Republican Attorneys General Attack on Democracy: A Timeline
Former Republican Attorneys General Association Executive Director Adam Piper says of Republican AGs, “No group of elected officials have been more supportive of President Trump.”
Over the course of 2020 and into 2021, Republican Attorneys General and the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) attacked our democratic institutions and voting rights, and even attempted to overturn the will of the American people in the 2020 Presidential election.
In fact, the more we learn about the deadly attack on January 6, 2021 at the U.S. Capitol, the more we learn about the Republican Attorneys General and the Republican Attorneys General Association’s deep ties to the attack and the campaign to undermine our democracy.
The Republican AGs’ bad behavior is not something new, but as they attempt to deny responsibility and distance themselves from one of the most unpatriotic and darkest days in our nation’s history, it’s important to understand just how coordinated and connected the Republican AGs were to the insurrection.
Here’s a quick overview of what’s included in this blog post:
- August — October: Republican AGs attack voting rights and refuse to protect democratic norms.
- November — December: Republican AGs try to overturn the results of the election multiple times.
- January: Republican AGs and RAGA’s connection to the Jan 6th deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol exposed.
- February: Republican AGs continue pushing the lie that the election was stolen from Donald Trump.
Below is a detailed timeline to help illustrate the un-American campaign waged by the Republican Attorneys General and the Republican Attorneys General Association:
AUGUST 2020
- Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sues Harris County (largest county) over their plan to send all voters in the county mail-in ballot applications.
- Republican Attorneys General FAIL to take action to protect the U.S. Postal Service after President Trump and Postmaster General Louis DeJoy alter mail delivery — with a goal of negatively impacting vote-by-mail.
SEPTEMBER 2020
Republican Attorneys General and the Republican Attorneys General Association FAIL to combat significant disinformation being put forth by President Trump:
- Republican Attorneys General and RAGA do not correct President Trump for telling supporters to “vote twice.”
- Republican Attorneys General and RAGA do not correct President Trump for attacking the vote-by-mail process.
- Republican Attorneys General do not take action to protect voting rights that came under attack in more than 10 states.
- Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton files an appeal to block Harris County from sending mail-in ballot applications to voters across the county. Later, indicted Texas AG Ken Paxton asks the Texas Supreme Court to weigh in on the case — hoping they would block millions of people from safely voting during a pandemic.
- September 24–25: Republican Attorneys General Association & Rule of Law Defense Fund hold a two day summit in Atlanta to discuss “election integrity.” Now resigned RAGA Executive Director Adam Piper refers to this meetings as “WAR GAMES — 32 AG Staff Members are huddled in Atlanta for a series of conversations planning for what could come if we lose the White House.” This information becomes public as part of a public records request by a Missouri organization [see Page 56]. Read more about this alarming preparation to attack democracy here:
OCTOBER 2020
In the lead up to the election, Republican Attorneys General Association Executive Director Adam Piper says of Republican AGs, “No group of elected officials have been more supportive of President Trump.” This comes after Trump repeatedly attacks the U.S. electoral system, refused to denounce white supremacy time and time again, and went through an impeachment trial.
- Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tries to block counties from having more than one ballot drop-off location.
NOVEMBER 2020
Between Election Day and well past November 7 when Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are declared the winners of the 2020 Presidential election, Republican Attorneys General — past and present — were sowing doubt in the election:
- November 5: Former Florida Republican Attorney General Pam Bondi holds a press conference with Rudy Giuliani and Corey Lewandowski.
- November 5: RAGA tweets “Don’t let #LawlessLiberals corrupt the election process.”
- November 5: RAGA tweets “.@RepublicanAGs have boots on the ground in PA, NC, NV, AZ, WI, and MI to defend the rule of law. Don’t let #LawlessLiberals corrupt the process!”
- November 6: Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes announces he will take time off to travel to Nevada in search of election fraud.
- November 8: Former Nevada Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt and Chairman of the American Conservative Union Matt Schlapp hold a press conference in Las Vegas, NV.
- November 8: Former RAGA Chair West Virginia Republican Attorney General Patrick Morrisey tweets “Excited to weigh in with my colleagues at the US Supreme Court about the critical role state legislatures play in setting time, place, and manner restrictions on voting and why the PA Supreme Court cannot usurp that role. The Trump campaign is correct to fight to get this right!”
- November 9: Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, after spending a weekend in Nevada, says “voting problems occurred there.”
- November 9: RAGA, along with 10 Republican Attorneys General, file an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court seeking to throw out legally cast mail-in votes in Pennsylvania.
- November 17: Former Nevada Republican Attorney General Adam Laxalt says 15,000 people voted in multiple states.
DECEMBER 2020
More than a month after Joe Biden’s and Kamala Harris’ decisive victory in the 2020 election, Republican Attorneys General continued to take frivolous and unfounded action to sow doubt in the results.
