Key GOP state legislators want to use a newly adopted state law to investigate and possibly sanction Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis. Now U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene may seek federal action.
In an interview in Milwaukee, where Greene is stumping for an absent Donald Trump ahead of tonight’s debate, the Rome Republican said she’s discussed a probe of Willis with U.S. House leaders. The Fulton DA is prosecuting the former president and 18 others for their alleged efforts to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
Greene said she’s talked with ranking members of the oversight and judiciary committees about an inquiry into the “potential collusion of the Department of Justice” with state district attorneys. She called it a “serious problem.”
Credit: Michael Blackshire
Credit: Michael Blackshire
Willis and DOJ special counsel Jack Smith each secured indictments against Trump over a two-week span earlier this month, creating the potential for a parallel-track prosecution of the former president.
Willis has said she’s not coordinating with Smith, but such discussions would typically take place through the U.S. attorney’s office in Atlanta. Local and federal prosecutors routinely coordinate charging decisions, though dueling investigations can complicate high-profile prosecutions.
The New York Times reports more details:
In previous cases in which such overlap existed, Justice Department lawyers have requested to see evidence that local prosecutors turned over to the defense lawyers during the discovery process to avoid any surprises that could jeopardize their own case. Local officials are not legally required to comply, but often do, sometimes in exchange for information collected by the government.
As for Greene, she plans to meet with other media members today and then join Florida U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz to promote Trump’s comeback bid.
“I’m hoping to see someone defend him. But to be honest with you, the primary is over. It’s just over,” said Greene, pointing to Trump’s dominant poll numbers.
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Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
Credit: Fulton County Sheriff's Office
LISTEN UP. Some of the 18 co-defendants indicted with former President Donald Trump began to surrender Tuesday at the Fulton County Jail just as the GOP presidential candidates arrived in Milwaukee to prepare for the first debate of the 2024 election cycle. Our midweek edition of the Politically Georgia podcast brings you up to speed on both, including a report from Greg Bluestein, who is on the ground in Milwaukee.
Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or Google Podcasts
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Credit: The New York Times
Credit: The New York Times
BREW CITY. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene isn’t the only state Republican figure in Milwaukee for tonight’s presidential primary debate. C.J. Pearson, a 21-year-old conservative activist from Augusta, will be speaking to donors at a closed-door Republican National Committee meeting about how to woo young voters. He’ll be joined on a panel by Sunjay Chawla and Brilyn Hollyhand, also up-and-coming party leaders.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
PAY UP. Former President Donald Trump is relying on contributors to help pay legal fees to fight the Fulton County indictment. Three fake electors charged with assisting Trump’s plot to overturn his defeat are getting help from the Georgia GOP.
But what of the rest of the defendants?
Former Trump attorney Jenna Ellis, charged with helping to orchestrate the plot, turned to social media to ask why Trump isn’t doing more to help float the cost of defending her and others against the sprawling charges.
“I was reliably informed Trump isn’t funding any of us who are indicted,” Ellis posted on social media, adding a question aimed at a pro-Trump political action committee: “So why isn’t MAGA, Inc. funding everyone’s defense?”
Some have tried to crowdsource to pay their legal fees. Cathy Latham, a fake elector who is also charged with conspiring to commit election fraud by welcoming a forensic team into Coffee County’s election office, launched a fundraiser.
The state GOP, meanwhile, has spent more than $500,000 in legal fees for the fake electors who were under investigation.
Prosecutors charged Latham, former GOP chair David Shafer and state Sen. Shawn Still for their role in the fake elector meeting, during which 16 Republicans met secretly to sign election certificates claiming Trump won the state. At least eight other fake electors were granted immunity by the Fulton DA’s office.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
NAME CHECKED. Last week’s 98-page indictment against Donald Trump and 18 co-defendants included passing mentions of multiple Georgia politicos tangentially touched by the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 elections.
Bill White, the former leader of the defunct Buckhead City breakaway movement, was referenced on page 29 of the indictment as “an individual associated with the Trump campaign then residing in Fulton County.” The document alleged that Trump asked White for contact information for several Georgia officials, including then-Senate President Pro Tem Butch Miller, whom Trump would later pressure to call a special session of the Legislature to block Joe Biden’s Georgia victory.
