When a local Republican official in Georgia filed a lawsuit this year declaring that election boards did not have a duty to certify results, the lawyer she turned to was part of the legal team who worked on former President Donald Trump’s behalf there in 2020.
Atlanta-based attorney Alex Kaufman, whose name appears on the lawsuit, was a silent listener on the infamous January 2021 call in which Trump pressured Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” enough votes to have reversed his loss there.
He was also part of the legal team that tried to submit an alternative slate of electors in the state.
Kaufman’s involvement in this year’s lawsuit filed by Julie Adams, a member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections, shows how even as the Republican National Committee is waging a more disciplined legal effort than in 2020, reminders remain of the chaos of four years ago as Trump sought to hold on to power.
Several of those lawyers involved in the effort to overturn the 2020 election faced legal consequences for their actions, including disbarment and criminal charges, in what was viewed as an effort to deter similar actions in the future.
The RNC was not involved in the most recent Georgia lawsuit. It has been working with some high-powered outside law firms, filing more than 100 of its own lawsuits, and has secured some victories, including on the rules used in some states for counting absentee ballots and other election procedures.