- December 8: Former RAGA Chair, indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, files a lawsuit against the states of Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin seeking to overturn the results and throw out the votes of hard working Americans in these battleground states.
- December 9: RAGA Vice Chair Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt leads 16 other Republican Attorneys General in supporting indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s absurd lawsuit. This includes Florida AG Ashley Moody, Kansas AG Derek Schmidt, and South Carolina AG Alan Wilson.
- December 9: Republican Attorneys General meet with President Trump at the White House. Attendees include: Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Former RAGA Chair Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, Former RAGA Chair Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge, RAGA Vice Chair Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt and Chair of RAGA’s Policy Arm — the Rule of Law Defense Fund — Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.
- December 11: Alaska’s acting Attorney General Ed Sniffen (who has since resigned due to sexual misconduct allegations) announces his support of indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s frivolous lawsuit — bringing the total number of Republican Attorneys General attempting to overturn a free and fair election to 19. Later that day, the U.S. Supreme Court declines indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
JANUARY 2021
With President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration days away, indicted Texas Attorney General and former RAGA Chair Ken Paxton continues to sow doubt around the 2020 election:
- January 3: Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton confirms he will be attending the January 6th event in Washington, D.C. saying, “All Patriots need to be present to stand with President Trump.”
- January 4: Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton continues to promote the “Stop The Steal” rally in Washington, D.C. saying, “Join us in D.C. make this the largest MAGA rally ever.”
- January 5: Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton promotes “Stop The Steal” rally in Washington, D.C. saying, “Looking forward to standing with @realDonaldTrump tomorrow. It’s gonna be HUGE!”
- January 5: Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton retweets an account saying, “Someday they will say that on Jan 6, 2021 “some people did a thing”…those people were Patriots and what they did was save a nation.”
- January 5: Reporting by the ALReporter uncovers a meeting at Trump Hotel between RAGA’s Executive Director, Alabama Senator Tommy Tuberville, members of Trump’s family, and close campaign advisers.
- January 5: Reporting by Documented later uncovers a robocall paid for by RAGA’s policy arm — the Rule of Law Defense Fund (RLDF) — promoting the “Stop The Steal” rally occurs on this day. The robocall says, “At 1:00 p.m., we will march to the Capitol building and call on congress to stop the steal. We are hoping patriots like you will join us to continue to fight.” The same reporting uncovers that RAGA (later changed to RLDF) was listed as a sponsor on the march’s official website.
- January 6: Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton speaks at the “Stop The Steal” rally in Washington, D.C. telling attendees, “You’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength … we will not quit fighting. We’re not quitting.”
- January 6: Indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton tweets, “Americans are here in Washington to stand up and support the President. A lot of voters, as well as myself, believe something went wrong in this election. I’m here to support @realDonaldTrump #MarchToSaveAmerica”
After the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol building, indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton falsely tweets, “These are not Trump supporters” and spreads disinformation that “Antifa” was actually the cause for the violence.
- January 7: RAGA and Republican Attorneys General attempt to distance themselves from the robocall that promoted the January 6 insurrection saying, “The Republican Attorneys General Association and Rule of Law Defense Fund had no involvement in the planning, sponsoring, or the organization of yesterday’s rally,” which is quickly dismissed.
- January 8: RLDF Chair Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall indicates he will lead an internal review of how RAGA/RLDF became affiliated with the Jan 6 insurrection. More than one month later, they remain silent.
- January 11: RAGA’s Executive Director resigns from the Republican Attorneys General Association without taking responsibility and refuses to address their support of the rally turned deadly insurrection. This includes RLDF Chair Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall saying, “Every decision Adam made on behalf of RLDF was with the best of intentions and with the organization’s best interests in mind.”
- January 21: The New York Times reports that a RAGA/RLDF “donor had demanded [the robocall] and made a contribution contingent upon its release.”
- January 31: The New York Times reports that Trump’s legal team drafted the lawsuit indicted Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton would eventually bring against Georgia, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin in an attempt to overturn their results and thus give the election to President Trump.
FEBRUARY 2021
- More than 40 days after the deadly attack at the U.S. Capitol, and more than three months since the 2020 Presidential election results were known, Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita continues to spread disinformation around the results of the election.
Republican Attorney General and RAGA behavior during the 2020 election was par for the course for a group of election officials who jumped off the deep end following the 2018 Midterms elections. From flirting with QAnon, to promoting COVID-19 scams, to attempting to overturn a free and fair election, the top legal officers and law enforcement officials of the so-called party of “law and order” are now legally and morally bankrupt.
RAGA Chair (and former Vice Chair) Chris Carr refuses to take responsibility and refuses to acknowledge any wrongdoing by the organization he leads — and has been a leader of for years.
In 2022, there are more than 30 state AG seats on the map including many of the same Republican AGs who drove distrust in our democracy and supported the events on January 6, 2021 that led to a deadly attack.
