One of the chief architects of pro-Donald Trump election conspiracy theories conceded in a recording that she never saw evidence of voting machine fraud in Georgia — and that’s why she didn’t target election equipment maker Dominion in a failed lawsuit challenging the state’s results.
That’s what Cleta Mitchell told donors and officials at the Republican National Committee’s spring retreat this month in an audio recording obtained by Lauren Windsor, a left-leaning operative.
Mitchell was one of the former president’s most ardent election fraud crusaders during the 2020 campaign. She joined him on his January 2021 call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urging him to “find” enough votes to overturn his defeat in Georgia.
“We had all these people telling us, ‘It’s the voting machines, it’s the voting machines.’ Well, it’s one thing to say that, and it’s another to have to put it into a lawsuit where you have to put on evidence and you have to have an expert,” Mitchell said.
EXCLUSIVE: At the RNC Spring Retreat, Cleta Mitchell, a Trump atty working to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia, told donors she never saw any proof that there was voter fraud with the voting machines:
— Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor) April 26, 2023
"I'm ready for somebody to bring me the proof. And I haven't had that." pic.twitter.com/hsmsPnzYME
She told the donors that she didn’t have the time or money to find analysts who could investigate the claims.
“Bring me the proof. I’m a lawyer. I have to look at something if it can be proven in a court of law. And I haven’t had that.”
Consider it a fortunate decision. Fox News struck $787.5 million settlement with Dominion last week to put an end to a defamation lawsuit after Fox aired false claims that the machines were fraudulent, without proof.
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Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
Credit: Doug Mills/The New York Times
LISTEN UP. President Joe Biden has announced his run for reelection, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has warned law enforcement to prepare for action on the Trump front, and two cable news stars have been suddenly tossed. And it’s barely Wednesday.
We’re recapping all of that in today’s edition of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Listen and subscribe at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.
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Credit: AJC
Credit: AJC
Everything’s FINE. We’ve been telling you about the ongoing rift between Gov. Brian Kemp and the Georgia GOP, which has become more and more populated by pro-Donald Trump loyalists, including in last weekend’s district elections. Kemp has said he won’t attend the party convention in June.
Fox 5′s Claire Simms and WSB’s Sandra Parrish caught up with the governor on Tuesday. He actually said everything’s fine -- except, of course, the parts that aren’t fine.
From Kemp:
I don't have a rift with the state GOP, you know. I just think to win we have to have a robust ground operation. The state GOP was not doing that, so we did that ourselves. We had the current chairman that, you know, has been working against the statewide ticket. I'm hoping for new leadership at the party and looking forward to working with them in the future, but regardless of how that plays out, I mean, I'm going to stay engaged helping our legislative candidates, helping our nominee in 2024, ‘cause if we don't win Georgia, we ain't winning the White House.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
RIVIAN RIVER. The massive Rivian plant planned for Morgan and Walton counties was a crucial win for Gov. Brian Kemp’s efforts to grow clean energy manufacturing in the state.
But the EV truck maker continues to tangle with local residents who live near the site of the $5 billion project, the AJC’s Drew Kahn writes.
The latest local challenge landed in federal court this week, where a Morgan County landowner is suing the company for what she says is damaging muddy runoff being sent into local streams from the site where contractors have begun work.
Residents are also suing to challenge local tax breaks that helped entice the project, along with a separate suit challenging the earlier rezoning for the plant, which happened over some local objections.
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ALSO RUNNING. On the day that President Joe Biden formally launched his reelection bid, one of his Democratic primary challengers was in Atlanta to promote her presidential campaign.
Marianne Williamson, an activist who also ran for president in 2020, is set to speak at Emory University tonight. She said in an interview she’s running to fight economic inequities that will one day be remembered as an “aberrational chapter in our history.”
“The president’s agenda is one of incremental reform,” said Williamson. “He offers people a way to more easily survive what is an economically unjust system. I question why in the richest country in the world, so many people have a hard time surviving.”
