One of the individuals who participated in a scheme in Georgia to essentially falsify electoral votes on behalf of Donald Trump has now directly implicated attorneys for the ex-president. Joseph Brannan, who serves as the treasurer for the Georgia Republican Party, told a Georgia newspaper called the Ledger-Inquirer regarding the Republicans behind Georgia’s fake electoral vote scheme that “the group acted at the instruction of Trump campaign attorneys to keep a lawsuit challenging Georgia’s 2020 election results alive,” as summarized by the paper — although the legitimacy of the latter part of that argument (about keeping a lawsuit viable) is certainly questionable.
Per the paper, Brannan claimed to the Ledger-Inquirer that there “was enough to meet the initial standard to show there were (enough) ballots in dispute,” adding: “This was being asked by the (Trump) campaign. So if it preserved his legal rights, that made sense to me… If Biden had a lawsuit pending and the Democratic electors filed paperwork to preserve his legal challenge, I would have had no issue.” Brannan, along with over a dozen other Georgia Republican leaders, signed off on claims that they were the legitimate electoral college members from their state and sent documentation of their lies to federal authorities. The records that were sent to federal officials didn’t mention the argument that Brannan made about keeping that lawsuit going, although in a couple of states, those who participated in the fake electoral vote scheme (which extended across state lines) did formally hedge their bets in a similar fashion.
Rep Raskin on Trump's 1/30 memo: "Look no further for the Trump smoking gun: he admits his purpose – to overturn the election. His job was to uphold the Constitution, take care that laws would be faithfully executed. He trashed the Constitution and tried to execute the Republic."
— Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) January 31, 2022
In Georgia, the Republicans who had a hand in the plot signed off on their claims at the state Capitol on the same day that the legitimate electoral college members from the state met there to prepare their own electoral votes. At that point, the presidential election results in Georgia had long since been certified by state officials, and — according to any reasonably objective measurement — there was no sincere indication as of that juncture that there was any real-world evidence that the outcome could have been legitimately changed. The lack of meaningful evidence behind claims of a suspicious election outcome undercuts insistences from Brannan and anyone else that they were just following the facts.
A pair of Republican governors, Asa Hutchinson and Larry Hogan, have now said Trump that should not be the future of the GOP.
Hogan: "With America on the wrong path, the stakes are too high to double down on failure."
— Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) February 1, 2022
Those who participated in the fake electoral vote scheme could face criminal charges from either state or federal authorities over their actions; in Michigan and New Mexico, state Attorney Generals have already referred the matter to federal prosecutors, and deputy U.S. Attorney General Lisa Monaco confirmed that federal authorities are reviewing the matter. Charges could cover a whole host of offenses, from criminal conspiracy to forging public records. In addition, the House committee investigating the Capitol riot subpoenaed two of the individuals who participated in the scheme in each state where such a thing unfolded. Across seven states, that’s a total of 14 individuals who’ve been subpoenaed.
Columbus resident and Georgia GOP treasurer Joseph Brannan was one of 16 Georgians who served as a fake elector for Donald Trump in the 2020 election.
Brannan said they did it at the direction of Trump's campaign attorneys. #gapolhttps://t.co/ev1EDxXyed
— Nick Wooten (@ByNickEWoot) January 31, 2022
