Donald Trump and 18 other suspects charged with alleged conspiracy to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results after a more than two-year investigation by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis have had just over a week to turn themselves in and to bring charges.
Trump and his co-defendants were given an August 25 deadline to surrender. All 19 defendants were to be held at Fulton County Jail in Atlanta. The former president has denied any wrongdoing.
However, according to Jack Posobiec, a conservative supporter who once espoused the debunked Pizzagate conspiracy theory, Trump may not even need to visit Atlanta and claims Georgia state lawmakers can dismiss the case “tomorrow” if he chooses to.
Former President Donald Trump looks on prior to the LIV Golf Invitational-Bedminster at Trump National Golf Club August 10, 2023 in Bedminster, New Jersey. After his arraignment, an online post suggested that the Georgia state legislature could dismiss the case.Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
The claim
In a post by Jack Posobiec on
“Just as they could have matched those signatures if they wanted to.
“But they won’t
“Have you been paying attention?”
The facts
The prospect of a state legislature, or any legislative branch of government, attempting to intervene in what is arguably the most important court case in US history seems unthinkable at first.
Part of the grand jury indictment alleges that Trump violated his oath of office by asking the late Georgia House Speaker David Ralston to call a special session of the Georgia General Assembly. Elsewhere, Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and others have been accused of making false allegations of voter fraud and pressuring members of the Georgia Senate.
The investigation itself was launched after audio footage of a leaked phone conversation between Trump and Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, in which the former president urged the Republican official to find “11,780 votes” in his favor to secure President Joe Biden’s victory in the South to tip state.
Trump also spoke to others, including Georgia Republican Attorney General Chris Carr, urging him not to contest a lawsuit filed by the state of Texas in the US Supreme Court in December 2020 aimed at changing the outcome of elections in certain states to change.
On December 5, 2020, he also called on Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to take several actions to help change the outcome, and at a rally the same day criticized him for his inaction.
How the Georgia General Assembly Responded
Had there been an opportunity for Trump, the others named in the indictment, or supporters in the Georgia General Assembly to destabilize the Fani Willis investigation over the past two years, it is reasonable to assume that this would have happened by now.
While amendments were recently passed to ease Georgia lawmakers’ obligations to accountability to prosecutors and the grand jury, they have not dared to go so far as to bar her testimony altogether or otherwise drop Willis’s investigation.
Members of the Georgia General Assembly have refused to testify in an investigation against Trump. The state House and Senate passed rules earlier this year to protect them from communicating with anyone outside of their legislature, The Associated Press reported.
Robert McBurney, the Fulton County Superior Court justice who oversaw the special grand jury in the Trump investigation, set limits on what grand juries could ask of Georgia lawmakers, according to the AP.
McBurney wrote that the legislature should not be questioned about “everything he has said while attending a session of the legislature, whether in plenary session or in subcommittee.” This includes conversations and documents produced by legislators or legislative staff.
Newsweek spoke to a panel of experts in constitutional and state law and district attorney’s office experience to learn more.
Could Georgia dismiss the charges?
Alafair Burke, a law professor at Hofstra University and a former assistant district attorney in Portland, Oregon, told Newsweek that while she didn’t want to come up with “crazy ideas” that might work, there are at least some ways to intervene.
“A few years ago I would have said it was a complete no-go. The legislature writes the penal code, but the executive branch enforces it under the supervision of the judiciary. Simple separation of powers,” Burke said.
“But Georgia has joined what I believe to be a dangerous trend of enacting legislation designed to allow them to fire prosecutors they disagree with and recently passed legislation to set up a commission to discipline elected prosecutors or even removed from office. Some prosecutors filed a lawsuit this month challenging the law.
“So in theory, this newly created commission could remove Fani Willis from her position in hopes that whoever takes her place will drop the case.”
“I could well be wrong, but I’m not aware of any mechanism by which they could dismiss the case outright without retrospectively rescinding all applicable provisions of the Criminal Code.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis speaks during a news conference at the Fulton County Government Building August 14, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia.Joe Raedle/Getty Images
“I’m torn on the answer because the last thing I want is to help them come up with crazy ideas that might actually work.
