Governor names commission to look into state Senator charged in election interference indictment

ATLANTA — Gov. Brian Kemp has issued an executive order naming a review commission to look into state Sen. Shawn Still.

Still was named along with former President Donald Trump and 17 others in a sweeping indictment handed up by a Fulton County Grand Jury alleging criminal interference in the 2020 election in Georgia.

Before being voted in as a state senator, Still served as one of the 16 alternate Republican Electoral College electors who signed documents falsely claiming Trump won. He also sued to decertify all of Georgia’s presidential election results based on allegations there were problems with voting equipment in South Georgia’s Coffee County.

The suit was voluntarily dismissed three weeks after it was filed.

Still has been charged with violation of the Georgia RICO Act, impersonating a public officer, forgery in the first degree (two counts), false statements and writings (two counts) and criminal attempt to commit filing false documents.

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In the executive order issued Friday, it said “the review commission shall determine if the indictment related to and adversely affects the administration of the member’s office and whether the rights and interests of the public are adversely affected thereby.”

Attorney General Chris Carr, state Sen. Steve Gooch and state Rep. Chuck Efstration have been named to the commission to investigate Still and will send a written report back to the governor within 14 days about what they found.

Georgia law requires the governor to do this in the event of a felony indictment.

“He has the full support of me, the full support of the caucus,” said Lt. Gov. Burt Jones when asked about Still on Aug. 17.

Jones was critical of some of the media coverage of Still’s indictment.

“While they’re not telling Shawn’s side of the story, they’re painting a very bad picture, but there’s another side, and he deserves the right to be heard on it,” Jones said.

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