As former President Donald Trump is vowing to bring forward "irrefutable" evidence of "election fraud" in Georgia during a news conference next Monday, Georgia GOP Gov. Brian Kemp is preemptively rebutting it.
"The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen," Kemp wrote in a statement Tuesday, linking to Trump's Truth Social post earlier in the day announcing the "conclusive report" that will provide "complete exoneration."
"For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward — under oath — and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair, and will continue to be as long as I am governor."
On the second half of Kemp's statement, Trump supporters and even self-proclaimed "liberal Democrat" Alan Dershowitz — who wants to vote against Trump for a third time — noted that coming forward with allegations of election fraud has led to them being investigated, charged, sued, and now potentially prosecuted.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' 98-page indictment includes a total of 41 counts of alleged racketeering, conspiracy, impersonating a public officer, conspiracy to commit forgery, and perjury against 18 of Trump's attorneys, advisers, and staffers.
Despite Tuesday's break from Trump's allegations of election irregularities, Kemp himself has been critical of Willis' prosecutorial work.
"Unfortunately, what began as an investigation into election interference has itself devolved into its own mechanism of election interference," Kemp attorney Brian McEvoy wrote in a filing last year. "This is particularly egregious when directed toward the state's highest executive, who is not accused of any wrongdoing and is occupied with the business of governing."
Kemp's denouncing "election interference" and abuse of "attorney-client privilege and executive privilege" closely aligns with Trump defense statements through what is now four indictments against the political opposition of President Joe Biden's administration and Justice Department.
"The future of our country is at stake in 2024 and that must be our focus," Kemp's statement Tuesday concluded, echoing a common refrain from Trump during this 2024 GOP primary campaign.
Despite Trump's endorsement of a GOP gubernatorial primary challenger to Kemp in the past election, Kemp said last month he does not hold hard feelings.
"He was mad at me; I was not mad at him," Kemp told CNN. "I told him exactly what I could and couldn't do when it came to the election, and I followed the law and the Constitution. And as I've said before, that's a lot bigger than Donald Trump.
"It's a lot bigger than me. It's a lot bigger than the Republican Party."
Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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