Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly in possession of a meeting transcript that exonerates two defendants named in her August 14 indictment against former President Donald Trump, his former lawyers, and Georgians involved in his effort to contest the 2020 presidential election.
A transcript of a December 14, 2020 meeting of those involved in the effort to create alternative Trump delegates in Georgia for the 2020 election, reviewed by The Federalist, reveals that Shafer and former Trump attorney Ray Smith specifically planned to act as “Republican nominees for Presidential Elector,” and not “duly elected and qualified” electors, in what seems to be a direct contradiction to Willis’ indictment.
In her indictment, Willis claimed Shafer and others involved with the elector effort were “unlawfully holding themselves out as the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the State of Georgia” as part of a “racketeering” scheme.
Further, Willis claims in her indictment that “several” of the defendants “created false Electoral College documents” and recruited Georgians “to convene and cast false Electoral College votes,” but does not appear to mention the transcript of the December 14 meeting she seems to allege was illegal.
Meanwhile, the transcript reveals, per The Federalist, that Shafer specifically asked Smith a series of questions to clarify that the purpose of the alternative delegates was not to serve in an official capacity.
“[President Trump] has filed a contest to the certified returns,” Shafer said, apparently referring to a 2020 lawsuit he and Trump launched against Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and other state election officials. The lawsuit was made public on December 10, 2020, just days before the December 14 deadline for electors to meet.
“That contest — is pending [and has] not been decided or even heard by any judge with the authority to hear it,” Shafer said, according to The Federalist. “And so in order to preserve his rights, it’s important that the Republican nominees for Presidential Elector meet here today and cast their votes.”
Shafer continued, “And so the only way for us to have any judge consider the merits of our complaint, the thousands of people we allege voted unlawfully, is for us to have this meeting and permit the contest to continue?” Smith, who was then serving as a lawyer for Trump, reportedly affirmed “[t]hat’s correct.”
According to The Federalist, Shafer would ask Smith to clarify that the legal “election contest would effectively be abandoned” without individuals serving as alternative electors for Trump, which Smith described as “correct.” The outlet reported that Shafer “specifically noted” he and the other electors would serve as “Republican nominees for Presidential Elector” and not “duly elected and qualified” presidential electors, as Willis alleged in her indictment.
The Georgia Star News contacted the Fulton County District Attorney’s office to clarify whether it is in possession of the document, and specifically whether it received the transcript before or after the August 14 indictment was filed, but did not receive a response prior to press time.
However, a letter sent by Shafer’s attorneys to Willis on March 26, 2023 suggests Willis had some idea of the meeting’s events prior to issuing her indictment. In their letter, the attorneys stressed that Shafer “relied upon and acted in accordance with advice of legal counsel” throughout the election contest, including during the December 14 meeting.
The letter revealed that Shafer was told Smith would serve “as a representative of the legal team to advise the contingent presidential electors and supervise the preparation of legal documents” during the December 14 meeting, and Shafer’s lawyers agreed that the advice he received from Smith “was correct” and “justified as the only conceivable way to preserve” legal remedies for the 2020 election contest.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter reporter for The Georgia Star News and a reporter for the Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “D.A. Fani Willis” and “D.A. Office” is by D.A. Fani Willis.
