Category: The South

 

The South

Virginia (13), North Carolina (15), and Florida (29) add 57 electoral college votes to the total.

District Attorney Fani Willis Tells Atlanta Hip Hop Festival She’s Been ‘Threatened’ over Trump, Young Thug

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) told the audience at the Atlanta-based hip hop festival, Revolt World, that she and members of her family have received threats as a result of her office’s prosecutions of former President Donald Trump and rapper Young Thug.

Willis attended the festival, held in Atlanta beginning on September 22, and delivered remarks about her high profile prosecutions of Trump and Young Thug, whose real name is Jeffrey Lamar Williams. At one point Willis told the audience that her father, daughters, and ex-husband have all received threats due to the high profile cases, in addition to threats she personally received.

Read More

Georgia Prosecutors Claim Mark Meadows Was ‘Meddling’ in ‘Matters of State Authority’ After 2020 Election

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) accused former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows of abusing his federal position to interfere with Georgia’s 2020 elections, according to a filing her office submitted to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.

Meadows has repeatedly sought to have his case removed from Fulton County to a federal court. That attempt was stymied by a federal judge, but an expedited appeal was granted to the 11th Circuit. Meadows’ lawyers submitted their filing last week, arguing that Willis was committing unforced constitutional “errors” in her “unnecessary” effort to prevent his case’s removal.

Read More

Report: Georgia Needs to Rethink Lot, Home Size Requirements

The Center Square

Local jurisdictions might need to rethink their minimum lot and home size requirements given the state’s growing population and apparent need for “adequate workforce housing.”

That’s the upshot of a new Georgia Public Policy Foundation report.

Read More

GOP Presidential Candidates Prepare for Critical Second Debate Without Trump

M.D. Kittle

If Wednesday’s second GOP presidential primary debate proves to be anything like the first, we’re in for a night of political punches and maybe a rhetorical gang fight or two as the candidates look to score points in another Trump-less bout.

Read More

Gov. Brian Kemp Will Back Trump if Nominated in 2024: ‘A Lot Better Than Biden’ and ‘Can Win Georgia’

Tom Pappert

Governor Brian Kemp (R) said he believes former President Donald Trump “can win Georgia” during an interview last Friday. Kemp added that he would support Trump, should he become the Republican nominee for president, despite the public feud between the men.

Kemp said he is willing to support the former president during the 2024 general election during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kemp described Trump as “a lot better than Biden,” adding that those “serving in the administration would be a lot better” than those tapped by the Biden White House.

Read More

Georgia GOP Chairman Josh McKoon Appoints Julianne Thompson to Serve as His Special Advisor

Kaitlin Housler

Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party (GAGOP) Josh McKoon recently announced his appointment of Julianne Thompson to serve as special advisor to the chairman.

Thompson previously served the GAGOP as communications director and press secretary. In addition, she served as a legislative aide to the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee and Subcommittee on the Constitution, received two Gubernatorial appointments, and has been listed in Who’s Who Among Outstanding Young Women in America.

Read More

Georgia Lieutenant Governor Promises ‘Red Tape Rollback’ in Upcoming Legislative Session

The Center Square

Lt. Governor Burt Jones promised lawmakers would work to cut Georgia regulations during next year’s legislative session.

“One of our main initiatives this upcoming session is going to be — we’re calling it the ‘red tape rollback,'” Jones, a Republican, said to applause during Americans for Prosperity-GA’s inaugural Pathway to Prosperity Summit.

Read More

Continetti Says Georgia Could Be ‘Most Important State’ in 2024

The Center Square

Georgia is likely “the most important state in American politics” heading into the 2024 election, a leading intellectual historian said.

Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican, narrowly defeated Democrat Stacey Abrams in 2018 and decidedly defeated her in a rematch in November to win a second term. He won despite drawing former President Donald Trump’s ire for his response to the 2020 election.

Read More

Lawyer Indicted in Georgia Trump Case Warns Fani Willis Violated Attorney-Client Privilege, Wants Evidence Stricken

Tom Pappert

Attorney Kenneth Chesebro argued that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may have violated his privileged communications with clients during her blanket search of his email account, according to legal filing made by his lawyers on Thursday.

Chesebro, who is among those indicted by Willis in her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election, alleged that Willis and her office violated Georgia law when it gained blanket access to Chesebro’s email account in July, according to his lawyers’ filing. Chesebro is asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to suppress any evidence gathered from those emails.

