The information in the filing provides the latest information on the rapidly evolving and expanding investigation led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis, who requested the convening of a special grand jury earlier this year. Part of the investigation now focuses on the 16 Republicans who gathered at the Georgia Capitol on December 14, 2020, as part of an effort to falsely certify the state’s electoral college votes for former President Donald Trump, even though Joe Biden won the state. The group included Georgia Republican Party Chairman David J. Shaffer, lieutenant governor candidate Bert Jones, county GOP officials, a former state legislator and local conservative activists. Attorneys for 11 of those 16 Republicans, including Shaffer, told a new court filing that their clients they received a grand jury summons on June 1 and then were notified in late June that they were considered targets of the investigation instead of witnesses. They argue in the filing that the calls are “absurd and oppressive” and voters will to invoke his Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination after the advice of legal counsel. They considered the new designation “a publicity stunt.” In the filing, the electors claimed they were unaware of a broader legal effort by Trump’s legal team, including Rudy Giuliani and John Eastman, to use the “surrogate elector” panel to help contest the 2020 presidential election. They further argue that the prosecutors’ investigation is “political interference” arising from “local passion and prejudice.” That defense echoes a November 2020 legal memo from Trump legal counsel Kenneth Chesebro, who has also been subpoenaed by a Georgia special jury, that advances an unorthodox legal theory that hinges on the 1960 Hawaii presidential election, when the state briefly created two alternate voter lists while the state conducted a recount. Jones, a state senator, received a letter informing him he was also a target of the investigation, according to a person familiar with the documents. Yahoo News first reported that Jones and two other Republicans had received those letters. A “target” letter is often the last step a local federal prosecutor will take to notify a likely indictable person before formal charges are filed. Jones filed a motion to bar Willis from presiding over the case because she co-sponsored a fundraiser for Jones’ Democratic opponent in the lieutenant governor race, Charlie Bailey. In response to Jones’ motion, the district attorney’s office wrote in court that Willis should not be disbarred because Jones “is being treated the same” as other fraudulent voters and that none of the prosecutor’s activities were “out of character of the law enforcement officer specifically charged with overseeing the special purpose grand jury investigation.” Brandon Beach, a state senator, also received a “target” letter last week for what prosecutors say was his role in facilitating communications between voter fraud and the Trump campaign, according to a person familiar with the documents. Internal campaign communications obtained by The Post reveal that officials knew the effort was legally untenable and so instructed voters to be discreet in their activities at the Georgia Capitol. The Fulton County special grand jury began meeting in June and has identified more than 100 persons of interest. The panel has already heard testimony from Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) and his staff, Georgia Attorney General Christopher M. Carr (R), state lawmakers and local election workers. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp (D) is set to provide a sworn written statement to a special grand jury next week. In July, grand juries issued material witness subpoenas for several members of Trump’s legal team, including Chesebro, Eastman, Giuliani, as well as attorneys Jenna Ellis, Cleta Mitchell and conservative commentator Jacki Pick Deason. Two members of Congress and close Trump allies were also subpoenaed in the investigation. Rep. Jody Hice (R-Ga.) contested the subpoena, arguing that federal law allowed him to take any deposition requests to federal court. Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (RS.C.), who is of interest to the committee over calls he made to Raffensperger about Georgia’s election system, cited the U.S. Constitution’s Speech and Debate Clause as protecting him from subpoenas. On Tuesday, Graham agreed to take any future challenges to the grand jury subpoena to state and federal courts in Georgia.
The uprising of January 6
The House select committee investigating the 6 January 2021 riot held a series of high-profile hearings throughout the summer. Read the final recap of the hearing. Congressional Hearings: The House committee investigating the attack on the US Capitol held a series of hearings to share its findings with the US public. The sixth hearing included explosive testimony from Cassidy Hutchinson, a former White House aide. Will there be charges? The committee could bring criminal charges against former President Donald Trump for his role in the attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) said in an interview. What we know about what Trump did on January 6th: New details emerged when Hutchinson testified before the commission and shared what she saw and heard on Jan. 6. The Riot: On January 6, 2021, a pro-Trump mob stormed the US Capitol in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 election results. Five people died that day or soon after, and 140 police officers were attacked. Inside the siege: During the rampage, rioters came perilously close to breaking into the building’s inner sanctums while lawmakers were still there, including former Vice President Mike Pence. The Washington Post reviewed text messages, photos and videos to create a video timeline of what happened on January 6.
