{"id":2328442,"date":"2024-08-21T13:59:01","date_gmt":"2024-08-21T17:59:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-ag-says-he-wont-investigate-fulton-countys-illegal-conduct\/"},"modified":"2024-08-21T14:02:55","modified_gmt":"2024-08-21T18:02:55","slug":"ga-ag-says-he-wont-investigate-fulton-countys-illegal-conduct","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ga-ag-says-he-wont-investigate-fulton-countys-illegal-conduct\/","title":{"rendered":"GA AG Says He Won&#8217;t Investigate Fulton County&#8217;s Illegal Conduct"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fga-ag-says-he-wont-investigate-fulton-countys-illegal-conduct%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2328442&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Georgia&#8217;s Republican Attorney General, Christopher Carr, announced\u2063 on August 1, 2024, that he would not be conducting an investigation into \u2062Fulton County regarding its\u200d conduct during the 2020 election, \u200bdespite a ruling from the Georgia State Election Board\u2062 (SEB) in\u200d May\u2062 declaring multiple violations of election law\u2064 by Fulton\u200c County.\u2063 Carr indicated that his office would focus \u200con specific claims of voter fraud instead.\u200c <\/p>\n<p>Six days after Carr&#8217;s announcement, the SEB voted to request that \u2064he investigate a complaint alleging issues\u2064 such\u200b as the submission of 3,000 duplicate ballots and nearly \u200c18,000 \u200dvotes without physical ballots \u2064available \u200bas evidence. The SEB had previously confirmed that Fulton \u2062County had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/survey-voters-fear-cheating-will-affect-the-2024-election\/\" title=\"Survey: Voters Fear Cheating Will Affect the 2024 Election\">double-scanned ballots<\/a> but stopped short of referring the case for\u200d further investigation by\u200c the\u2062 attorney general at that time. <\/p>\n<p>In a letter to\u200d the \u200bSEB chairman, Carr emphasized \u200cthat the \u2062authority to investigate election law\u2063 violations lies with the SEB, and he\u200b was not \u200crequired to pursue an investigation based on\u2062 their request. This \u200bstance has drawn criticism from election integrity advocates and \u2062local Republicans, who \u2062see Carr&#8217;s refusal to\u200c investigate as undermining \u200bthe integrity of the electoral process \u200bin Georgia. <\/p>\n<p>Furthermore, previous allegations from \u2062a 2022 \u2063complaint suggested \u2062discrepancies in\u2064 vote totals that\u2064 require further scrutiny. Despite the SEB&#8217;s findings of law violations, they did not impose penalties nor mandate an independent \u2062investigation by \u2064Carr&#8217;s office. The\u200d controversy reflects\u2063 ongoing \u200btensions surrounding \u2062election oversight and integrity \u2063in\u2064 Georgia.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Georgia&rsquo;s Republican attorney general announced Monday his office would not conduct an investigation into Fulton County for its conduct during the 2020 election. The Georgia State Election Board (SEB) ruled in May that Fulton County repeatedly violated election law during the 2020 election.<\/p>\n<p>Attorney General Christopher Carr said in a post on X on Aug. 1 that the state would &ldquo;investigate specific claims of voter fraud.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Based on the facts and evidence, we stand ready to prosecute any voter fraud found in the State of Georgia,&rdquo; Carr&rsquo;s post continued.<\/p>\n<figure>\n<p><span><\/p>\n<blockquote data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<div lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\n<p>The State of Georgia will investigate specific claims of voter fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Based on the facts &amp; the evidence, we stand ready to prosecute any voter fraud found in the State of Georgia.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>&mdash; GA AG Chris Carr (@Georgia_AG) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/Georgia_AG\/status\/1819088032492036300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 1, 2024<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><\/span> <\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Six days later the SEB voted 3-2 to ask Carr to investigate Fulton County, with members of the board specifically <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=KmH1BPEfQts\">referring<\/a> to a complaint labeled SEB 2023-025, which was filed by Kevin Moncla and Joseph Rossi. The complaint included allegations of roughly 3,000 &ldquo;duplicate ballots&rdquo; and nearly 18,000 votes &ldquo;for which no physical ballot was in evidence.