Read More

Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger Among Witnesses Fani Willis Plans to Call in Trump Trial

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis revealed about a dozen witnesses she plans to call in her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump in a legal filing on Wednesday. Willis named the witnesses to illustrate potential conflicts of interests for defense attorneys.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), and his wife Patricia, will both be called as witnesses by the prosecution, according to Willis’s filing.

Read More

Investigator at Fani Willis’s Office Accidentally Shot Herself in Fulton County Courthouse

Tom Pappert

An investigator working for the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office shot herself on Friday while at the Fulton County Courthouse. The investigator, who works in the office of District Attorney Fani Willis, was not critically injured in the accidental discharge.

Read More

Family Announces Lawsuit Against Fulton County Jail After Inmate Stabbed to Death

Tom Pappert

The family of a deceased Fulton County Jail detainee who was stabbed to death announced its intention to sue the jail on Wednesday but will first offer the facility a 30-day window to “address the situation appropriately” before the lawsuit is filed. During a Thursday press conference, the family’s lawyers provided details surrounding the stabbing death.

Read More

Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde Moves to Cut Federal Funding from Trump Prosecutions as Government Shutdown Looms

Tom Pappert

Georgia Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) is championing two budget amendments this week, with both aimed at preventing congressional funding for the Department of Justice, or any state or local government, from being used to prosecute a declared candidate for president, particularly former President Donald Trump. Clyde, who is reportedly willing to allow a government shutdown to force spending cuts from Democrats, is expected to submit the amendments as part of the annual budget process.

The two amendments championed by Clyde, which were originally written by The Article III Project, would specifically forbid federal funding for the Department of Justice’s prosecution of Trump, and would prevent federal dollars from funding local prosecutions in Georgia and New York.

Read More

Georgia Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Collins Receive ‘F’ Grades on Pro-Ukraine Scorecard

Tom Pappert

Georgia Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) and Mike Collins (R-GA-10) received failing grades from Republicans for Ukraine, a group that lobbies for the Republican Party to continue its support for the Eastern European country.

Greene and Collins both received “F” grades from the Republicans for Ukraine, while Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) received a “C” grade for his allegedly lukewarm support.

Read More

Atlanta to Scan Petitions to Stop Public Safety Training Center, Post Online

Tom Pappert

The City of Atlanta has approved legislation to scan more than 115,000 petition signatures calling for a referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Safety Training Center on Monday. After scanning the petitions, Atlanta will make them available to the public, but will not determine the validity of the signatures at this time.

Activists claimed to deliver 116,000 petition signatures on September 11, nearly doubling the 58,232 required to force a public vote on the future of the training center for law enforcement and first responders. However, a legal ruling briefly extended the petition deadline from August 21 to late October, before it was stayed by a higher court. Atlanta ultimately accepted the petitions, but said it would not begin processing them until it received guidance from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Read More

Mark Meadows Argues Fani Willis ‘Committed Errors’ in ‘Unnecessary’ Effort to Keep Case in Fulton County

Tom Pappert

Mark Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff for the Trump administration, argued in a Monday legal filing that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis “committed errors” that raise “serious constitutional concerns” in her “unnecessarily complicated” attempts to prevent his case from being removed to a federal court.

Meadows has repeatedly asserted the case brought against him by Fulton County should be tried in a federal court, citing his position as a government employee who answered directly to former President Donald Trump when his alleged offenses were committed. U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones denied various attempts from Meadows to remove the case, but late last week the 11th Circuit announced it would hear his appeal and grant it expedited status.

Read More

Pro-Trump Lawyer Gives Court Transcript He Claims Proves Georgia’s GOP Electors Broke No Laws

Tom Pappert

A transcript of a December 2020 meeting among those who became the Republican slate of alternative electors in Georgia appears to directly contradict claims levied by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in her August indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 others involved with his efforts to contest the 2020 election.

Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who is among those indicted in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump, submitted the transcript to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAffee in a filing that seeks to dismiss charges related Republican slate of alternative electors.

Read More

Senator Raphael Warnock Asks Atlanta to be Lenient on Petitions to Stop Public Safety Training Center

Tom Pappert

Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) wrote a letter to the City of Atlanta on Friday asking officials to be lenient when examining the petitions gathered to force a public referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

In his letter, Warnock reportedly advised Atlanta he is “closely monitoring” the petition, and claimed to be “concerned” the city’s signature matching and verification process “led to discrimination” and potential “disenfranchisement of eligible voters” during previous ballot initiatives. Warnock urged Atlanta “to err on the side of giving the people the ability to express their views” and to establish “clear and transparent timelines and requirements” going forward.

