Former special prosecutor Nathan Wade was set to do his first interview since resigning from the Fulton County election interference case until he abruptly canceled, leaving more questions than answers in his wake.
According to NBC News, Wade confirmed on Saturday afternoon that he would participate in an in-person Sunday morning interview with host Kirsten Welker on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” But the show posted on social media later Saturday that Wade had canceled, citing a family emergency.
It would have been a rare chance to hear from Wade on a range of issues, starting with his take on Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee’s ruling Friday that either he or District Attorney Fani Willis had to withdraw from the case to move forward. Wade submitted his resignation from the case later that day.
Former President Donald Trump, meanwhile, took his efforts to denigrate Willis to a new level at a weekend rally in Ohio, where he graphically mocked the spelling and pronunciation of the DA’s name. “It’s spelled Fani, like your (expletive),” Trump said.
But speaking at an International Women’s Day event earlier this month, Willis had her own name for people who knowingly bungle her name: “idiots.”
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
WARNOCK ON OFFENSE. National Democrats are increasingly looking to Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock to lead the charge for President Joe Biden and against former President Donald Trump as their 2024 rematch heats up. Warnock was the only Democrat elected statewide in the battleground of Georgia in 2022 in an otherwise banner year for Republicans.
On Sunday, Warnock hammered Trump in an appearance on MSNBC’s “Politics Nation” with Rev. Al Sharpton after he was asked about Trump’s warning over the weekend that a “bloodbath” will follow if he loses the election in November.
“Donald Trump has shown us who he is time and time and time again and we ought to take him seriously,” Warnock said. “This is the insurrectionist president. … This election is a binary choice and we’re being reminded time and time again how much is at stake, nothing less than the future of our republic.”
Warnock also addressed the matter of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and the Georgia election interference case against Trump.
“We certainly have seen Donald Trump attack a Black woman and, again, we’re not surprised when we see Donald Trump do that, because that’s who he is,” Warnock said. “But we’re watching our judicial process play out. And right here in Georgia. I’m afraid that there are some political actors who have tried to put their hand on the scale I’m not going to pile on.”
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
‘TIS THE SEASON. With just five working days left in the 2023-2024 legislative session, resident AJC historian James Salzer notes that it’s the season for “Christmas trees” and “Frankenbills.” That’s the magical time on the legislative calendar when anything seems — and is — possible, depending on who is pushing a measure.
“In a body known for practiced procrastination, now is when it all gets interesting — and messy,” he writes.
Among the items we’re still watching for final passage:
- The state’s $36 billion annual budget, which has passed the House, but not the Senate.
- Senate Bill 349, a gutted-and-replaced bill to cap rapidly rising property taxes that is waiting for Senate action.
- Senate Bill 386 and Senate Resolution 576, a bill and a separate constitutional amendment, to legalize sports betting in Georgia, which have both passed the Senate, but not the House.
- Senate Bill 233, the House-amended version of the voucher bill that Gov. Brian Kemp pushed for, which is awaiting Senate passage.
- House Bill 1339, the bill to change Certificate of Need regulations for new hospitals in Georgia. Two different versions have passed the House and Senate, which need to be rectified and passed again by Day 40.
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Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Legislative Day 36:
- 8 a.m.: Committee meetings begin.
- 10 a.m.: The House gavels in.
- 10 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
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Credit: David Barnes/AJC
Credit: David Barnes/AJC
TRANSGENDER SPORTS. Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr said Saturday that he’s exploring legal options to challenge the NCAA’s transgender policies after more than a dozen college athletes filed a lawsuit in federal district court in Atlanta accusing the organization of violating their Title IX rights.
The lawsuit targets the NCAA’s 2022 decision to allow transgender woman Lia Thomas to compete at the national swimming championship. Thomas competed for the University of Pennsylvania, and swam for the men’s team before her gender transition. Because Georgia Tech hosted the 2022 championship swim meet, the University System of Georgia is among those named as defendants in the lawsuit.
“Our office is exploring all legal options available to end this absurdity and we will continue fighting for women’s rights to fair competition,” Carr said.
