Special counsel to investigate Georgia lt. gov. after conflict of interest barred Willis from indicting him

Fulton County, Georgia District Attorney Fani Willis' criminal case against former President Donald Trump includes not only Trump himself, but also, 18 of his allies. One Trump ally who isn't listed in the indictment, however, is Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, who was among the 16 fake electors who falsely claimed that Trump won the state in 2020 — unlike Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, two conservative Republicans who acknowledged now-President Joe Biden's victory as perfectly legitimate.

The Associated Press reports that a special counsel will be appointed to investigate Jones, a former Georgia state senator who pushed for a special session of the Georgia Legislature in the hope of overturning now-President Joe Biden's victory in the state. It remains to be seen, however, if there will be indictment.

Jones is an unindicted and alleged co-conspirator in Willis' case, but Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney barred Willis from naming Jones in the indictment — saying that Democrat Willis had a conflict of interest because she hosted a fundraiser for the Democratic nominee who lost to Jones in Georgia's 2022 race for lieutenant governor.

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Jones has been vehemently critical of Democrat Willis, claiming that her prosecution of Trump and 18 allies is "a constant media and PR campaign for the sole purpose of furthering her own political career."

The Trump allies who have been indicted by the State of Georgia include former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows as well as pro-Trump attorneys Sidney Powell, John C. Eastman, Jenna Ellis and Rudy Giuliani (a former New York City mayor and ex-federal prosecutor). Willis alleges that all of them criminally conspired to overturn the 2020 election results despite the fact that Biden's victory was evident. And her prosecution underscores the divide among Georgia Republicans where 2020 is concerned.

Kemp and Raffensperger pushed back against Trump's false and debunked claim that the election was stolen from him in Georgia — a claim that Jones promoted. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Georgia), a Trump loyalist, has joined the former president in railing against Willis.

READ MORE: 'Witch hunt': Trump's latest indictment exposes a rift in the Georgia GOP