According to a recent report by The Washington Post, a group of sixteen individuals, known as “fake electors,” gathered in Georgia during the 2020 presidential election to declare Donald Trump as the winner. Now, it has been revealed that eight of these individuals have been offered immunity deals by prosecutors investigating election interference in the state. Immunity means they won’t be charged with crimes as long as they provide truthful information in the ongoing investigation led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who is a Democrat.
While these eight individuals are off the hook, one of the electors, David Shafer, who is also the Georgia Republican Party chair, may still face charges. To handle his legal matters, he has hired a lawyer named Craig Gillen, who was involved in a notable legal case called the Iran-Contra affair. Additionally, The New York Times reported that a ninth person from the group has also reached a similar immunity deal, but their identity is currently unknown.
When news of the immunity deals broke, MSNBC’s Alex Wagner remarked that it wasn’t a good turn of events for Rudy Giuliani. Giuliani, who was leading the “alternate” elector scheme, where activists in Georgia and other places declared Trump as the winner and submitted their own “certification” to Congress, was a key figure in the effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. This whole endeavor reached its climax with the events that took place on January 6, 2021.
Wagner also highlighted other ongoing legal proceedings related to former President Trump, including the investigation by Georgia prosecutors. Recently, District Attorney Fani Willis warned local law enforcement to stay alert between July 11 and September 1, hinting at the possibility of potential indictments being announced during that time. The latest immunity deals granted to the “fake electors” add another layer of complexity to these investigations. Wagner humorously suggested that if she were Donald Trump, she would make sure to have refundable summer travel plans, implying that these developments might have consequences for the former president.
