Former Trump attorney named to federal election advisory board

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A lawyer who backed former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election last year has been appointed to the Board of Advisors for the federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC). 

Cleta Mitchell, a prominent Republican attorney, was named to the panel by the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights last August and joined the board Nov. 3. The move wasn’t made public until this week. 

"I’m honored to have been selected with bipartisan support to serve in this role," Mitchell said in a text message Tuesday.

PRO-TRUMP ATTORNEY CLETA MITCHELL RESIGNS FROM FIRM FOLLOWING EXPLOSIVE PHONE CALL

The advisory board can recommend voluntary guidelines to the EAC but doesn’t have the power to make policy. The EAC certifies voting systems and advises local election offices on compliance with federal election regulations.

Cleta Mitchell testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Feb. 6, 2014. (Associated Press)

She was nominated to the independent, bipartisan board by Republican members of the Civil Rights commission and received approval in a majority vote. The commission has four Democrats, three Republicans and one independent. 

The commission nominates one Republican and one Democrat to the 35-member board. 

Former President Trump appointed attorney J. Christian Adams to the commission last year. He is president of a conservative legal group for which Mitchell chairs the board of directors.

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Last January, Mitchell was on the phone call with Trump when he asked Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to "find" enough votes for him to win the state. Democrat Joe Biden won Georgia by a little more than 11,000 votes. 

Mitchell resigned from law firm Foley & Lardner, where she had been for nearly 20 years, a day later and now advocates for election security through groups like FreedomWorks and Conservative Partnership Institute. 

The Associated Press contributed to this story.