“But I expect they could, in theory, create an applicable defense or retrospectively limit the jurisdiction of state courts.”
Other experts Newsweek spoke to said the likelihood of that happening was very small, but it was there.
Clark Cunningham, a professor at Georgia State University and a member of the Georgia Chief Justice’s Professionalism Commission, told Newsweek that state lawmakers “may seek to change one or more of the laws” Trump has been impeached with. It is not clear whether these changes could apply retrospectively.
Even if they tried to make that attempt, Cunningham said Gov. Brian Kemp would “probably veto any such attempt.”
Cunningham also pointed out that while an impeachment trial against Willis was possible and required only a two-thirds majority in the Senate, Republicans lacked that majority in that chamber.
Georgia has already passed legislation to remove state attorneys and district attorneys from their posts. The 2023 Georgia Legislature passed Senate Bill 92 establishing the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PAQC), aimed at disciplining or firing district attorneys and attorneys general across Georgia. Although Gov. Kemp signed the bill into law, no mention was made of Trump’s impeachment.
“Creating the PACQ will help hold prosecutors accountable, guided by distant politics rather than their commitment to their responsibilities, and make our communities safer,” Kemp said.
However, as Professor John Owens of the United States Department of Government and Politics at the Center for the Study of Democracy at the University of Westminster told Newsweek, passage of legislation aimed at overturning the indictments would put the legislature “in create a highly risky constitutional and dangerous political situation.” Given the prosecution’s central focus on the legitimacy of US elections and American political democracy, this is a difficult situation.”
“Of course, given Trump’s reputation and past form, he will try to persuade/force Republican lawmakers and the court to take action aimed at having the indictment quashed,” Owens said.
“I’m sure his and other conservative lawyers are working hard to come up with new strategies to support him. I really doubt that any of them will succeed.”
Even if the Georgia General Assembly did take such action, Owens added, it has not met since March 2023 and will not begin until January 2024.
“Also remember that the main action was and will be taken by the DOJ in Washington, whose actions largely duplicate the actions of the grand jury/Willis in Georgia,” Owens said.
“I wouldn’t be surprised if Willis’s indictment were eventually included in the DOJ’s federal actions.”
Trump, of course, is likely to make attempts at intervention of his own, Professor Melissa D. Redmon, clinical assistant professor and director of the Prosecutorial Justice Program at the University of Georgia School of Law, told Newsweek.
“Trump filed a pre-charge motion to prevent the use of any information obtained by the special grand jury and to disqualify prosecutor Willis,” Redmon said.
“I expect he will file a similar motion to dismiss after charges are brought against him. He could also try to have the case referred to federal court and seek immunity there.”
In any case, the idea put forward by Jack Posobiec seems grounded in theory. While the Georgia state legislature may be able to amend legislation that could nullify portions of the investigation, such legislation would need to be both retroactive to address Trump’s case and could spark a constitutional firestorm.
Furthermore, while impeachment proceedings could jeopardize Willis, there appears to be neither the political will nor the majority for such an action.
Before his indictment, Donald Trump published a disinformation campaign ad attacking Fani Willis. The false claims included that she was in a relationship with a gang member who was prosecuting her and had created a fake subpoena.
Newsweek has emailed representatives from the Georgia General Assembly and the Fulton County Court for comment. Newsweek also contacted Posobiec’s media company Human Events using a contact form on its website.
The regulation
Needs context.
It is not clear how Posobiec came to this conclusion. Legal experts with whom Newsweek spoke indicated that there could be mechanisms by which elements of the case could be overturned or Fani Willis indicted, but stressed that the risks involved and the likelihood of that happening are very small.
While Trump may bring up his own challenges, the composition and will of the Georgia General Assembly suggest the chances of a subversion within the legislature are slim to non-existent.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek’s Fact Checking Team
