The disclosure during the Jan. 6 Committee hearings this month that state Attorney General Jeff Landry was considered for a “special counsel” post to investigate election fraud in the 2020 election likely won’t hurt his future political aspirations.
That’s the assessment of professor Christie Maloyed of the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, who heads the Political Science Department. Despite the U.S. House of Representatives panel’s presentation of testimony that Trump administration officials knew first-hand of the likelihood for violence during the U.S. Capitol protest, Landry is unlikely to see any drop in popular support, Maloyed said.
“No, I don't think it will hurt his chances for election within the state of Louisiana,” she told the Louisiana Record. “This is a state that was very supportive of President Trump while he was in office.”
Landry was not brought up by name during the June 23 hearing, but former U.S. Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel testified that in December 2020 he reviewed a draft of an election fraud lawsuit to be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court. Engle called the draft meritless and not timely, and he then responded to a question from Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Illinois) about whether the White House should appoint a special counsel to investigate such fraud.
Engle said he was asked if the U.S. attorney general could appoint the Louisiana attorney general to conduct such a probe. Federal Justice Department officials have wide leeway to appoint a special counsel, but Louisiana statutes would make this legally impossible, he said.
“State law … precludes any (Louisiana) attorney general from accepting an official position on behalf of the United States government,” Engle said.
Trump alleged that the 2020 election was the most corrupt in the nation’s history, but top Justice Department officials testified that no major fraud incidents were ever verified.
Despite the possibility of criminal prosecutions coming out of the Jan. 6 Committee investigation, support for Landry and Trump in Louisiana won’t be weakened, according to Maloyed.
“Only in the event of a successful criminal prosecution would I expect any significant change, and even then I would be surprised if it were substantial,” she said. “... Overwhelmingly, people know that the hearings are happening, but they are not following them closely."
In the wake of the attack on the U.S. Capitol last year by Trump supporters, media reports also noted that a group Landry was involved in, the Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA), had encouraged attendance at the Capitol rally that later turned violent. Landry had served as chairman of RAGA in 2020.