Georgia
EXPLAINER: How Trump allies may be pushed to testify in Georgia
ATLANTA (AP) — As a Georgia investigation into potential felony interference within the 2020 election heats up, prosecutors are attempting to pressure allies and advisers of former President Donald Trump to return to Atlanta to testify earlier than a particular grand jury.
Fulton County District Legal professional Fani Willis opened the felony investigation early final yr, and the particular grand jury was seated in Could at her request. In a letter asking the county Superior Courtroom chief decide to empanel a particular grand jury, she talked about the necessity to have the ability to challenge subpoenas for witnesses who have been in any other case unwilling to talk together with her staff.
For witnesses who stay exterior Georgia, the method of getting a subpoena is extra concerned. Willis final week initiated that course of for seven Trump associates, together with former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.
WHY IS IT MORE COMPLICATED TO SUBPOENA AN OUT-OF-STATE WITNESS?
State courts don’t usually have subpoena energy past their state borders. For that purpose, prosecutors should observe a multistep course of to have the ability to compel an out-of-state witness to testify.
Audio reveals a name from former President Donald Trump to debate 2020 Election voting numbers. (WASHINGTON POST/YOUTUBE)
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WHAT DOES A PROSECUTOR HAVE TO DO?
The prosecutor recordsdata a petition with the court docket explaining why the particular person’s testimony is “materials and vital” for the grand jury investigation. As a result of the prosecutor should justify forcing an individual to journey to a different state, the petition can present invaluable perception into the in any other case secret workings of the particular grand jury investigation.
For instance, in a number of of the petitions filed final week within the investigation, Willis alleged that there was “a multi-state, coordinated plan by the Trump Marketing campaign to affect the outcomes of the November 2020 election in Georgia and elsewhere.”
In every petition, she outlined particular actions by the particular person whose testimony she was looking for to compel and recognized “distinctive data” the particular person has that makes their testimony vital.
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WHAT’S THE ROLE FOR JUDGES?
If the decide within the jurisdiction the place the prosecutor works agrees that the witness’s testimony is important, the decide points a “certificates of fabric witness.” That doc is supposed to be filed, together with the petition, in a court docket within the county the place the witness lives in one other state.
Fulton County Superior Courtroom Choose Robert McBurney, who’s overseeing the particular grand jury, signed off final week on Willis’ petitions. The following step is for the Fulton County district lawyer’s workplace to work with native prosecutors in every state the place witnesses stay to file the paperwork with courts there and to serve discover on the particular person whose testimony is sought.
That discover tells the particular person to look earlier than a home-state decide. If the particular person plans to battle the summons, the decide will set a listening to to find out whether or not a subpoena requiring that particular person to journey to Atlanta to testify earlier than the particular grand jury is suitable. The witness is entitled to be represented by a lawyer on the listening to. Fulton County prosecutors could journey to be current on the listening to to supply help to the native prosecutors and probably to testify about why the particular person’s testimony is required.
On the listening to, the decide will decide whether or not the particular person is, certainly, a “materials and vital” witness and whether or not touring to testify will trigger the particular person undue hardship. If the decide agrees with the prosecutor, the decide would order the particular person to go to Atlanta.
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CAN THE WITNESS FIGHT THE SUBPOENA?
Sure. The particular person might file a home-state enchantment, mentioned Pete Skandalakis, government director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia. However it’s extra doubtless the particular person would file a movement in Georgia to attempt to maintain from having to testify, he mentioned. Then it will be as much as McBurney to determine whether or not the particular person has to testify and whether or not any limits ought to be positioned on the questions that prosecutors and grand jurors can ask.
An individual who fails to look when ordered to testify could also be present in contempt of court docket and face a penalty that might embody a superb or jail time.
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IF SOMEONE IS CALLED TO TESTIFY AS A WITNESS, DOES THAT MEAN THEY WON’T BE INDICTED?
No. In contrast to an everyday grand jury, a particular grand jury can subpoena a goal of an investigation. However the particular grand jury can’t challenge an indictment. When it’s executed with its investigation, the particular grand jury will challenge suggestions. Willis will not be certain by the particular grand jury’s suggestions, and it’s in the end her choice whether or not to hunt an indictment from an everyday grand jury.
