the possible consequences for his unworthy target.

It’s hard to guess what prompted this renewed campaign, but it’s worth noting for context that it roughly coincided with a related story from Freeman’s hometown of Atlanta. NBC News reported this week:

The Georgia grand jury conducting a criminal investigation into whether there was any coordinated illegal attempt to change the outcome of the state’s 2020 election by former President Donald Trump and his allies has completed its work, the a judge in a decision issued Monday.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney explained in a decision that the grand jury was called for the investigation of facts and circumstances directly or indirectly related to possible attempts to disrupt the legal administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia and to prepare a report if anyone should be prosecuted for potential crimes.

We don’t yet know what the findings entail or who, if anyone, will be criminally charged. But as my colleague Lisa Rubin explained last week, the case is moving quickly, and it’s clear that Trump is afraid to be held accountable for his antics against the Georgia election.

It seems no coincidence that as the threat of an indictment looms in Fulton County, the former president points to perceived election crimes in Fulton County, specifically targeting Freeman, whose experiences are considered part of the local investigation. .

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