Prosecutors push back on efforts by 3 Trump ‘fake electors’ to have their Georgia cases moved to federal court

Fulton County prosecutors rebutted claims that 3 so-called “alternate electors” amounted to federal officers throughout a listening to Wednesday in District Attorney Fani Willis’ Georgia election interference case.

Judge Steve Jones, for a 3rd time, heard arguments throughout an evidentiary listening to in Atlanta on the problem of federal removing, this time from David Shafer, Shawn Still and Cathy Latham — 3 of former President Donald Trump’s so-called “alternate electors” who’re charged within the conspiracy case.

The 3 are following within the footsteps of former Trump Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and previous Department of Justice professional Jeffrey Clark, two federal officers who had been charged within the case and have sought to transfer their cases primarily based on a federal regulation that requires the removing of prison complaints introduced in state court to the federal court machine when a federal professional or any individual appearing beneath them is charged for movements they allegedly took whilst appearing “under color” of their place of work.

Shafer, Still and Latham are charged with impersonating a public officer and forgery, amongst different crimes, once they allegedly met with 13 different people in December 2020 and put ahead electors’ certificate falsely declaring that Trump received the state and stating themselves the state’s “duly elected and qualified” electors.

Attorneys for the 3 advised the pass judgement on that their shoppers’ efforts had been criminal and that their movements qualify them to have their cases got rid of to federal court.

But Fulton County prosecutors slammed the defendants’ argument as a “fantasy” that used to be “untethered” to fact.

“These private parties did not transform into public officials by committing a crime,” prosecutor Anna Cross advised the court. “They were not federal officials. They were not electors at all.”

Tensions within the court flared in brief after one in every of Shafer’s legal professionals, Craig Gillen, accused prosecutors of concentrated on the electors over their improve for former President Trump, which he referred to as a “sad state of affairs.”

As a defendant, Gillen stated, “if you’re for Trump, buckle up. You’re in the danger zone.”

Cross referred to as the accusation “borderline offensive.”

“That’s an accusation that the state 100% rejects,” the prosecutor stated.

Attorneys for the 3 defendants laid out their arguments as to why their elector plan used to be criminal, and why it puts them beneath federal regulation and qualifies for removing.

“What bugs me is that these three have been labeled as ‘fake’ [electors],” Gillen stated. “They served pursuant to federal law.”

Gillen, in a 30-minute PowerPoint presentation, made his case that authority over the electors used to be grew to become over to the federal executive after he stated the state of Georgia “missed” the “critical” Dec. 8, 2020, protected harbor cut-off date for states to certify their effects, by no longer resolving the pending litigation filed the Trump marketing campaign by that date.

“They did their duty,” Gillen stated of the so-called trade electors.

“When the state misses the safe harbor date,” added Holly Pierson, some other lawyer for Shafer, “the power goes back Congress.”

Pierson additionally driven back on the state’s declare that electors don’t seem to be federal officials.

“Our clients did what federal law allows them to do,” Pierson stated.

Judge Jones took the subject beneath advisement and stated he would check out to factor a ruling as temporarily as conceivable, however didn’t be offering a time frame.

The 3 defendants may just face an uphill struggle after Jones previous this month denied Meadows’ bid to have his case got rid of. Clark is looking forward to a ruling on his movement, whilst Meadows is continuous his efforts on attraction.

Trump and 18 others had been charged in a sweeping racketeering indictment for alleged efforts to overturn the result of the 2020 presidential election within the state of Georgia.

All 19 defendants have pleaded no longer to blame to the costs.

Shafer in the past served because the chair of the Georgia Republican Party, whilst Still is these days a Georgia state senator and Latham used to be the GOP chair for Coffee County.

None of the 3 are gave the impression in court for their joint listening to, after every submitted a waiver for their in-person appearances. Clark additionally didn’t seem for his listening to, whilst Meadows testified at his personal listening to for over 3 hours.

Shafer, Still and Cathy Latham have argued in court filings that they qualify for removing as a result of they had been appearing as federal officers, beneath federal authority, in their position as trade electors.

“The role of presidential elector is a federal one — created and directed by the United States Constitution and Congress,” the movement from Still’s lawyer argued. “Thus, Mr. Still, acting as a presidential elector, was a federal officer.”

But that argument has drawn sharp rebuke from the Fulton County DA’s place of work, who stated the people “falsely impersonated” actual electors and don’t qualify for removing.

“Defendants and his fellow fraudulent electors conspired in a scheme to impersonate true Georgia presidential electors,” the DA’s place of work wrote in a submitting. “Their fiction is not entitled to recognition by the Court.”

“‘Contingent electors’ are not presidential electors,” the submitting stated, including that “there is no prize for first runner up in the Electoral college.”

Judge Jones, in denying Meadows’ bid to transfer his case to federal court, stated Meadows failed to display how the allegations within the indictment had been comparable to any of his professional tasks as Trump’s leader of personnel.

Instead, Jones stated Meadows’ movements had been “taken on behalf of the Trump campaign with an ultimate goal of affecting state election activities and procedures.”