In response to his name showing up in the document, White called the indictment “bogus” and told the AJC: “President Trump or any president for that matter never needs someone outside of the White House to get a Georgia senator or anyone on the planet on the phone, and consistent with that, President Trump never asked me to provide to him the contact information of Butch Miller or Mike Dugan.”
He added that he thinks Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is “not only a rogue DA but someone hellbent on using her official powers to prosecute President Donald Trump for yet another perfect phone call while not prosecuting the real Fulton County criminals — the car jackers, robbers, home invaders, murderers and criminals terrorizing the citizens of Buckhead.”
Miller was more to-the-point. “I respect the confidentiality of the investigation and grand jury process,” he said. “Further, the circus has come to town, and I don’t care to be a clown.”
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KEEP UP. Former President Donald Trump plans to turn himself in at the Fulton County Jail on Thursday. Trump and 18 others indicted last week in the Fulton County election interference case have until Friday to surrender to authorities.
With all the moving parts, we’ll keep you updated every morning with the latest developments. Our AJC colleagues filed these stories Tuesday:
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
ATLANTA REFERENDUM. High-profile Democrats are questioning a plan to use signature match to verify the names of petitioners seeking a voter referendum on Atlanta’s planned public safety training center.
City officials announced the process Monday, and the AJC’s Jozsef Papp writes that some local lawmakers called the proposal “a discriminatory procedure.”
“Signature match as a method for verifying voter identity is unreliable, and prejudices the elderly, disabled, and voters with less common names,” wrote state Rep. Saira Draper, D-Atlanta, on social media.
State Sen. Josh McLaurin, D-Sandy Springs, wrote on X that he “strongly” disagreed with the city’s plan and has reached out to the city. Georgia State Election Board Member Sara Tindall Ghazal said on social media that the city is making a policy choice by verifying every signature instead of randomly sampling signatures or accepting the petition and putting the referendum on the ballot.
Meanwhile, progressive organizations are weighing in against the signature verification plan, reports the AJC’s Wilborn P. Nobles III.
Activists planned to turn in more than 100,000 signatures Monday but decided to continue to collect more as they waited for clarity on the signature verification process. Petitioners have until Sept. 23 to collect a little more than 58,000 signatures, which accounts for 15% of Atlanta registered voters.
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Credit: NYT
Credit: NYT
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden has no public events scheduled.
- The U.S. House and Senate are still in recess.
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Credit: David Barnes/AJC
Credit: David Barnes/AJC
TRANSGENDER APPEAL. As expected, Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr has asked U.S. District Court Judge Sarah E. Geraghty to reconsider her weekend order that blocked the state’s new law banning certain treatments for transgender children, our AJC colleague Maya T. Prabhu tells us.
It’s unclear how Geraghty, who was appointed to the federal bench by President Joe Biden, will respond.
The motion for reconsideration comes one day after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned an Alabama lower court ruling that blocked a similar law. The 11th circuit, which handles cases from Georgia, Alabama and Florida, will also hear an appeal related to a similar transgender ban in Florida.
Alabama’s law is slightly different than the one in Georgia, where transgender minors are allowed to receive puberty blockers. Also, Georgians who began hormone therapy before the law took effect are allowed to continue. Alabama’s law bans the use of all treatments for transgender minors.
In the filing, Carr’s office argued that findings by the 11th circuit contradict Geraghty’s decision, and she should vacate her ruling and allow Georgia’s law to be in effect during the court process.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Jolt nation proudly boasts an international readership which, believe it or not, includes members of the diplomatic corps. Please meet Kelpie Dean, the rat terrier-Australian kelpie mix that calls Caitlin Dean her person.
Caitlin is the head of political, press and public affairs for the British Consulate in Atlanta. But even a distinguished title like that isn’t enough to impress a precocious puppy like Kelpie. On adoption day, she slipped her leash and caused a high-speed chase around PetSmart. Now older and wiser, Kelpie does her running around Atlanta’s parks.
Kelpie is named for the shape-shifting spirits in Scottish folklore that dwell in lochs. But we here at the international edition of The Jolt just call her our Dog of the Day.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
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