GEORGIA (WRBL) — Just a day before they would have their day in court about an election contest against Georgia’s Secretary of State, President Donald Trump’s legal team voluntarily dismissed their case, according to a statement from the Sec. of State’s Office.
The statement delivered by Sec. Brad Raffensperger’s office says that three other suits against the Secretary in various courts were also voluntarily dismissed.
The statement from Raffensperger’s office reads in part:
On the eve of getting the day in court they supposedly were begging for, President Trump and Chairman David Shafer’s legal team folded Thursday and voluntarily dismissed their election contests against Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger rather than submit their evidence to a court and to cross-examination. However, even in capitulation, they continue to spread disinformation.
STATEMENT FROM GEORGIA SECRETARY OF STATE BRAD RAFFENSPERGER’S OFFICE
According to the statement, President Trump’s legal team baselessly characterized the voluntary dismissal as being “due to an out of court settlement agreement.” Raffensperger is denying their claim, saying that there is no settlement agreement, and none have been made.
“Rather than presenting their evidence and witnesses to a court and to cross-examination under oath, the Trump campaign wisely decided the smartest course was to dismiss their frivolous cases,” Secretary Raffensperger said.
The case dismissed by the Trump legal team would have appeared in Cobb County Superior Court Judge Adele Grubbs’s courtroom on Jan. 8. Instead, they have withdrawn their case.
Raffensperger says all four upcoming court cases on the election results were withdrawn after his release of a letter to Congress on Jan. 6 which contained point-by-point takedowns of “false claims made by the President and his allies.”
The other three cases headed to court before being withdrawn were:
• Trump v. Kemp in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia,
• Still v. Raffensperger et al in the Superior Court of Fulton County and
• Boland v. Raffensperger et al in the Supreme Court of Georgia.
Raffensperger’s statement on the withdrawals says that none of the three other dismissals were due to settlement agreements either.
“Spreading disinformation about elections is dangerous and wrong,” said Secretary Raffensperger. “It was wrong when Stacey Abrams and her allies made false claims about Georgia’s election processes following the 2018 election and run-up to the 2020 election, and it’s wrong when the President and his allies are doing it now.”
Late on Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Congress accepted Georgia’s slate of electors along with the rest of the electoral college votes from around the United States, solidifying President-elect Joe Biden’s win in the November election.
You can read the full letter to Congress below.