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COLUMBUS, Ga. — A local Columbus man is listed among the 30 unindicted co-conspirators in Fulton County’s latest indictment of former President Donald J. Trump.
Joseph Brannan, the newly-appointed treasurer of the Youth Orchestra of Greater Columbus, is referred to a total of seven times as “unindicted co-conspirator Individual 9” throughout the 98-page indictment by Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis.
Brannan’s identity as “Individual 9” has been widely reported by several news outlets including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Though Brannan’s identity was technically redacted, it was not effectively redacted; Fulton County put forth little effort in doing so given the wide public knowledge of the acts described within the document. An argument could very easily be made that Willis knowingly failed in her duties to properly redact Brannan’s identity from the nation’s most controversial political indictment in history.
THE ALLEGATIONS
The seven acts listed within the indictment that mention Brannan as “Individual 9” are as follows:
Here’s the full text of each of those alleged acts, quoted directly from the Fulton County indictment itself:
ACT 47
“On or about the 10th day of December 2020, KENNETH JOHN CHESEBRO sent an e-mail to Georgia Republican Party Chairman DAVID JAMES SHAFER and unindicted co-conspirator Individual 9, whose identity is known to the Grand Jury. KENNETH JOHN CHESEBRO stated in the e-mail that certain individuals associated with the Trump Campaign asked him "to help coordinate with the other contested States, to help with logistics of the electors in other States hopefully joining in casting their votes on Monday." This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
ACT 48
“On or about the 10th day of December 2020, KENNETH JOHN CHESEBRO sent an e-mail with attached documents to DAVID JAMES SHAFER and unindicted co-conspirators Individual 9, Individual 10, and Individual 11, whose identities are known to the Grand Jury. The documents were to be used by Trump presidential elector nominees in Georgia for the purpose of casting electoral votes for DONALD JOHN TRUMP on December 14, 2020, despite the fact that DONALD JOHN TRUMP lost the November 3, 2020, presidential election in Georgia. This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
ACT 74
“On or about the 13th day of December 2020, unindicted co-conspirator Individual 9, whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, sent text message to DAVID JAMES SHAFER and confirmed that he and unindicted co-conspirator Individual 13, whose identity is known to the Grand Jury, would attend the December 14, 2020, meeting of Trump presidential elector nominees in Fulton County, Georgia. This was an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
ACT 79
“On or about the 14th day of December 2020, DAVID JAMES SHAFER, SHAWN MICAH TRESHER STILL, CATHLEEN ALSTON LATHAM, and unindicted co-conspirators Individual 2, Individual 8, Individual 9, Individual 10, Individual 11 Individual 12, Individual 13, Individual 14, Individual 15, Individual 16, Individual 17, Individual 18, and Individual 19, whose identities are known to the Grand Jury, committed the felony offense of IMPERSONATING PUBLIC OFFICER, in violation of O.C.G.A. 16-10-23, in Fulton County, Georgia, by unlawfully falsely holding themselves out as the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the State of Georgia, public officers, with intent to mislead the President of the United States Senate, the Archivist of the United States, the Georgia Secretary of State, and the Chief Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia into believing that they actually were such officers by placing in the United States mail to said persons document titled "CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA." This was an act of racketeering activity under O.C.G.A. 16-14-3(5)(A)(xxiii) and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
ACT 80
“On or about the 14th day of December 2020, DAVID JAMES SHAFER, SHAWN MICAH TRESHER STILL, CATHLEEN ALSTON LATHAM, and unindicted co-conspirators Individual 2, Individual 8, Individual 9, Individual 10, Individual 11, Individual 12, Individual l3, Individual 14, Individual 15, Individual 16, Individual 17, Individual 18, and Individual 19, whose identities are known to the Grand Jury, committed the felony offense of FORGERY IN THE FIRST DEGREE, in violation of O.C.G.A. 16-9-1(b), in Fulton County, Georgia, by, with the intent to defraud, knowingly making document titled "CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA," writing other than check, in such manner that the writing as made purports to have been made by authority of the duly elected and qualified presidential electors from the State of Georgia, who did not give such authority, and uttered and delivered said document to the Archivist of the United States. This was an act of racketeering activity under O.C.G.A. 1614-3(5)(A)(xvi) and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
