Fani Willis Grants Immunity Deals To 8 GQP Fake Electors In Runup To Seeking Indictments

CNN reports At least 8 fake electors have been granted immunity in the Georgia Trump investigation:

At least eight of the Republican “fake electors” in Georgia have accepted immunity deals in an ongoing criminal investigation into efforts by Donald Trump and his allies to overturn the 2020 election there, according to a new court filing.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had previously notified all 16 GOP fake electors in Georgia that they were targets in her investigation. Last month, Willis offered immunity deals to several of the Republicans who served as pro-Trump electors and they accepted, according to the filing.

The newly secured cooperators could offer insights into a key prong of Willis’s sprawling investigation into election interference: the attempts to put forward alternate slates of electors to block the certification of the 2020 presidential vote and the role Trump’s allies played in organizing the effort.

Other Republicans who served as pro-Trump electors could still face legal exposure in her investigation, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Friday filing was attorney Kimberly Bourroughs Debrow’s response to an earlier motion from Willis seeking to have Debrow disqualified from the case. Debrow represents a group of the GOP fake electors in Georgia and opposed the motion to have her tossed from the case.

“The District Attorney’s Motion is reckless, frivolous, offensive, and completely without merit,” Debrow wrote in Friday’s filing.

The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

The district attorney’s office said in an earlier court filing that the fake electors had begun incriminating one another, creating a conflict for Debrow in her joint representation of the fake electors.

In Friday’s filing Debrow responded forcefully, writing “there is no merit to the District Attorney’s claim that any elector incriminated another in their recent interview, and the recordings and transcripts prove it.”

The district attorney’s office also accused Debrow and an attorney she had previously worked with of failing to bring immunity proposals to the GOP fake electors back in 2022.

Debrow also disputed that accusation, saying the group of electors turned down “potential” immunity offers last year but had never been presented with specific and individual offers of immunity until this spring.

Willis recently told local law enforcement officials in a letter that she plans to make an announcement on possible charges against Trump or his allies between July 11 and September 1.

In a related matter, Georgia’s GOP governor signs bill that could remove local prosecutors and DAs from their jobs:

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp of Georgia signed legislation Friday that will create an oversight commission with the power to remove local prosecutors and district attorneys from their jobs. The measure has been heavily criticized by Democrats, including an Atlanta-area DA, who is seriously weighing charges in connection with former President Donald Trump’s actions in Georgia during the 2020 election.

Prior to the signing, Kemp’s office said that the measure, known as SB 92, would create “an oversight mechanism for district attorneys and solicitors-general across Georgia to ensure accountability in upholding constitution and statutory duties.”

The GOP-led state legislature passed the bill earlier this year, mainly along party lines.

Democrats have expressed concerns that commissioners could misuse their authority to punish or remove local prosecutors unnecessarily.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, who plans to announce this summer whether she’ll bring charges against Trump or his allies for their attempts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election result, has vocally opposed the the legislation, warning that it would be “dangerous” to undo decisions made by voters.

In testimony before the Judiciary Committee of the Georgia Senate earlier this year, she also described the bill as racist and retaliatory.

“This bill was never deemed necessary until a historic thing happened in 2020. And let’s just talk about it and tell the truth,” Willis testified, saying that in 2020, Georgia went from having five minority district attorneys to 14. Willis’ office did not immediately respond to CNN’s request for comment on Friday.

Republican lawmakers have not specifically targeted Willis in the new legislation. [But you know that is who they intend to target.]

Under the new law, the commission will consist of eight members. Five will sit on an investigative panel tasked with investigating “alleged conduct constituting grounds for discipline” and the other three would be a part of a hearing panel that adjudicates charges and issues “disciplinary and incapacity orders.”

The new commission will convene by July 1 and put forth rules and regulations no later than October 1. [After indictments are likely to come down in Fulton County.] Under the law, the commission will not be able to receive complaints before October 1 and will not be able to receive complaints about misconduct that happened before that date unless it is related to “a continuous pattern of conduct that continues beyond that date.”

There is typically cooperation, if not coordination, with the Department of Justice, especially in a high profile case involving the former president of the United States, one would think. You can bet the information developed by the special grand jury in Fulton County has been shared with the U.S. Attorney for Georgia and the Department of justice. The Special Counsel has his own investigation of the GQP fake electors in five states, Taking out Fani Willis would just kick this case over to the Feds, and Georgia Republicans can’t do anything to interfere in that prosecution.