Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says he will not comply with expected subpoenas from the Jan. 6 commission, deeming the congressional group that is investigating the Capitol riot a “partisan sideshow.”
The Georgia elections chief said he expects he could be subpoenaed by the commission as early as Friday, but he refuses to comply because his office has no interest in “participating in a partisan sideshow solely for the purpose of providing soundbites about an event we have no connection to.”
“I’m focused on secure and accessible elections — not re-litigating the past, whether January 6th, the 2018 election, or the 2020 election,” Raffensperger said in a statement to Just the News on Thursday.
Lawmakers are interested in testimony from the Georgia secretary of state and Frances Watson, his director of investigations, declining to provide further details, an aide familiar with the commission’s efforts told the outlet.
The lawmakers on the commission are likely interested in post-election conversations between Raffensperger and former President Donald Trump, when the latter pressured Georgia election officials to investigate possible voter fraud in the Peach State. Those calls are also being investigated by local prosecutors in Atlanta.
Trump has been highly critical of Raffensperger, a fellow Republican, taking issue with his lack of support over fraud claims in the 2020 election. The former president’s Justice Department found there was no evidence of widespread fraud. Trump has endorsed ally Rep. Jody Hice in his primary challenge against Raffensperger, who is up for reelection next year.
“Unlike the current Georgia Secretary of State, Jody leads out front with integrity. I have 100% confidence in Jody to fight for Free, Fair, and Secure Elections in Georgia, in line with our beloved U.S. Constitution. Jody will stop the Fraud and get honesty into our Elections!” Trump said in March.
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Raffensperger has said having the truth on his side regarding the election will help him win over voters despite Trump’s enduring popularity within the GOP base.
“You continue to get your message out with the truth, and then, you find out that everything that he based it on was not based on fact — it was based on unsound reasoning and an awful lot of emotion,” he said. “As a Republican, as a conservative, of course I was disappointed in the results. But my job as secretary of state is to make sure we have honest and fair elections with the appropriate boundaries of accessibility with security.”
On Friday, Trump asked Raffensperger’s office to investigate a report of “43,000 Absentee Ballot Votes Counted in DeKalb County” that he claimed “violated the Chain of Custody rules, making them invalid,” according to a letter reviewed by the Washington Examiner.
The former president’s letter said if the secretary of state verified the report’s claims, then Raffensperger should “start the process of decertifying the Election, or whatever the correct legal remedy is, and announce the true winner.”
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President Joe Biden’s win in Georgia was affirmed earlier this year when Congress convened to certify electoral votes across all 50 states. Biden defeated Trump in Georgia by 11,779 votes, making the former president the first Republican presidential nominee to lose the Peach State since 1992. Trump has repeatedly claimed that widespread voter fraud resulted in the election being stolen from him, despite officials’ assurances that the election was secure.
The Washington Examiner contacted Raffensperger’s office but did not immediately receive a response.
