Raffensperger, Sterling to testify before Jan. 6 panel Tuesday

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will testify Tuesday before a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. (AJC file photo by Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will testify Tuesday before a congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. (AJC file photo by Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com)

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger will testify Tuesday before the congressional committee investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.

Raffensperger will be joined by his top deputy, Gabe Sterling, as the committee examines then-President Donald Trump’s effort to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 victories in Georgia and other swing states. A representative of the secretary of state’s office confirmed they will testify Tuesday.

Their testimony will come in the fourth hearing by the House select committee investigating events that led to the attack. The hearings so far have focused on the false claims of election fraud that Trump used as justification in seeking to overturn the election, as well as his efforts to pressure former Vice President Mike Pence to join in the scheme.

Raffensperger drew Trump’s ire for confirming during a phone call that the election was not stolen. Most famously, he refused Trump’s request to “find” the 11,780 votes Trump needed to defeat Biden in Georgia.

The recording of the call was first reported by The Washington Post and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Sterling also gained national attention during a December 2020 press conference when he called on Trump to “stop inspiring people to commit potential acts of violence.”

“Someone’s going to get hurt. Someone’s going to get shot,” Sterling said. “Someone’s going to get killed.”

Georgia has already played a key role in the hearings. Byung “BJay” Pak, the former U.S. attorney in Atlanta, and Caroline Edwards, the first police officer to be injured during the attack and a University of Georgia graduate, have already testified.