ACT 81
“On or about the 14th day of December 2020, DAVID JAMES SHAFER, SHAWN MICAH TRESHER STILL, CATHLEEN ALSTON LATHAM, and unindicted co-conspirators Individual 2, Individual 8, Individual 9, Individual 10, Individual 11, Individual 12, Individual 13, Individual 14, Individual 15, Individual 16, Individual 17, Individual 18, and Individual 19, whose identities are known to the Grand Jury, committed the felony offense of FALSE STATEMENTS AND WRITINGS, in violation of O.C.G.A. 16-10-20, in Fulton County, Georgia, by knowingly, willfully, and unlawfully making and using false document titled "CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA," with knowledge that said document contained the false statement, "WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, being the duly elected and qualified Electors for President and Vice President of the United States ofAmerica from the State of Georgia, do hereby certify the following," said document being within the jurisdiction of the Office of the Georgia Secretary of State and the Office of the Governor of Georgia, departments and agencies of state government. This was an act of racketeering activity under O.C.G.A. 16-14-3(5)(A)(xxii) and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy. ”
ACT 82
“On or about the 14th day of December 2020, DAVID JAMES SHAFER, SHAWN MICAH TRESHER STILL, CATHLEEN ALSTON LATHAM, and unindicted co-conspirators Individual 2, Individual 8, Individual 9, Individual 10, Individual 11 Individual 12, Individual 13, Individual 14, Individual 15, Individual 16, Individual 17, Individual 18, and Individual 19, whose identities are known to the Grand Jury, attempted to commit the felony offense of FILING FALSE DOCUMENTS, in violation of O.C.G.A. 16-10-20.1(b)(1), in Fulton County, Georgia, by placing in the United States mail document titled "CERTIFICATE OF THE VOTES OF THE 2020 ELECTORS FROM GEORGIA," addressed to Chief Judge, U.S. District Court, Northern District of Georgia, 2188 Richard D. Russell Federal Office Building and U.S. Courthouse, 75 Ted Turner Drive, SW, Atlanta, GA 30303, with intent to knowingly file, enter, and record said document in court of the United States, having reason to know that said document contained the materially false statement, "WE, THE UNDERSIGNED, being the duly elected and qualified Electors for President and Vice President of the United States ofAmerica from the State of Georgia, do hereby certify the following." This was an act of racketeering activity under O.C.G.A. 16-14-3 (5)(A)(xxii) and an overt act in furtherance of the conspiracy.”
CLARITY & CONTEXT
Brannan is an upstanding member of the Columbus, Georgia community. He is the general manager of PMB Broadcasting, a member of the Rotary Club of Columbus, and the treasurer of the Youth Orchestra of Greater Columbus.
The allegations against Brannan objectively appear to have been constructed in a kangaroo court by a D.A. with purely political intentions; accidentally publishing the ‘findings’ of the indictment online before the grand jury had even finished deliberating sure doesn’t help Willis earn any credibility, either.
By preparing & accidentally publishing the “working copy” of the indictment before the grand jury’s session even concluded, D.A. Fani Willis’ office ironically did the same thing she has accused Brannan of: preparing a working document in advance and preparing it for submission in the event it is needed. What an idiot. Truly.
It is important for the reader to understand that questioning the results of an election is not the same thing as subversion. In fact, the lawful right to do so is perhaps the single-most important tenant of a representative government — regardless of candidate, political party, or current zeitgeist.
It’s also been attempted in every single presidential election this century by both of the nation’s major political parties.
Politicizing this important lawful right by twisting the letter of the law to suit a partisan political outcome — for any candidate, ever — is a very dangerous road that the City of Columbus, the State of Georgia, and the United States ought not to ever condone. Ever.
E Pluribus Unum.
Facts are stubborn things — and we’ll keep publishing them, whether city officials like them or not.
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