GA GOP chair among those subpoenaed as Jan. 6 committee investigates ‘alternate electors’

WASHINGTON — Channel 2 Action News has confirmed that the chair of the Georgia GOP has been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 committee over the attacks on the U.S. Capitol.

Channel 2′s Richard Elliot obtained the letter to David Shafer ordering him to appear before the committee for a deposition on Feb. 21.

“The Select Committee is investigating the facts, circumstances, and causes of the January 6th attack and issues relating to the peaceful transfer of power, in order to identify and evaluate lessons learned and to recommend to the House and its relevant committees corrective laws, policies, procedures, rules, or regulations. The inquiry includes examination of how various individuals and entities coordinated their activities leading up to the events of January 6, 2021,” the letter said.

The nine-member panel said it has obtained information that groups of individuals met on Dec. 14, 2020 — more than a month after Election Day — in the seven states. The individuals, according to the congressional investigation, then submitted fake slates of Electoral College votes for Trump. Then “alternate electors” from those seven states sent those certificates to Congress, where several of Trump’s advisers used them to justify delaying or blocking the certification of the election during the joint session of Congress on Jan. 6, 2021.

RELATED STORIES:

• Supreme Court allows Jan. 6 committee to get Trump documents
• Jan. 6 committee subpoenas Trump aide, 2 GOP strategists
• Jan. 6 committee prepares to go public as findings mount

Also subpoenaed was Shawn Still, who was a party secretary at the time of the attacks.

“We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme. We encourage them to cooperate with the Select Committee’s investigation to get answers about January 6th for the American people and help ensure nothing like that day ever happens again,” the committee said in a news release.

President Joe Biden won Georgia by 16 electoral college votes following several recounts across the state.

Former President Donald Trump spent weeks claiming unfounded accusations of voter fraud in Georgia.

In December, Trump’s attorneys asked the Georgia legislature to overturn the state’s election results and select their own electors.

Legal experts told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week that the Trump electors may have violated numerous state and federal laws against false statements, forgery, racketeering and election fraud.

Channel 2 Acton News has reached out the state GOP for comment on this story, but so far has not heard back from them.

The Associated Press and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution contributed to this article.

RELATED NEWS:

Chaos at the Capitol: A timeline of the Jan. 6 riot (NCD)

©2022 Cox Media Group