Fani Willis, the District Attorney of Fulton County, reportedly has evidence that may exonerate some Republicans implicated in the Georgia indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 others, according to The Federalist.
Willis had previously asserted that Republican electors for Trump engaged in an illegal conspiracy to overturn the 2020 presidential election results in Georgia.
Among those accused are David Shafer, a Republican elector in Georgia during the 2020 election, and Ray Smith, who served as one of Trump’s attorneys during that period.
The indictment issued on August 14 by Willis accused Shafer and other alternate electors of falsely presenting themselves as the “duly elected and qualified” presidential electors of Georgia.
Additionally, Willis contended that with Smith’s help, these electors attempted to “deceive” officials, including then-Vice President Mike Pence and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, into believing they were the legitimate officers.
However, The Federalist pointed out that Willis has a document that tells a different tale.
The document, a transcript of a meeting held by Georgia Republican electors on December 14, 2020, was obtained by The Federalist. According to the publication, the document suggests that the alternate electors’ intention was to legally uphold Trump’s challenge to Georgia’s election results, rather than to pose as public officials, as Willis had claimed.
Shafer is quoted in the document as saying, ” [President Trump] has filed a contest to the certified returns. That contest is pending [and has] not been decided or even heard by any judge with the authority to hear it…And so in order to preserve his rights, it’s important that the Republican nominees for Presidential Elector meet here today and cast their votes.”
In a conversation with Smith during the meeting, Shafer further discussed the legal reasoning for submitting alternate electors.
He questioned Trump’s former attorney, asking, “So the only way for us to have any judge consider the merits of our complaint, the thousands of people we allege voted unlawfully, is for us to have this meeting and permit the contest to continue?”
Smith responded affirmatively.
The Federalist highlighted that Shafer and Trump had previously filed a lawsuit against Raffensperger on December 4, 2020, alleging that tens of thousands of illegal votes were cast in the state’s presidential election.
Willis did not reply to The Federalist’s request for a comment.
In related news, Trump pleaded not guilty on Thursday. He is attempting to separate his case from the other defendants accused of unlawfully attempting to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia, as reported by The Associated Press.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee scheduled arraignment hearings for Trump and the other 18 defendants for September 6. However, a court filing waiving arraignment means Trump is not required to attend.
