ATLANTA — Two Georgians were among a group subpoenaed on Friday by the U.S. House January 6th Committee for their participation in an "alternate electors" scheme at the time of the 2020 election.
David Shafer, the chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, and Shawn Still, an executive with a pool company in Norcross, were the subjects of the subpoenas.
In a release the committee said it is "seeking information about attempts in multiple states to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives."
Shafer was a party to one of the lawsuits that was lodged in 2020 against Georgia's election results, and said at the time when they cast the "alternate" Electoral College votes, it was because that lawsuit was still pending.
"Had we not meet today and cast our votes, the President’s pending election contest would have been effectively mooted. Our action today preserves his rights under Georgia law," Shafer tweeted on Dec. 14, 2020.
The January 6th Committee said in its release that it is particularly interested in the "alternate electors" scheme - which was also carried out in Arizona, Michigan, New Mexico, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin - because "multiple people advising former President Trump or his campaign used (the alternate electoral slates) to justify delaying or blocking the certification of the election during the Joint Session of Congress on January 6th, 2021."
Last year the group American Oversight obtained the "alternate" electoral certificates that were submitted from Georgia and the other states.
They showed that four of Georgia's original Republican electors for the 2020 election did not participate in the "alternate" scheme, and were replaced. Among those four was Johnny Isakson's son, John. The group also obtained an unsigned endorsement sheet that had been sent to Gov. Brian Kemp.
"The Select Committee is seeking information about attempts in multiple states to overturn the results of the 2020 election, including the planning and coordination of efforts to send false slates of electors to the National Archives," a committee statement issued Friday said. "We believe the individuals we have subpoenaed today have information about how these so-called alternate electors met and who was behind that scheme. We encourage them to cooperate with the Select Committee’s investigation to get answers about January 6th for the American people and help ensure nothing like that day ever happens again.”