The campaign to deceive the American people is entering a new and dangerous phase. Now that most Republican elected officials in Washington have surrendered to the Big Lie -- the thoroughly debunked claim that former President Donald Trump won the November 2020 election -- they are moving to intimidate or punish anyone who provides evidence of their deception, or of their role in the lead-up to the most direct assault on American democracy in memory, the January 6 attack on the US Capitol.