Anybody who’s subpoenaed can assert the Fifth Modification proper in opposition to self-incrimination when being questioned earlier than a particular grand jury, Skandalakis mentioned.
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IS IT POSSIBLE THAT TRUMP COULD BE SUBPOENAED?
Sure. Willis might use this course of to attempt to compel testimony from the previous president. Given his previous document in authorized circumstances, that might result in a drawn-out battle within the courts.
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WHAT CHARGES ARE PROSECUTORS CONSIDERING?
In a letter Willis despatched to top-ranking state officers final yr, she mentioned she was trying into “potential violations of Georgia legislation prohibiting the solicitation of election fraud, the making of false statements to state and native authorities our bodies, conspiracy, racketeering, violation of oath of workplace and any involvement in violence or threats associated to the election’s administration.”
Among the many issues Willis has mentioned her staff is trying into is a Jan. 2, 2021, telephone name during which Trump urged Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger, to “discover” sufficient votes to overturn his loss; calls that Graham made to Raffensperger; and false claims of election fraud that have been made by Giuliani and others throughout December 2020 legislative committee hearings on the state Capitol.
Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved.
Georgia
Critics accuse Georgia sheriff of silencing them on social media in lawsuit
Three Georgia residents are accusing Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens of violating their free speech rights, alleging in a lawsuit that he silenced their critical opinions on Facebook following a viral incident in which he called deputies to a Burger King over a botched order.
The legal filing in U.S. District Court lists David Cavender – a Republican who unsuccessfully ran against Owens for the sheriff position this election season – as one of the plaintiffs.
“Defendant Craig Owens was displeased that certain persons, including the Plaintiffs, were publicly criticizing his performance as the Sheriff of Cobb County, Georgia,” the lawsuit says. “Instead of upholding the First Amendment and stomaching speech he found personally distasteful, Owens decided instead to utilize the powers of his office to censor the speech of Plaintiffs, and others, based on viewpoint.”
An attorney wrote that in October, in the weeks leading up to Election Day, a video that emerged of “Owens utilizing Cobb County Sheriff deputies to intercede in a personal dispute with Burger King employees became viral” and that the plaintiffs “had been leveling harsh criticism against Owens” over it and other matters.
GEORGIA SHERIFF CALLS DEPUTIES FOR HELP AFTER BECOMING UPSET THAT BURGER KING GOT HIS ORDER WRONG
READ THE FILING BELOW. APP USERS: CLICK HERE
In that March 2023 incident, three deputies were dispatched to the fast-food restaurant in Mableton with sirens blaring.
“Hey, do me a favor. I need to get, all I need is the owner name of whoever owns this damn facility or the manager,” Owens is heard telling one deputy who showed up on scene.
“I wanted her [to get his female passenger] a Whopper, no mayo, cut in half, right?” he continued.
The sheriff added: “I don’t need no damn money back no more. I just need to find out who owns this place so I can do an official complaint.”
The lawsuit says on Oct. 29 of this year, Owens put in place “sweeping restrictions” over who can post comments on the Cobb County Sheriff Office’s Facebook page.
EX-GEORGIA POLL WORKER INDICTED FOR MAILING BOMB THREAT TO POLLING PLACE: FBI
“On information and belief, these restrictions were put in place because of the viewpoint of commenters’ posts grew increasingly critical of Owens and his performance as Sheriff; in other words Owens put the restrictions in place to prevent the expression of a viewpoint,” the lawsuit says, adding that some of the posts made by the plaintiffs were deleted or hidden by the Sheriff’s Office Facebook account.
The Sheriff’s Office then wrote on Nov. 1 that it is “committed to providing a safe and respectful space on our social media channels.
“To keep our posts focused on community safety updates and educational info, we’ve turned off the comments feature,” it added.
The lawsuit is asking a judge to “declare the actions of Defendant Owens… to be view-point based restrictions in violation of the First Amendment”, prohibit his “unlawful practice of retaliatory censorship” and to prevent him “from deleting comments, blocking posters, or restricting commenters to those who are friends or referenced within posts,” among other damages.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
Both the Cobb County Sheriff’s Office and the law firm that filed the lawsuit did not immediately respond Thursday to requests for comment from Fox News Digital.