Williamson dropped out of the 2020 campaign before voting began because of her low polling and fundraising numbers.
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TEAM BIDEN. We told you yesterday that Quentin Fulks, who led U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock’s successful campaign for a full six-year term, was tapped to serve as deputy campaign manager for Biden’s reelection bid.
Warnock was among the first to lend his congratulations.
“When the world was once again watching us in Georgia late last year, my campaign manager, @QuentinFulks was at the center, behind the scenes, guiding us to victory,” he wrote on Twitter. “@JoeBiden is in good hands with Quentin as Principal Deputy Campaign Manager. Georgians know how to get it done.”
The Ellaville native earned his bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southwestern State University. He is currently participating in a fellowship at the Harvard Kennedy School Institute of Politics. Prior to joining Warnock’s campaign, he cut his teeth as deputy campaign manager for JB Pritzker’s successful campaign for Illinois governor in 2018.
Pritzker praised Fulks on Tuesday, too. “Honesty, integrity, loyalty, and respect define @QuentinFulks,” he wrote. “He has been a trusted advisor and friend since day one. There is no better person to help lead @JoeBiden to re-election.”
When the world was once again watching us in Georgia late last year, my campaign manager, @QuentinFulks was at the center, behind the scenes, guiding us to victory.@JoeBiden is in good hands with Quentin as Principal Deputy Campaign Manager. Georgians know how to get it done. pic.twitter.com/ePFBbkJduC
— Reverend Raphael Warnock (@ReverendWarnock) April 25, 2023
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden’s will host South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House, including a bilateral meeting and state dinner.
- The U.S. House could vote as early as today on debt ceiling legislation.
- The U.S. Senate is working on confirmations.
- U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath joins former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords to mark the 10th anniversary of Giffords’ gun violence prevention organization.
- The Senate Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing on a Texas federal judge’s ruling, now on hold, that restricts access to an abortion drug.
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Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
Credit: Nathan Posner for the AJC
PLANT VOGTLE. On the heels of a visit to the nuclear power plant near Augusta, one member of Georgia’s congressional delegation says it could be a powerful source of green energy.
U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Augusta, hosted South Carolina Rep. Jeff Duncan, chairman of the Subcommittee on Energy, Climate, and Grid Security, at Plant Vogtle on Monday. They toured two new units that, if they come online in the coming months as scheduled, will be the first new nuclear reactors in the U.S. in more than 30 years.
The Plant Vogtle expansion has been mired in controversies, including huge cost overruns and blown deadlines, but that wasn’t Allen’s focus Monday. Unit 3, expected to begin sending power out to hundreds of thousands of Georgia Power customers this summer, is currently undergoing testing.
“Here in Georgia’s 12th District, we are the tip of the spear in the push for clean, reliable nuclear power,” Allen said in a statement after the visit. “Our country needs a comprehensive, all-of-the-above approach to lowering energy costs for American families, and I am proud the 12th District is playing such a pivotal role in unleashing our nuclear energy capabilities.”
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Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
MORE TITLES. U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams continues to pull double-duty as chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, with the caveat that, as a federal official, she cannot raise money for state races for the party.
She is also racking up new leadership positions within her capacity as Congress. Williams was appointed in March as one of four regional vice chairs for the national Democratic Party’s campaign arm for House races.
Supporters held a fundraiser for Williams on Friday night at the McGuireWoods offices in Atlanta, with many of the folks from the steering committee for Atlanta’s bid for the Democratic National Convention on hand for the event.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. They say you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. But “they” probably haven’t met Belle Burns, the English Spaniel who calls House Speaker Jon Burns and his wife, Dayle Burns, her people.
Although originally trained as a bird dog, Belle has moved on to befriending the Burns’ grandchildren and overseeing operations on the Speaker’s farm in Ellabell. And at the end of this legislative session, she may have pitched in as an emotional support animal for the Speaker’s staff.
Don’t go anywhere, Belle, they’ll need you next year, too!
Send us your pups of any political persuasion — and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
