Georgia Republican lawmakers punished for pushing pro-Trump conspiracies

Georgia's lieutenant governor punished three Republican state senators who tried to overturn President Donald Trump's election loss in the state.

Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, also a Republican, demoted state Sens. Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta), Matt Brass (R-Newnan) and Burt Jones (R-Jackson) from their committee leadership posts after they backed efforts to overturn the election over baseless fraud claims, reported the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Beach was removed as chairman of the Transportation Committee and Jones was pulled as head of the Insurance and Labor Committee, and neither lawmaker will be allowed to serve on the panels they had led.

Brass was removed as chairman of the committee that will redraw legislative districts, but he will remain chair of a banking committee.

All three GOP state senators aggressively pushed Trump's claims of election fraud and backed efforts to undo his election loss.

Beach signed onto the "Kraken" lawsuit filed by pro-Trump attorney Sidney Powell in Georgia and other states, which named Gov. Brian Kemp, House Speaker David Ralston, and Senate President pro tem Butch Miller and other top-ranking state officials as defendants but was ultimately thrown out of court.