Read More

Georgia’s Infant Mortality Rate Remains Among the Nation’s Worst

The Center Square

Georgia’s infant mortality rate may be improving, but it remains among the worst.

“The infant mortality rate in Georgia is not good,” Seema Csukas, vice president & chief medical officer at CareSource Georgia, told The Center Square. “We’re typically in the bottom quartile of states in terms of the infant mortality rate. We’ve made a little progress over the past decade, but not really. We’ve gotten a little better, then gotten a little worse — so not that much change.

Read More

A Closer Look at Vivek Ramaswamy’s Bold Plan to Take Down the Administrative State

M.D. Kittle

GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy proposed a plan on Wednesday to halve the size of the federal administrative state in his first year in office — should he be elected.

Read More

Nearly Four in 10 Georgians Out of the Workforce

The Center Square

While state officials continue to tout the state’s low unemployment, numbers show nearly 39% percent of Georgia’s working-age population isn’t participating in the workforce.

On Thursday, state officials said Georgia’s August unemployment rate was 3.3%, a slight increase from July’s revised 3.2% rate. The state’s rate is lower than the 3.8% national unemployment rate.

Read More

Georgia Election Integrity Expert Confounds Bar Attorney in Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman

Rachel Alexander

The fifth week of the disbarment trial of former President Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, ended on Friday, featuring more testimony by Garland Favorito, co-founder of Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia (VoterGA).

Read More

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Announces $2.5 Million Federal Grant to Examine Backlog of 4,300 Rape Kits

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has received a $2.5 million federal grant for her office to examine a backlog of more than 4,000 rape kits, with some dating back to the 1980s, she revealed in a press conference this week.

Willis announced the $2.5 million grant in a press conference on Thursday, when she said the funding will support testing for the rape kits of “4,342 victims” who “had the very worst day of their life” but “didn’t get justice” from Fulton County.

Read More

Majority of Georgia Voters Say Trump Prosecution Unfair, Support Special Session to Reign in Fulton County

Tom Pappert

A majority of Georgia voters now believe the Fulton County criminal case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election is “unfair,” according to new polling by Rasmussen Reports. Georgia voters also support a special session in the Georgia Legislature to defund or impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

The majority of Georgia voters believe Trump is being unfairly prosecuted, with 56 percent of respondents to Rasmussen agreeing, including 39 percent who said it was “very likely.” This is compared with just 37 percent of voters who said it was unlikely Trump was being unfairly prosecuted.

Read More

Testimony from Georgia Election Integrity Expert Continues in Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Attorney John Eastman

Rachel Alexander

The fifth week of the disbarment trial of former President Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, is winding down with direct and cross-examination of Garland Favorito, co-founder of Voters Organized for Trusted Election Results in Georgia (VoterGA), who has extensive experience with electronic voting machines and investigating election fraud in Georgia.

Read More

40,000 Fulton County Criminal Cases ‘Frozen’ Because Fani Willis ‘Blindly’ Pursuing Trump, Says Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler

Tom Pappert

During an appearance on “The John Fredericks Show” on Thursday, former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler said the criminal justice system of Fulton County is “frozen,” with the county jail overcrowded and 40,000 criminal cases in the backlog, because District Attorney Fani Willis is “blindly” pursuing her cases against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election.

Loeffler told host John Fredericks, the publisher of The Georgia Star News, that Willis’s actions suggest “a two tiered system of justice” and said the Georgia Legislature should encourage the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PAQC) to fully investigate Willis, including how she is spending taxpayer money.

Read More

Georgia Election Fraud Expert Testifies at Disbarment Trial of Trump’s Attorney John Eastman, Casts Doubt on Biden’s Win

Rachel Alexander

The disbarment trial of former President Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar, John Eastman, continued on Tuesday into its fifth week.

Read More

Georgia Trump Case Severed from Powell, Chesebro in First Major Blow to Fani Willis

Tom Pappert

The criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia against lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell was severed from the greater indictment against former President Donald Trump and the other 17 defendants on Thursday morning, representing the first major blow to District Attorney Fani Willis (D).

Read More

One Trial with 19 Defendants Only ‘Feasible’ Option to Prosecute Georgia Trump Case, Fani Willis Claims

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis claimed the only “feasible” way to prosecute former President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants is in one, unified case on Wednesday. Willis said separating the cases, as multiple defendants have requested, would “create an enormous strain” for Fulton County.