&rdquo; In May, the SEB <a href=\"https:\/\/georgiarecorder.com\/2024\/05\/07\/georgia-oversight-panel-ruminates-on-2020-election-hiccups-as-2024-showdowns-loom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> a motion <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/georgia-election-board-reprimands-fulton-for-double-scanned-ballots-in-2020\/G3H27SUHGFDRHAOZSG4JQJ2F7E\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">finding<\/a> that the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/election-integrity-win-in-georgia-election-board-reprimands-fulton-county-will-appoint-monitor-for-2024\/\" title=\"Georgia Election Board Reprimands Fulton County, Plans to Appoint Monitor for 2024\">county double-scanned 3<\/a>,075 ballots, though it did not rule on the 17,852 votes allegedly missing ballot images or other allegations made in the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.fox5atlanta.com\/news\/state-election-board-asks-ag-carr-investigate-fulton-county-government\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">resolution says<\/a> if Carr does not investigate then the board can hire an independent investigator, according to Fox 5 Atlanta.<\/p>\n<p>But in a <a href=\"https:\/\/law.georgia.gov\/opinions\/2024-1#:~:text=The%20authority%20to%20investigate%20potential,direction%20of%20a%20client%20agency.\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">letter<\/a> to SEB Chairman John Fervier, Carr said the SEB is &ldquo;not empowered to direct the Attorney General to conduct an investigation under Title 21 whether on his own or through outside investigators.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The authority to investigate potential violations of the election laws rests with the SEB and not with the Attorney General,&rdquo; the letter continues. &ldquo;This Office is not required to conduct an investigation on its own or with outside personnel at the direction of a client agency.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The letter cites <a href=\"https:\/\/law.justia.com\/codes\/georgia\/2021\/title-21\/chapter-2\/article-2\/part-1\/section-21-2-31\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">state code<\/a> that says the SEB can &ldquo;investigate&rdquo; or &ldquo;authorize&rdquo; the secretary of state to investigate any alleged issues and then report the violations to the attorney general for &ldquo;further investigation and prosecution.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The Federalist inquired with Carr&rsquo;s office as to why he backtracked on his commitment to investigate alleged fraud. <\/p>\n<p>A spokeswoman for Carr&rsquo;s office told The Federalist that &ldquo;the SEB attempted to direct the Attorney General&rsquo;s Office to investigate the matters that had already been investigated and adjudicated. Under our Constitution and laws, the SEB may not reopen an investigation that has already been adjudicated. The matter raised by the SEB has already been investigated and adjudicated.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The attorney general&rsquo;s announcement that he would not investigate Fulton County was met with criticism from election integrity activists and local Republicans, including the chairwoman of the DeKalb County Republican Party, Marci McCarthy, who called Carr&rsquo;s position &ldquo;disingenuous&rdquo; in a statement to The Federalist.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;AG Chris Carr&rsquo;s position is disingenuous, particularly given his recent announcement on August 1, 2024, expressing a willingness to investigate specific claims of voter fraud,&rdquo; McCarthy said. &ldquo;With new evidence emerging regarding Fulton County&rsquo;s handling of the 2020 presidential recount, his refusal to act is not only disappointing but also undermines the trust Georgians place in our elections system.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Consistent accountability is essential, and this selective inaction does a disservice to the pursuit of justice,&rdquo; McCarthy continued.<\/p>\n<h2>What the Complaint Says<\/h2>\n<p>Moncla and Rossi filed their <a href=\"https:\/\/voterga.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/05\/2023-025-Counting-Complaint.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">complaint<\/a> in 2022, alleging the presence of 3,125 duplicate ballots as well as &ldquo;17,852 votes &hellip; for which no physical ballot was in evidence.&rdquo; As previously noted, the SEB panel <a href=\"https:\/\/georgiarecorder.com\/2024\/05\/07\/georgia-oversight-panel-ruminates-on-2020-election-hiccups-as-2024-showdowns-loom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">passed<\/a> a motion confirming that the county double-scanned 3,075 ballots.<\/p>\n<p>The complaint also alleges that Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger &ldquo;ordered the supervisor of elections of Fulton County to reconcile their totals because &mdash; based on the count of physical ballots &mdash; Fulton County had submitted vote totals (511,543) lower than that of the original count from Election Night (528,777).&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;What was not made public and is central to this complaint is that those results were 17,234 below the vote counts reported on Election Night,&rdquo; the complaint continues. &ldquo;By the time of the certification on December 4, 2020, Fulton County claimed to have found 16,382 votes &mdash; nearly all of the shortfall.