As Trump is set to be arraigned in Atlanta, what are Georgia politicos saying?

With former president Donald Trump expected to appear in Atlanta today to be booked on Fulton County indictment, the nation has turned its attention to Georgia.

Politicos across the country have been offering their thoughts on the 41 charges in the indictment against 19 defendants, including Trump, since the charges were announced. Georgia politicians are no exception.

Some statewide officials seem to have embraced the charges, while local Republican Congressional representatives have condemned the investigation.

The indictment brought by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis alleges that Trump and his allies unlawfully applied pressure to state election workers to reverse President Joe Biden's 2020 election victory, including targeted harassment of Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman.

While Biden won the vote in Georgia, Trump called Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, a Republican, and asked him to "find 11,780 votes."

Trump has said the investigation is partisan interference as he runs for a second term in the White House.

Congressional representatives dismiss indictment

Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, condemned the indictment in a statement on Tuesday, calling it a continuation of the "Left's witch hunt" against Trump.

"Yet you and I both know that this case isn’t about the 2020 election," the statement read. "It’s about the 2024 election."

Clyde alleged that the indictment, which is the fourth Trump is facing, is one of a series of "bogus charges" designed to keep the the presumptive Republican nominee (in Clyde's words) busy in court.

"This is election interference, plain and simple," Clyde said.

Last week, Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler, tackled the indictment in his "Buddy's Briefing" short video, making some of the same arguments.

"This indictment, handed down out of Fulton County where it's always been a bastion of Democratic shenanigans; this is not about justice. This is about revenge and this has got to stop," Carter said in the video.

Carter said the indictment was politically motivated and could happen to anyone. The voters in his district, Carter said, were worried about economic issues, not the allegations in the indictment.

Statewide officials reiterate election was fair

The day after the indictment came down, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp responded to continued claims from Trump that the election was fraudulent.

"The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen," Kemp wrote on X (formerly Twitter). "For nearly three years now, anyone with evidence of fraud has failed to come forward − under oath − and prove anything in a court of law. Our elections in Georgia are secure, accessible, and fair and will continue to be as long as I am governor."

Raffensperger's statement after the indictment was even more succinct.

“The most basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the Constitution and rule of law," the statement read. "You either have it, or you don’t.”

Trouble for Trump: Trump to surrender in Georgia on Thursday

Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who served as an fake elector for Trump from Georgia, was not called before the grand jury that indicted Trump and others after a judge ruled Willis had a conflict of interest − she had raised money for his opponent in the lieutenant's governor race. He has condemned the proceedings forcefully.

"The Fulton County District Attorney has spent millions of taxpayer dollars and thousands of man hours over the past two and a half years for the sole purpose of furthering her own political career," Jones wrote in a statement following the indictment, arguing that Willis had neglected other criminal matters in Atlanta while pursuing this investigation.

On MSNBC, Sen. Raphael Warnock, D-GA, said that the indictment is a reminder to remain active in democracy lest the political system rot. Regardless of how the case with Trump turns out, he said, voting rights must be protected.

"All of us as Americans ... need to stand up and fight for what is precious and rare in the history of humankind, democracy," he said.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: What they are saying - Georgia politicians on Trump indictment