Separately, the Red & Black reported last week that Riley Gaines, one of the athletes filing the lawsuit, was in Athens to speak to students ahead of the 2024 NCAA swimming & diving championships. That meet is scheduled to take place Wednesday through Saturday at the University of Georgia’s Gabrielsen Natatorium.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
LISTEN UP. Today on the “Politically Georgia” radio show, we’ll get the latest from the AJC’s James Salzer and Maya T. Prabhu as the annual legislative session draws to an end.
And Fred Smith Jr., a law professor at Emory University School of Law, will discuss what’s next for District Attorney Fani Willis and the Fulton County election interference case.
Listen live at 10 a.m. on 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
If you missed Friday’s show, AJC editor Shannon McCaffrey and Georgia State law professor Anthony Michael Kreis discussed Judge Scott McAfee’s latest ruling in the election interference case.
And journalist Michael Jones discussed Washington efforts to ban TikTok or divest it from its Chinese parent company. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
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COUNTDOWN TO SHUTDOWN. Congress is back at work this week to consider yet another partial government funding bill, this one to provide annual appropriations for roughly 70% of the federal government.
If it feels like deja vu, that’s because this marks the fifth time since September that lawmakers have scrambled to meet a funding deadline to avoid a government shutdown. Earlier this month, Congress passed a bill combining six of 12 appropriations bills to fund the related agencies through the rest of the fiscal year.
Without a stopgap measure or agreement on the remaining six appropriations bills by Friday, the unfunded agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Education, Homeland Security, Health and Human Services, and Treasury, will stop all but essential operations.
Negotiators in both chambers say progress is being made, but multiple outlets report that a dispute over border security funding within the Department of Homeland Security remains a major sticking point.
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Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC
LOST IN THE MAIL. The U.S. Postal Services continues to struggle to deliver mail in a timely fashion across Georgia, the AJC’s Jillian Price reports.
Along with stories of delayed packages and missed deadlines, Price writes that U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff sent a letter Thursday to Postmaster General Louis DeJoy asking for an explanation about the delays, which appear to track to the Atlanta Regional Processing and Distribution Center in Palmetto.
“Postal customers in Georgia are increasingly reporting untraceable or stalled packages to local news outlets, in some cases for up to weeks,” Ossoff’s letter said.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will host a Women’s History Month reception at the White House. Vice President Kamala Harris will also attend.
- The U.S. House and Senate return Tuesday.
- U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff will visit Georgia’s Fort Moore to highlight his efforts to improve healthcare for mothers in the military, with a news conference in Columbus to follow.
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Credit: Greg Bluestein/AJC
Credit: Greg Bluestein/AJC
ST. PATRICK’S PARTY. Gov. Brian Kemp and first lady Marty Kemp rode in a white convertible in Savannah’s famous St. Patrick’s Day Parade on Saturday. The nearly 3-mile march drew record crowds to the city’s historic district, with many along the route giving Kemp a boisterous reception, including calls to challenge former President Donald Trump in the 2024 election.
Last week Kemp reiterated that he would vote for Trump now that he’s the GOP nominee following Georgia’s presidential primary. The Kemps also attended the Feast of St. Patrick Mass held prior to the parade at the Cathedral Basilica of St. John the Baptist.
Other elected officials to participate in the 200th anniversary parade were U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island, Georgia lawmakers Sen. Ben Watson, R-Savannah, and Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah, and Savannah Mayor Van Johnson.
Perhaps most importantly, this marked the first year that the AJC’s Savannah bureau chief Adam Van Brimmer has been with the paper for the city’s biggest tradition. Van Brimmer not only helmed our coverage, but also worked to produce a special St. Patrick’s Day edition of the AJC that should not be missed.
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IN THE CLUB. Congratulations to our own Tia Mitchell for being inducted as the newest member of the prestigious Gridiron Club and Foundation in Washington over the weekend.
Tia was joined by AJC publisher Andrew Morse, editor Leroy Chapman, and Pulitzer Prize winning cartoonist Mike Luckovich, complete in white tie and tails, for the formal dinner to welcome her to the club.
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DOG OF THE DAY. Hello Monday, meet Jackson Kanso, the chocolate lab-German shepherd mix with a face cute enough to cure any case of the Monday blues.
Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
Jackson lives in Sandy Springs and calls Ashley and Danny Kanso his people. He includes swimming and being adorable among his many hobbies.
Send us your pets of any political persuasion to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
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