Fox News’ Landon Mion contributed to this report.
Georgia
Lefty Georgia DA in Laken Riley case faces outrage after killer migrant avoids death penalty
The progressive Georgia district attorney who was prosecuting nursing student Laken Riley’s illegal immigrant killer refused to seek the death penalty even after removing herself from the case – drawing outrage when the defendant was sentenced to life without parole.
Athens-Clarke District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez, who appointed a special prosecutor to take over the prosecution of Jose Ibarra at the end of February amid criticism over her own prosecutorial record, laid out her soft-on-crime reforms when she assumed office in January 2021.
Gonzalez said her office would “no longer seek the death penalty” and when considering charging defendants, she would “take into account collateral consequences to undocumented defendants,” according to a copy of the district attorney’s policies shared by Georgia State Rep. Houston Gaines.
Ibarra, a 26-year-old Tren de Arangua gang member, was sentenced Wednesday to life without parole after being convicted of murdering the 22-year-old college student. His sentence angered many Republicans, including Gaines, who felt the killer should get the death penalty.
Gonzalez announced this spring would not seek the death penalty against Ibarra, stating, “our utmost duty is to ensure that justice is served and that the victim’s family is an integral part of the deliberation process.”
She also acknowledged critics will seek to “exploit this case for political gain,” but legal decisions must “always transcend political considerations,” according to WRDW.
The decision appears in line with what Gonzalez told staff in 2021.
“Cases which are legally eligible for the death penalty are eligible for sentences of life without parole and life with parole eligibility after serving thirty years,” she wrote.
“Both of these sentences constitute very substantial punishment. Decisions to seek the sentence of life without parole are a sentence of death in prison.”
She also reportedly said the office would take into account “collateral consequences to undocumented defendants,” when making charging decisions.
GOP lawmakers were incensed that Ibarra would not face the death penalty.
“If there was ever a case where the death penalty was appropriate, this is it,” Gaines tweeted Wednesday.
Meanwhile state Sen. Colton Moore called on the state attorney general to intervene.
“I am officially calling on Attorney General Chris Carr to file an emergency motion to intervene and demand the death penalty for the murderer of Laken Riley,” he tweeted.
“District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez let her radical political agenda stand in the way of justice. By refusing to seek the death penalty, she denied Laken’s family, friends, and community the full measure of justice they deserve.”
Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor-Greene also weighed in.
“Jose Ibarra deserves the death penalty,” she tweeted. “Just as Laken’s mother Allyson asked the judge, Laken’s evil (murderer) deserves exactly what he gave to Laken.”
Gonzalez lost her reelection bid this month by a 20-percentage point margin.
Georgia
Georgia football recruiting: Bulldogs land four-star in-state edge rusher Chase Linton
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Georgia football added another coveted in-state piece to its 2025 recruiting haul on Wednesday when it landed a commitment from a four-star edge rusher.
North Atlanta’s Chase Linton announced his pledge to Georgia over Rutgers, where he was previously committed, and Georgia Tech. He played around at his ceremony like he was going to pick the other schools before finally revealing that he picked the Bulldogs and put on a Georgia cap and showed a Bulldogs shirt.
“Go Dawgs!” he said in an announcement streamed on Instagram.
The 6-foot-5, 220-pound Linton is ranked as the nation’s No. 180 overall prospect and No. 17 edge rusher by the 247 Sports Composite.
“He has a heck of a burst for a guy for his height and his size,” North Atlanta football assistant coach Bryce Doe, who coached Linton the last three years as head track and field coach, told the Athens Banner-Herald. “He hasn’t run a lot of running events in track and field, but I can tell you for the first 60 meters he’s just as fast as any kid out there. He’s just as fast as any DB or receiver for the first 60 meters.”
Linton was third in the region in the triple jump last year at 44.85 and finished a spot outside of qualifying for the state meet.
“He came in just as tall as he is now, but he was kind of awkward and uncoordinated is a good way to describe him in his first year,” Doe said.
Linton started to show his speed and explosion as a sophomore, Doe said, “and started to put it together.”
Linton, this season, had 51 tackles including 31 solos with 16 tackles for loss and 9 sacks.
He’s the 26th commitment for Georgia’s 2025 class.
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