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The SEB <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/16\/georgia-board-to-vote-on-requiring-number-of-ballots-cast-to-equal-number-of-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/justthenews.com\/politics-policy\/elections\/georgia-state-election-board-adopts-rule-ensure-number-ballots-matches\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Monday<\/a> to require that the number of ballots cast equal the number of voters (reconciliation).<\/p>\n<h2>SEB Rules Fulton County Violated Election Law<\/h2>\n<p>The SEB <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/09\/board-refuses-to-have-fulton-county-investigated-for-double-scanning-3000-ballots-in-2020-recount\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">ruled 2-1<\/a> in May that Fulton County violated election law during the 2020 election and therefore must have an independent monitor to oversee its elections. The board stopped short of referring the case for further investigation to the attorney general at the time.<\/p>\n<p>During the 2020 presidential election, when former President Donald Trump lost Georgia by just 11,779 votes, Fulton County double-scanned more than 3,000 ballots, the SEB found. While the Georgia secretary of state&rsquo;s office <a href=\"https:\/\/georgiarecorder.com\/2024\/05\/07\/georgia-oversight-panel-ruminates-on-2020-election-hiccups-as-2024-showdowns-loom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">could not confirm<\/a> how many &mdash; if any &mdash; of the double-scanned ballots were counted twice, Moncla tells <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/08\/16\/georgia-board-to-vote-on-requiring-number-of-ballots-cast-to-equal-number-of-voters\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">The Federalist<\/a> he believes the double-scanned ballots were counted twice since he says they appeared in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/nyc-elections-board-takes-down-mayoral-race-results-after-finding-discrepancy\/\" title=\"NYC Elections Board Takes Down Mayoral Race Results After Finding \u2018Discrepancy\u2019\">cast vote record<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>SEB member Janice Johnston <a href=\"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/2024\/05\/09\/board-refuses-to-have-fulton-county-investigated-for-double-scanning-3000-ballots-in-2020-recount\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> during the SEB&rsquo;s May meeting that there are also 380,761 ballot images from the Election Day machine count that are &ldquo;not available.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Despite the violations, the motion adopted by the board &ldquo;allows the county to avoid paying a fine or having the attorney general investigate the double-counting of 3,075 ballots and other allegations of irregularities during the 2020 presidential recount,&rdquo; according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/georgiarecorder.com\/2024\/05\/07\/georgia-oversight-panel-ruminates-on-2020-election-hiccups-as-2024-showdowns-loom\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Georgia Recorder<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Atlanta Journal Constitution <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ajc.com\/politics\/georgia-investigation-finds-errors-in-fulton-audit-of-2020-election\/BZ7D5JXOMRBPZIU4PNVYIHQZR4\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">reported<\/a> in 2023 that during the 2020 presidential election audit in Fulton County, there were &ldquo;several cases&rdquo; where election workers &ldquo;mistyped vote totals or allocated votes to the wrong candidate&rdquo; but that the SEB &ldquo;ordered Fulton County to &lsquo;cease and desist&rsquo; from violations in future audits, implement new audit procedures and adequately train elections staff.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>The SEB also <a href=\"https:\/\/apnews.com\/article\/georgia-elections-fulton-county-state-takeover-945cfa5782b44515ecd4310121bf6b24\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">voted<\/a> unanimously in 2023 to not take over Fulton County elections despite the acknowledgment of serious wrongdoing by the county.<\/p>\n<p>The Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections approved a plan for an independent monitoring team in July to oversee their elections. The SEB heard proposals for monitors earlier this month. One proposal includes individuals who were involved in overseeing Georgia&rsquo;s 2020 election cycle, such as Ryan Germany, who served as the general counsel to Raffensperger&rsquo;s office during the 2020 election. <\/p>\n<p>Executive Director of the Coalition for Good Governance Marilyn Marks criticized the proposal as &ldquo;questionable.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Appointing those in leadership and decision-making positions related to the 2020 problems in Fulton &hellip; as monitors for $100,000 seems to be a generous reward for permitting and concealing the deficiencies rather than an effective punitive deterrent to protect 2024.