Willis, in a legal filing submitted with colleagues F. McDonald Wakeford and Alex Bernick, argued to preserve the case against Trump and the other defendants who helped him contest the 2020 election. The filing was submitted to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday.

Read More

Next Steps Unclear for Atlanta Public Safety Training Center

The Center Square

An Atlanta city council member says she supports a referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center during this November’s election.

In June, the Atlanta City Council voted to allocate $30 million in uncommitted funds for the training center, which has sparked violent protests.

Read More

Fulton County Special Prosecutor’s Law Firm Earns Nearly $550,000 in Trump Case, so Far

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has spent nearly $550,000 bankrolling defense lawyer Nathan Wade as special prosecutor in her case against former President Donald Trump and 18 of his current or former associates who helped him contest the 2020 election in Georgia.

Records made available by the Fulton County government reveals that the Law Offices of Nathan J. Wade earned $303,226.51 in 2022, and thus far in 2023 has earned an additional $245,750. Similarly, his legal partner Christopher Campbell has received $116,670 from Fulton County between 2021 and 2023, while former colleague Terrence Bradley was paid $74,480 by Fulton County in 2021 and 2022.

Read More

Georgia State Sen. Beach Slams ‘Concentration Camp’ Overcrowding in Fulton County Jail, Blames Fani Willis

Tom Pappert

Georgia State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) compared the conditions of the Fulton County Jail to a “concentration camp,” pointing to the 10 deaths at the facility so far this year, and the facility’s overcrowding, as evidence that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is not doing her job.

Beach condemned Willis during an appearance on “The John Fredericks Show” on Tuesday, suggesting that Willis is “obsessed” with prosecuting former President Donald Trump “for her own political gain.”

Read More

Former Memphis Officers Federally Indicted in Tyre Nichols’ Death; Still Silence on ‘Vendetta’ Allegations

M.D. Kittle

If Tyre Nichols was targeted by members of a Memphis Police Department violent crime unit because of his alleged involvement with one of the officers’ ex-wives, there’s nothing on the subject included in a new federal indictment against the five former law enforcement officials.

Read More

Activists Turn in Petition to Force Vote on Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Just Days after RICO Case Unveiled

Tom Pappert

Activists seeking to challenge the construction of the new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center claim to have turned in more than 115,000 petition signatures on Monday, three weeks after the City of Atlanta required signature gathering to conclude. The city has accepted the signatures, but will not examine them without a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Originally given until August 21 to return at least 58,232 valid signatures, a legal ruling on July 26 gave the activists an additional 60 days, and stripped a requirement for those gathering the signatures to be residents of Atlanta. However, a stay was issued freezing that ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on September 1, meaning the additional time granted to activists may have disappeared.

Read More

Georgia Activists Knock on Doors in Republican Strongholds to Fuel Special Session Push

Tom Pappert

Conservative activists in Georgia are knocking on doors in the districts of House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) and senators who have vocally opposed the petition for a special session created by Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton), according to Georgia State Freedom Caucus Director Mallory Staples, with the aim of pressuring more legislators into backing the nascent effort.

Staples announced the plans to door knock on “The John Fredericks Show” last Friday, indicating the activists planned to start on Monday, and will target the most vocal opponents of Moore’s petition for a special session.

Read More

Georgia U.S. Rep. Introduces House Companion Bill to Senator JD Vance’s Legislation that Would Ban Federal Mask Mandates

Kaitlin Housler

Georgia U.S. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) recently introduced the Freedom to Breathe Act which, if enacted, would prohibit the federal government from reimposing mask mandates on American travelers and students.

Read More

Faith and Freedom Coalition Identifies Key Issues for Evangelical, Conservative Voters in 2024

Tom Pappert

Faith & Freedom Coalition executive director Timothy Head outlined what he believes are the key issues for faith-based voters in the state as the second Republican presidential debate, and the 2024 presidential election, in an interview with The Georgia Star News on Friday.

Head told The Georgia Star News that Fulton County’s racketeering case against former President Donald Trump looms large over Georgia’s political landscape, likely drawing even more Republicans in The Peach State to the former president, but added that the economy will likely be the single, largest issue in voters’ minds as they cast ballots in 2024.

