Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr disassociates from group under fire for robocall

Attorney General Chris Carr announced this week that he has stepped away from Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), a powerful advocacy group for GOP state attorneys general that Carr chaired. The country would come to know this group after it learned that they were behind the robocalls that went out in early January calling on supporters of then President Donald Trump to attend a “Save America” rally in Washington to press for overturning the outcome of the election. The rally included a march to the U.S. Capital to “stop the steal” which turned into a deadly riot and assault. Carr’s resignation from the group is among others who have stepped away from the controversial group, including Alabama’s Attorney General, Ashley Trenzeluk, who was RAGA’s finance director during the riot.

After the riot, it was reported in the national news that The Rule of Law Defense Fund – the policy and fundraising arm of RAGA, was behind the calls. Carr, who was at the helm at the time, immediately claimed he had no part in the robocalls and distanced himself from the violence that occurred. Carr later joined other AG’s who declared that “such actions will not be allowed to go unchecked.”

Many have speculated how so many people were mobilized and came together so quickly in Washington that day to act out what some have called home-grown terrorisms against our own country. The recorded robocall that went out from this group encouraged Trump supporters to go to the Capital to demand that Congress block certification of the 2020 election, which Joe Biden won, including the results in Georgia.

“At 1 p.m., we will march to the Capital building and call on Congress to stop the steal,” the robocall said. “We are hoping patriots like you will join us to continue to fight to protect the integrity of our elections.” The call concludes, “This call is paid for and authorized by the Rule of Law Defense Fund.”

Carr’s spokeswoman has repeatedly said he had no knowledge or involvement in the robocalls. Some have speculated on his political future and suggest his actions now to step away from this group is being done to further distance himself from that violence and protect his political career. If Carr runs for reelection, challengers are already lining up to take him on including Charlie Bailey, who narrowly lost to Carr in 2018. In some political conversations, Carr’s name has also come up as a challenger to Democrat U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who is up for reelection in November 2022.

As Carr and others from the GOP seek to put the capital riot and deaths in their rear-view mirror, the board of RAWA has moved past this day of terror as it just voted to make one of the operatives from the riot, Peter Bisbee, its new Executive Director. Bisbee was the head of RAGA’s policy arm, the Rule of Law Defense Fund, when it financed the robocalls pressing its backers to “stop the steal” at the Capital before it was stormed by an angry mob that left destruction and death in Washington.