Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) is among those on the Right going with a simplistic characterization of the new criminal charges in Georgia that implicate former President Donald Trump and 18 others in an allegedly criminal conspiracy to undo that state’s 2020 election results.
“Mark Meadows asked for a phone number,” Jordan wrote on X (formerly known as Twitter). “@JennaEllisEsq gave legal advice. But somehow the Fulton County DA thinks this is a vast criminal conspiracy? Totally ridiculous. Maybe the DA should focus on the REAL crime, murders, and corruption happening in her county every day!”
Though the argument has consistently been made from Republicans in Trump’s corner that prosecutors who have investigated and otherwise targeted him are ignoring real-world instances of evident criminal activity in their jurisdictions, facts don’t support this notion. In Georgia, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is responsible for the new charges, is not simply ignoring violent crime. Numbers showing as much simply aren’t there.
As for the substance of the case, Jordan is not fully representing what Willis has alleged. She has not claimed that asking for a phone number in isolation is itself criminal. However, she has outlined allegations of overt acts in furtherance of an allegedly criminal conspiracy that is more fully described elsewhere. The specific charges that Meadows is facing, for instance, seem to relate to his involvement in that infamous phone conversation after the 2020 presidential election in which Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for action on the results from the just concluded race, which saw a narrow Biden victory in the state and nationwide. The specific charges do not specifically arise from his having asked for a phone number.
Likewise with Ellis, her charges seem to relate to her participation in the push for an alternate slate of electors from Georgia that backed Trump, something that Willis alleged to constitute solicitation by Ellis for a public officer in the state to violate their oath.
Mark Meadows asked for a phone number. @JennaEllisEsq gave legal advice.
But somehow the Fulton County DA thinks this is a vast criminal conspiracy?
Totally ridiculous.
Maybe the DA should focus on the REAL crime, murders, and corruption happening in her county every day!
— Rep. Jim Jordan (@Jim_Jordan) August 15, 2023
