Donald Trump abandons Georgia election lawsuits after Joe Biden’s win is confirmed
President Donald Trump’s lawyers have abandoned their final lawsuits over Georgia’s November election results, one day after Congress confirmed President-elect Joe Biden’s Electoral College victory.
Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger’s office said in a statement Thursday that no settlement agreements were reached in the lawsuits, despite claims from the president’s legal team. Filings in one of the lawsuits from Trump’s team allege state election officials would turn over Nov. 3 election data as the president requested in an hour-long call with representatives for the Secretary of State’s office. Audio and transcript of this call was first published by the Washington Post.
On the call, Secretary of State general counsel Ryan Germany told Trump and his representatives that lawyers for both sides in the lawsuit could “sit down” so the state could explain why the president’s data was incorrect if the lawsuits were dismissed. But, Germany also told Mark Meadows, Trump’s chief of staff, that the state couldn’t legally provide the election data because it’s confidential and protected by law. Lawyers representing Georgia officials reiterated Germany’s initial point in federal court filings Thursday.
“The President’s legal team falsely characterizes the dismissal of their lawsuits as ‘due to an out of court settlement agreement,’” a portion of the Secretary of State’s statement reads. “However, correspondence sent to Trump’s legal team prior to the dismissals makes perfectly clear that there is no settlement agreement. The Trump legal (team) voluntarily dismissed their lawsuits rather than presenting their evidence in court in a trial scheduled for tomorrow in front of Cobb County Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs.”
In addition to the Cobb County lawsuit Trump filed alongside Georgia Republican chairman David Shafer, the following lawsuits were also voluntarily dismissed:
Trump v. Kemp in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia
Still v. Raffensperger et al in the Superior Court of Fulton County
Boland v. Raffensperger et al in the Supreme Court of Georgia
Raffensperger and top Georgia election officials have repeatedly debunked conspiracy theories and pushed back against the president’s efforts to change the outcome of the election. In a letter sent to Congress Wednesday, Raffensperger again debunked the false claims.
A challenge to Georgia’s electoral votes was not considered during the Electoral College certification. U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, whose district includes areas between Augusta and Atlanta, objected. However, a senator did not sign onto Hice’s written objection as required, CNN reports.
On Dec. 4, Sen. Kelly Loeffler said she planned to object to Biden’s victory but backed away after a mob of Trump supporters stormed the capitol building Wednesday afternoon.
Biden’s victory in Georgia marked the first time a Democrat carried the state since 1992.
This story was originally published January 7, 2021 at 5:11 PM.