The head of a state prosecutors’ panel has appointed himself to lead the criminal probe into a top Georgia official’s involvement in the Donald Trump-backed efforts to subvert the results of the 2020 election.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, then a state lawmaker, advocated for a special legislative session following Joe Biden’s narrow victory in the state and was one of 16 Republicans who falsely declared themselves as Georgia’s presidential electors.
But he was not one of the former President’s 18 co-defendants in last summer’s Fulton County election racketeering indictment. District Attorney Fani Willis was prohibited from calling him as a witness after holding a fundraiser for Jones’ political rival.
Jones was, however, found to be listed as an unindicted co-conspirator several times in the indictment.
Prosecuting Attorneys Council executive director Pete Skandalakis has spent the last two years searching for a new prosecutor to oversee Jones’ case — a search that has now ended with Skandalakis naming himself instead of hiring an outside lawyer or appointing one of the state’s 49 other district attorneys.
Neither Skandalakis nor the PAC had any further comment on the case.
Lt. Gov. Jones on Thursday praised the new development and said that he looks forward to a swift conclusion to the matter.
“I’m happy to see this process move forward and look forward to the opportunity to get this charade behind me,” Jones said in a statement. “Fani Willis has made a mockery of this legal process, as she tends to do. I look forward to a quick resolution and moving forward with the business of the state of Georgia.”