Georgia Superior Court Judge Thomas Wilson reportedly expressed skepticism at an attempt to remove Lt. Governor Burt Jones (R) from office on Monday. A group of Democratic voters in Georgia filed the lawsuit claiming Jones’ role as one of the alternate electors who sought to preserve former President Donald Trump’s legal challenge to the 2020 election in Georgia should make him ineligible to hold office.
Wilson “appeared skeptical of the plaintiffs’ longshot arguments,” according to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reported that plaintiffs argued Jones “is an insurrectionist against the Constitution of the United States of America” because he participated in the 2020 election contest, and thus should be prohibited from holding office due to a post-Civil War law that was also cited in a bid to prevent Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) from seeking re-election in 2022.
Jones (pictured above), in a statement provided to The Georgia Star News, said he is being “targeted by liberal Democrats intent on weaponizing the legal system against strong conservatives fighting for common-sense values.” He cited similar lawsuits launched to disqualify Trump, who has faced legal challenges to his candidacy for president in multiple states.
The plaintiffs in the lawsuit seeking to remove Jones from office are described as “four Georgia voters, including the former head of the Atlanta branch of the NAACP” by national media. Jones’ staff also provided The Star News with voting history for three of the individuals involved in the lawsuit, which seems to reveal the plaintiffs lean heavily toward Democrats politically when voting in Georgia elections.
“I’m not going to stand idly by while these Democrat operatives attempt to use the judicial system to accomplish what the political system could not: Democrat control in Georgia,” Jones said.”The voters get to decide who represents them in Georgia, not Democrat operatives. I won’t let them subvert the will of the people. I’ll continue fighting back against the radical Democrats in Georgia and around the country.”
Jones’ attorney, William Dion, told the court that plaintiffs failed to prove Jones was an “insurrectionist,” per The Associated Press, which reported Dion told its reporters, “Jones believed he was acting to preserve Trump’s legal options and that there was legal precedent for an alternate slate of electors.” The outlet reported that Dion argued in court that Jones relied on information provided by Trump’s former lawyers, including Rudy Giuliani, Kenneth Chesebro, and John Eastman.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis indicted the three lawyers in August as part of her sweeping racketeering case against Trump. Chesebro has since accepted a plea deal with Willis’ office.
The special grand jury summoned by Willis also recommended charges for Jones, even after Willis was barred by Georgia from pursuing charges against him due to his status as an elected official. Trump raised the recommended indictment of Jones as an early criticism of Willis, arguing his inclusion means the grand jury report had “zero credibility and badly taints” Willis’ case against him.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Burt Jones” by Burt Jones.
