Secretary Raffensperger’s False Representations to Congress – Affirmative Disinformation Campaign by State Official to Foreclose Federal Scrutiny (GA)

[Established Fact – As to contradictions, omissions, and ProV&V timing] Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger transmitted a ten-page letter to the United States Congress on January 6, 2021, in which he represented, in substance, that “no fraud or irregularities occurred at all” in Georgia’s 2020 election. This representation: (1) was made with knowledge that the Georgia Secretary of State’s own office had 250 open election investigations as of December 22, 2020 – a fact publicly announced two weeks earlier in a press release – creating a facially irreconcilable contradiction; (2) omitted any reference to the Georgia Senate Subcommittee on Elections report, chaired by Senator William Ligon, which had concluded the election “should not be certified” due to systemic irregularities; (3) referenced an audit by ProV&V that, per a FOIA response obtained by researcher Kevin Moncla, ProV&V did not conduct until July 15, 2021 – seven months after the election. Federal Judge Amy Totenberg had previously found Raffensperger’s office “not credible” and had “previously minimized, erased, or dodged” issues in Curling v. Raffensperger (2019). The January 6, 2021 letter, transmitted to Congress in the course of a federal constitutional proceeding (joint session of Congress for Electoral College certification), is a document in a matter within the jurisdiction of the federal legislative branch, implicating 18 U.S.C. § 1001(a)(1). VoterGA researchers identified 42 specific false statements in the document.