Brad Raffensperger takes veiled shot at Trump in first statement after Fulton County indictment

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger on Tuesday broke with many of his fellow Republicans by taking a veiled shot at former President Donald Trump in the wake of his criminal indictment in Fulton County.

Although Raffensperger did not mention Trump by name in his statement, he made pointed remarks that left little doubt about his feelings on the twice-impeached former president's actions.

"The most basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the Constitution and rule of law," he said. "You either have it, or you don't."

Raffensperger refused to go along with Trump's demands to "recalculate" the vote totals in Georgia during an infamous phone call on January 2nd, 2021, where Trump argued that he needed to "find" enough votes to overtake Biden in the Peach State.

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That phone call has now led to Trump being charged with trying to get a public official to break their oath of office, among dozens of other felony charges unveiled by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis on Monday night.

Trump in 2022 supported a primary challenger to run against both Raffensperger and Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for their refusal to help him overturn the Georgia election results, but both efforts failed.