Georgia court ruling is another blow to Fani Willis in a year of setbacks

Today’s newsletter highlights:

Republicans are divided over government funding.
State lawmakers propose tree trimming regulations.
Congress OKs dog training facility in Newnan.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis could hardly have had a worse year.

Her racketeering case against “Young Slime Life” members unraveled, ending the longest criminal trial in Georgia history.

A state prosecutor declined to bring charges against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones after Willis was disqualified from doing so herself because she co-hosted a fundraiser for his political rival.

And on Thursday, the Court of Appeals disqualified Willis and her office from proceeding with an election interference case against Donald Trump and other co-defendants because she dated the special prosecutor she hired to handle the charges and went on expensive trips with him that he helped pay for.

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC

The state Court of Appeals ruled in a 2-1 opinion that Willis’ onetime romantic relationship with former special prosecutor Nathan Wade merited her dismissal from the case, which could effectively tank the final criminal case against Trump.

Though she plans to appeal to the Georgia Supreme Court, some legal experts see a reversal as highly unlikely. A decision could take months. And few other prosecutors have the resources or the willingness to take on the case if it’s transferred.

It wasn’t all bad for Willis. She remains one of the most recognizable prosecutors in the country after coasting to a second term last month.

Even so, there could be more bad news for her in 2025. State Sen. Greg Dolezal, R-Cumming, said he intends to revive a Senate Special Committee on Investigations to scrutinize Willis.

Among the committee’s goals is to delve into the prosecutor’s use of public resources while continuing to pursue subpoenas seeking documents and testimony from Willis that are at the center of an ongoing legal fight.

“The people of this great state deserve a justice system that operates with integrity, transparency and respect for the rule of law,” Dolezal told us.

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Credit: AJC file photos

GOOD MORNING! President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration is 31 days away, and he’s already made most of his picks for key roles in his administration. Starting Monday, you can hear these nominees in their own words on C-SPAN 2. The network is digging into its archives of speeches, interviews and congressional hearings for a Trump marathon.

The, er, fun kicks off at 8 a.m. each weekday with a fresh set of footage that will play throughout the day on a loop. Former Georgia U.S. Rep. Doug Collins, Trump’s pick to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs, will be featured on Tuesday. Former U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, picked to lead the Small Business Administration, is scheduled for Dec. 31.

Here are four things to know for today:

Chris Carr told the Politically Georgia podcast why he entered the 2026 race for governor so early.
The AJC’s election expert Mark Niesse digs into why so many 2020 absentee voters did not return this year.
U.S. lawmakers have authorized a study of deepening the Savannah River for Georgia ports, the AJC’s Adam Van Brimmer reports.
Critics say a new law taking effect next year will make it harder for homeless people to vote, the AJC’s Caleb Groves and Phoebe Quinton report.

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Credit: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

SHUTDOWN LOOMS. The clock is ticking, and as of this morning there is no workable plan on the table to avoid a government shutdown scheduled to begin at midnight.

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson was sent searching for a Plan C after 38 of his fellow Republicans joined with nearly every Democrat to reject his latest proposal on Thursday night. Not only did it fail to receive the needed two-thirds support for passage, but it couldn’t even get a majority vote.

That failed plan included three months of government funding, disaster aid and a two-year suspension of the debt limit that President-elect Donald Trump had requested. But it left out many things needed to win Democratic support, and Republicans did not have enough votes to pass it on their own.

Two Georgia Republicans, Reps. Andrew Clyde of Athens and Rich McCormick of Suwanee, joined Democrats in the state’s delegation in voting against the bill.

Credit: AP

But we’ll note that there was one Georgia conservative who voted against debt-limit increases in the past but supported the Trump-endorsed government funding bill Thursday night: U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson.

Collins said Johnson’s plan was different from the debt-limit increase he opposed in May because the political landscape is changing with Trump coming into office and Republicans taking control of the Senate.

Now, Johnson is back at square one. He did not immediately announce his next steps, although lawmakers in both chambers were told there could be votes today. If not, the government shutdown will officially begin.

“We will regroup, and we will come up with another solution,” he told reporters Thursday evening. “So stay tuned.”

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Credit: Courtesy photo

PRICE TO PAY? Republican state Sen. Russ Goodman blasted two Georgia congressmen for voting with Democrats to tank a government funding bill that also included disaster aid and economic relief for farmers.

U.S. Reps. Rich McCormick, R-Suwanee, and Andrew Clyde, R-Athens, were among the 38 Republicans who helped defeat the proposal and push the nation to the brink of a government shutdown.

“William Tecumseh Sherman showed Georgia more mercy than y’all did tonight,” Goodman, a farmer who represents a Homerville-based district, wrote on Facebook. “Appreciate y’all joining the Democrats and blocking help for your fellow Georgians. Hope you don’t have any statewide ambitions. Rural Georgians have long memories.”

He told us to expect more sharp criticism if the standoff worsens.

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Credit: Zachary Hansen/AJC

TREE TOPS. Tree workers have been busy in Georgia this year, what with parts of three hurricanes barreling into the state. Now, state lawmakers are eyeing legislation that would create the first licensing and regulatory program for the tree care industry in Georgia.

