Two prominent Georgia Republicans who served as alternate presidential electors are targets of the Fulton County district attorney’s criminal investigation into efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 elections. The word “target,” though, does not automatically mean they have broken any laws.
GOP Chairman David Shafer and state Sen. Burt Jones, GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, recently received the “target” letters from the District Attorney Fani Willis.
Willis is advising a special grand jury impaneled to probe the alternate slate of GOP presidential electors selected on Dec. 14 2020 at the state Capitol – overseen by Shafer– as part of a legal maneuver to assist an ongoing lawsuit seeking to challenge Georgia’s presidential vote count.
Jones did not wait long to charge that Democrat Willis is engaged in a “partisan witch hunt.” He filed a motion in Fulton County Superior Court seeking to disqualify District Attorney Fani Willis and special prosecutor Nathan Wade because of conflicts of interest.
Jones’ opening argument presented to Judge Robert McBurney is straightforward:
“The Due Process Clause of the United States Constitution, and Constitution of the State of Georgia, guarantees Mr. Jones the right to be prosecuted by a ‘disinterested’ prosecutor. Prosecution by someone with conflicting loyalties ‘calls into question the objectivity of those charged with bringing a defendant to judgment.’ It is a fundamental premise of our society that the state wields its formidable criminal enforcement powers in a rigorously disinterested fashion, for liberty itself may be at stake in such matters. We have always been sensitive to the possibility that important actors in the criminal justice system may be influenced by factors that threaten to compromise the performance of their duty.”
The motion then points to the fact that Willis openly hosted a fundraiser for a fellow Democrat Charlie Bailey who is running for lieutenant governor— against Republican Jones. It says:
“Mr. Jones is the Republican candidate running for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in the November 2022 election. His only opponent is Democrat Charles Bailey. In a state that ‘went blue’ in November of 2020, there are numerous politicians pushing for another ‘blue’ year in Georgia. It is evident from the facts that two politically motivated individuals actively supporting Mr. Bailey, Mr. Jones sole opponent, include DA Willis and Special Prosecutor Wade. It is also noted that DA Willis has been an ardent supporter of Mr. Bailey predating the special grand jury proceedings, going so far as to prepare a video soliciting donations for Mr. Bailey’s campaign for Attorney General — on or about January 30, 2021. This further shows the obvious conflict of interest in the outcome of the special grand jury proceedings against Mr. Jones.”
Several lawyers- Republican and Democrat— contacted by InsiderAdvantage believe that Jones is waging a good case for disqualification. But, of course, they all raise the same question: will the judge go along?
