Republican Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has shot down a GOP effort to reopen an investigation into repeatedly discredited claims that victory was “stolen” from former President Donald Trump in 2020.
The Georgia State Election Board, now controlled by Trump loyalists who support election fraud conspiracy theories, earlier this month attempted to order Carr to resume a previously closed investigation into Trump’s 2020 loss in Fulton County.
In an official decision issued on Monday, Carr wrote that his office “is not required to conduct an investigation on its own or with outside personnel at the direction of a client” while ruling that the board “is not empowered to direct the Attorney General to conduct an investigation.”
Newsweek reached out for comment to the Georgia State Election Board via online contact form on Monday.
Former President Donald Trump is pictured during a news conference at his Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey on August 15, 2024. Georgia’s Republican attorney general on Monday rejected a request from the state’s election board to reopen an investigation into Trump’s 2020 election loss.
Adam Gray
While Carr shot down the request for a continued investigation of the 2020 election outcome, the board adopted a new rule that could severely impact the certification of this year’s election.
In a 3-2 decision, with the board’s pro-Trump majority voting in favor, a rule was adopted that will allow local election officials to investigate any minor or major discrepancies between the number of votes cast and the number of voters before certifying results.
Minor discrepancies are common and do not necessarily indicate that fraud took place. However, the new rule allows officials to investigate discrepancies without any apparent limits or deadlines, potentially delaying certification beyond the point required to make results official in the Electoral College.
This is a developing article and will be updated.