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>Moncla also criticized the proposed monitoring team.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over again, expecting different results,&rdquo; Moncla said. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Brianna Lyman is an elections correspondent at The Federalist. Brianna graduated from Fordham University with a degree in International Political Economy. Her work has been featured on Newsmax, Fox News, Fox Business and RealClearPolitics. Follow Brianna on X: @briannalyman2<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Georgia&#8217;s Republican Attorney General announced on Monday that his office will not investigate Fulton County regarding its actions during the 2020 election. In May, the Georgia State Election Board (SEB) determined that Fulton County had consistently breached election laws during that election. Attorney General Christopher Carr stated in a post on X on August 1 that the state would look into specific allegations of voter fraud, asserting, &#8220;Based on the facts and evidence, we stand ready to prosecute any voter fraud found in the State of Georgia.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Just six days later, the SEB voted 3-2 to request Carr to investigate Fulton County, specifically referencing a complaint identified as SEB 2023-025 filed by Kevin Moncla and Joseph Rossi. This complaint alleged approximately 3,000 &#8220;duplicate ballots&#8221; and nearly 18,000 votes for which no physical ballot was available. The SEB confirmed in May that Fulton County had double-scanned 3,075 ballots but did not address other claims made in the complaint.<\/p>\n<p>The resolution indicated that if Carr chose not to conduct an investigation, the board could hire an independent investigator. However, in a letter to SEB Chairman John Fervier, Carr stated that the SEB does not have authority to direct him or outside investigators under Title 21. He emphasized that investigating potential violations of election laws is within the purview of the SEB rather than his office.<\/p>\n<p>A spokesperson for Carr&#8217;s office explained to The Federalist why he reversed his commitment to investigate alleged fraud: &#8220;The SEB attempted to direct our Office regarding matters already investigated and adjudicated&#8230; Under our Constitution and laws&#8230; they may not reopen an investigation.&#8221; <\/p>\n<p>Carr\u2019s decision drew criticism from election integrity advocates and local Republicans like Marci McCarthy from DeKalb County Republican Party who described his stance as \u201cdisingenuous.\u201d She expressed disappointment over his refusal to act amid new evidence concerning Fulton County\u2019s handling of recounts from the presidential election.<\/p>\n<p>Moncla and Rossi&#8217;s complaint filed in 2022 claimed there were duplicate ballots along with thousands of votes lacking physical evidence. They noted discrepancies between vote totals submitted by Fulton County compared with those reported on Election Night.<\/p>\n<p>In May, after ruling against Fulton County for violating election law during the presidential race\u2014where Trump lost Georgia by just under 12 thousand votes\u2014the SEB mandated independent oversight for future elections but did not refer further investigations at that time.<\/p>\n<p>Despite acknowledging serious misconduct by Fulton officials during audits following their elections processes\u2014including instances where workers misreported vote totals\u2014the board opted against taking control over elections there while allowing them time for improvement measures instead.<\/p>\n<p>Fulton\u2019s Board of Registration approved plans earlier this month for independent monitors overseeing future elections; however some critics questioned whether appointing individuals involved previously would effectively deter issues moving forward into upcoming electoral cycles<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74,"featured_media":2328443,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-20-at-1.08.46-PM-e1724173837136-1024x577.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[32987,38816,38817,3976,33211],"class_list":["post-2328442","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-fulton-county","tag-ga-ag","tag-illegal-conduct","tag-investigation","tag-legal-news"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Screenshot-2024-08-20-at-1.08.46-PM-e1724173837136-1024x577.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328442","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2328442"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2328442\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2328443"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2328442"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2328442"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2328442"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}