Prosecutor appointed to probe Georgia's Lt. Gov. in Trump election subversion case

April 12 (UPI) -- A prosecutor has been appointed to investigate whether Georgia's lieutenant general broke the law over his participation in an alleged effort to overturn the state's 2020 general election in favor of former President Donald Trump.

In a statement Thursday, the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia named its executive director, Peter Skandalakis, as prosecutor of the case in to Burt Jones, Georgia's current Republican lieutenant general

Jones was a state senator in late 2020 when he is accused of being one of 16 so-called alternate electors who signed documents stating Trump had won Georgia in the general election despite him losing the state to then-Democratic candidate Joe Biden by more than 10,000 votes.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had been leading the investigation in to Jones and others but was disqualified from the case in July. Jones had complained to the courts that there was a conflict of interest as Willis had fundraised for his Democratic opponent for lieutenant general while investigating him.

After Willis was disqualified, Skandalakis, as head of the Prosecuting Attorney's Council of Georgia, was tasked with appointing a new prosecutor. And after two years, he choose himself.

"I'm happy to see this process move forward and look forward to the opportunity to get this charade behind me," Jones, a Republican, said in a statement critical of the Fulton County district attorney.

"Fani Willis has made a mockery of this legal process, as she tends to do. I look forward to a quick resolution and moving forward with the business of the state of Georgia."

Willis led an investigation that brought charges against Trump and 18 others in August related to the alleged scheme to overturn the state's general election results.

Jones was one of 30 people named but not charged as-coconspirators in the indictment.