If at first no one buys it, try, try again. That seems to be the strategy being employed by the Fulton County Clerk down in the Peach State after previous attempts to quash questions about how a document showing a handful of charges against former President Donald Trump was published hours before the grand jury voted to indict Trump on those same charges.
Townhall reported the document's initial appearance on Monday, asking how a list of counts appearing under Trump's name could be published while the grand jury was still hearing witness testimony and hours before the panel voted to officially indict the 45th president. First, the clerk's office said that the charges had not be filed, then tried again to say that the document was "fictitious" even though it was a very real thing that appeared on the official county court portal.
In her press conference late Monday night after the indictment was unsealed — showing Trump being charged with the same counts that appeared on the leaked version of the document from earlier in the day — District Attorney Fani Willis refused to offer an explanation and said she wasn't an "expert" on the clerk's processes.
Now, on Tuesday afternoon, the Fulton County Clerk is trying again to explain how the Trump indictment was posted before the grand jury had made its decision. Here's the latest — and so far longest — statement on the matter:
The Office of the Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts announces that midday on August 14, 2023, a media outlet utilizing the Fulton County Press que obtained a docket sheet and shared it with other media outlets who then released the sample working document related to the former United States President, Donald Trump - reporting that an indictment had been returned by the Special Grand Jury in Fulton County Georgia. Upon learning of the mishap, Fulton County Clerk of Superior and Magistrate Courts, Ché Alexander, immediately removed the document and issued correspondence notifying the media that a fictitious document was in circulation and that no indictment had been returned by the Grand Jury.
In anticipation of issues that arise with entering a potentially large indictment, Alexander used charges that pre-exist in Odyssey to test the system and conduct a trial run. Unfortunately, the sample working document led to the docketing of what appeared to be an indictment but which was, in fact, only a fictitious docket sheet. Because the media has access to documents before they are published, and while it may have appeared that something official had occurred because the document bore a case number and filing date, it did not include a signed "true" or "no" bill nor an official stamp with Clerk Alexander's name, thereby making the document unofficial and a test sample only.
Hours later, after receiving the True Bill presented to presiding Judge, Robert McBurney, Clerk Alexander executed the filing with a file stamp and moments later she made the filing public.
The Office understands the confusion that this matter caused and the sensitivity of all court filings. We remain committed to operating with an extreme level of efficiency, accuracy, and transparency.
Media members can expect to be notified of any/all filings in real time and will be provided access to filings via equitable communication.
So, the Fulton County clerk simply picked a few random charges — out of an unknown litany of options with which a defendant can be charged — and those sample charges turned out to be the exact ones the grand jury handed up against Trump? That coincidence remains unaddressed in the multiple statements from county authorities and still deserves some answers.
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