Read More

Hospital System in Georgia Replaces Christmas Eve with Juneteenth on Paid Holiday Calendar

Kaitlin Housler

Emory Healthcare replaced Christmas Eve with Juneteenth on the paid holiday calendar for employees last week, according to a memo from the hospital’s CEO, Joon S. Lee.

The healthcare system, which displays “We embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion” on its website as one of its values, is the largest in the Peach State, with more than 425 provider locations and 24,000 employees.

Read More

Atlanta Police Arrest Protesters Who Chained Themselves to Construction Equipment at the Future Public Safety Training Center

Kaitlin Housler

The Atlanta Police Department (APD) announced Thursday that five individuals were arrested after trespassing onto the site of the City of Atlanta’s future Public Safety Training Center and chaining themselves to a piece of construction equipment.

Read More

Trump Questions ‘Credibility’ of Fulton County After Grand Jury Recommended Charges for Lt. Gov. Jones, Former Georgia Senators

Tom Pappert

Former President Donald Trump released a statement expressing further doubts in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and her office, after the grand jury report for the racketeering case against him was made public. The report revealed that, in addition to the 19 charged by Willis, charges were recommended for additional 20 people, including Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones, former Republican Georgia Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Trump wrote that the grand jury report has “zero credibility and badly taints” Willis, and her case against him, in a post on Truth Social. The report, according to Trump, “undermines the credibility of the findings, and badly hurts the Great State of Georgia.”

Read More

Tea Party Patriots’ Jenny Beth Martin Rallies with State Senator Colton Moore to Back Special Session in Georgia

Tom Pappert

Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin joined members of the Georgia Freedom Caucus on Thursday, including State Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) and State Representative Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), for a rally and press conference in support of Moore’s petition calling for Governor Brian Kemp (R) to call a special session to defund or impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Martin, the Honorary Chairman of Tea Party Patriots Action, said Willis’s indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 individuals who helped contest the 2020 election was “wrong,” and stressed that “now is the time for courage” from voters. Martin and the legislators were joined by former State Representative Alveda King, VoterGA co-founder Garland Favorito, conservative radio host Brian Pritchard, and a collection of conservative activists.

Read More

Liberty Safe Changes Access Code Policy After January 6 Controversy, Will Now Require Law Enforcement Subpoena

Tom Pappert

Liberty Safe, the company currently facing backlash for giving the access code to a safe owned by a January 6 defendant to the FBI, announced a change to its company policy yesterday regarding how it complies with law enforcement in the wake of the controversy.

Read More

Inmate at Fulton County Jail Dies at Hospital Days after Being Found Unresponsive in Cell

Kaitlin Housler

Another inmate serving time at the Fulton County Jail has died after being found unresponsive in their cell last month, according to a press release by the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO).

Read More

State Sen. Moore Defends Special Session Push, Plans to Rally Georgia Voters Against Senators ‘Sitting on the Sidelines’

Tom Pappert

Georgia State Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) joined “The John Fredericks Show” on Wednesday to defend his push for a special session in the Georgia Legislature to defund or impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and confronted accusations of grifting by announcing plans to spend money raised on the special session in the districts of legislators who are outspoken in their opposition to the special session.

Moore, who has used the press generated by Trump’s arrest and his special session petition for fundraising, said he intends to use the money to challenge Republican critics of the petition by sending text messages to voters in their districts.

Read More

Judge Restores Georgia Law Banning Transgender Hormone Treatments for Minors

Tom Pappert

A federal judge has restored a Georgia law banning transgender hormone treatments for minors in the state on Tuesday after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a similar Alabama law.

Georgia’s Republican-backed SB 140 bans licensed medical professionals from providing minor patients with cross-sex hormone therapy, with potential criminal and civil penalties for healthcare providers found flaunting the law. Though the law went into effect in July, a legal challenge brought in June ultimately allowed U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty to block its enforcement beginning on October 20.

Read More

Fani Willis to Call 150 Witnesses over Four Month Trial in Georgia RICO Case Against Trump, Allies

Tom Pappert

Wednesday marked the first, live-streamed hearing in Fulton County’s racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants who aided his 2020 election contest, and prosecutors revealed that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis intends to call 150 witnesses over a four-month trial slated to begin on October 23.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee originally planned for the hearing to include arraignments, but all 19 defendants waived their right to arraignment and entered not guilty pleas before the court appearance. Instead, Judge McAfee heard attorneys for Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro invoke their clients’ rights to a speedy trial, specifically requesting to be severed from each other and the other defendants in the case.

Read More