Public officials have warned homeowners about scammers popping up claiming to do work they’re not qualified for. And the work itself is dangerous, resulting in more than 200 deaths each year in the United States. Just last week, federal regulators faulted a tree trimming company for the death of a worker near Lake Allatoona back in May.

A legislative study committee this week recommended lawmakers create a licensing and regulatory program, noting the state has no standards for tree trimmers.

But not everyone is on board with this idea. Lots of lawmakers aren’t too happy with the way the state handles licensing in other industries. Creating yet another regulatory system isn’t on their to-do list.

Rep. Jordan Ridley, R-Woodstock, said he was concerned any new regulations would make it harder for people to become tree trimmers in Georgia.

“I feel like in creating regulations, we can go down that road,” he said.

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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

POWER SOURCE. Power outages were a big problem when hurricanes hit Georgia this year. During Hurricane Helene alone, 1.25 million customers lost power. State officials say it was the biggest outage ever seen in Georgia.

Losing power at your house is bad enough. But when it happens at a nursing home or a hospital, it can be life threatening.

That’s why this week a panel of state lawmakers recommended some changes to the state building code. They want to require new medical facilities to have secondary power sources in case of an outage. And they want to require existing medical facilities to install “power transfer switches” to make sure they can quickly restore power when something happens. That requirement would be phased in over five to 10 years.

Requiring existing facilities to do anything can be difficult because it costs them money. But it could save first responders a lot of time. When a medical facility loses power, they’re often called upon to help evacuate dozens of people.

“I think that would go a long way to making sure that we’re being proactive and looking at the bigger picture,” state Rep. J Collins, R-Villa Rica, said during this week’s meeting of the House Study Committee on Disaster Mitigation and Resilience.

The recommendations might get a closer look during the legislative session, as the state’s ongoing cleanup efforts act as a reminder of what can happen. Committee Chair Clint Crowe, R-Jackson, said he wished those hurricanes would have never hit Georgia. But there was at least one silver lining.

“It brought a lot more people to the meetings and put a lot more eyes on the conversation,” he said. “I think we need to try to keep these things in the forefront of our thoughts as long as we can, because unfortunately we’re going to have more disasters in the future.”

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Credit: Mike Adams for the AJC

LISTEN UP. Today’s “Politically Georgia,” is the last live show of 2024. You’ll hear an interview with Gov. Brian Kemp on the federal government funding proposal and its ties to disaster relief. The hosts will discuss fallout of the Georgia Court of Appeals’ decision to remove Fulton County prosecutor Fani Willis from the election interference case. Plus, there’s a special “who’s up and who’s down” segment.

Be sure to download the AJC’s Politically Georgia on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Episodes are uploaded by noon each day, just in time to have lunch with us. You can also listen live at 10 a.m. EST on 90.1 FM WABE. Have a question for the show? Give us a call at 770-810-5297.

On Thursday’s show, the AJC’s Atlanta City Hall reporter Riley Bunch talked about the city finishing construction on its law enforcement training center. Then, Attorney General Chris Carr discussed his bid for governor.

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Credit: Rod Lamkey, Jr./AP

TODAY IN WASHINGTON:

President Joe Biden and first lady Jill Biden will make a holiday visit to patients and families at Children’s National Hospital in Washington.
The U.S. House has delayed the start of its holiday recess as lawmakers wait for any new word on a government funding deal.
The Senate is also in session, but no votes have been scheduled yet.

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Credit: AJC

BEAGLE BRIGADE. Congress on Wednesday approved a bill that permanently lets a facility in Newnan train dogs to detect foreign plants, pests and diseases in agriculture items.

Georgia Democratic U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock as well as U.S. Reps. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany, and Drew Ferguson, R-The Rock, were among the lawmakers celebrating the passage of the “Beagle Brigade Act.” The bill now heads to President Joe Biden to be signed into law.

“The National Detector Dog Training Center in Georgia’s 3rd Congressional District does important work to properly train detector dogs to sniff out prohibited agricultural items in domestic and international trade,” Ferguson said in a news release.

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Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

HOLIDAY CHEER. State Sen. Sonya Halpern surprised about 50 children on Thursday with Amazon Fire tablets.

The Democrat from Atlanta partnered with Amazon, Walmart, Cathedral Faith Church and Covenant HealthShare to host her first ever “Holiday Extravaganza” at Finch Elementary School. Halpern worked with school officials to identify about 28 families who have gone through some type of hardship. Some have lost loved ones to gun violence. Others have battled illness.

“Homes have been broken, and hearts have been broken. So it’s really just a way to bring some smiles to their faces,” she said.

The kids were all smiles on Thursday, waiting patiently in line to have their picture taken with Santa. And there were gifts for the parents, too, including a $25 Kroger gift card.

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Credit: Courtesy photo

SHOUTOUTS. Today’s birthdays:

Sam West, counsel to Georgia House Majority Leader Chuck Efstration, R-Mulberry.
Jeremy Berry, election law expert and Democratic Party insider.

Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that! Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.

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AS ALWAYS, send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.