Trump election probe: Fake electors file motion to remove DA from case

ATLANTA - The 11 alternative Republican electors who have been the focus of a probe by the Fulton County special purpose grand jury investigating whether former President Trump and others interfered with the 2020 election are once again fighting their subpoenas.

All 11 signed a certificate declaring falsely that then-President Donald Trump had won the 2020 presidential election and declaring themselves the state’s "duly elected and qualified" electors even though Joe Biden had won the state and a slate of Democratic electors was certified.

Attorneys for the fake electors want Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and her office removed from the case. Their motion filed Tuesday follows an order preventing Willis from investigating state senator and fellow alternative elector Burt Jones.

Jones, who is the Republican nominee for lieutenant governor, successfully argued that Willis could not be impartial because she had held a fundraiser for Jones' Democratic opponent.

Attorneys for the 11 now argue the DA could treat them, as Jones' political allies, more harshly in her investigation.

While the special grand jury operates in secret, recent public court filings have made clear that Willis is interested in the actions of the fake electors.

On Dec. 14, 2020, when Georgia’s official Democratic electors met to certify the state’s electoral votes for Biden, the fake Republican electors also met to certify a slate of electoral votes for Trump. They did that because there was a lawsuit challenging the election results pending at the time, and if a judge found that Trump had actually won their electoral slate would become valid, the motion said.

In July, Willis wrote in a court filing each of the 16 people who signed the false elector certificate have received a letter stating they are targets of the investigation and their testimony before the special grand jury is required. A judge ruled they could be served with subpoenas to testify.

The special grand jury was selected and sworn in on May 2, 2022, and tasked with investigating "the facts and circumstances relating directly or indirectly to possible attempts to disrupt the lawful administration of the 2020 elections in the State of Georgia."

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney, who is overseeing the special grand jury, will likely schedule a hearing before making a ruling.