Georgia
Obama-era ethics czar says Fulton prosecutor should quit Georgia 2020 election interference case – Georgia Recorder
A new Georgia State Senate special committee plans to investigate whether Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis had an improper affair with a special prosecutor she hired to lead the sweeping criminal racketeering case filed against Donald Trump and 18 of the former president’s allies.
The committee tasked with investigating the lead prosecutor for Georgia’s most populated county was established Friday mostly along a party line vote on Republican Sen. Greg Dolezal’s Senate Resolution 465.
The panel that will consist of six Republicans and three Democratic senators will have the ability to subpoena witnesses to testify as it examines whether Willis misappropriated taxpayers dollars after hiring special prosecutor Nathan Wade in November 2021 to lead the election interference probe.
Democratic lawmakers on Friday called the committee a political stunt aimed at undermining Willis, an elected Democrat, for targeting Trump and his supporters on allegations that they illegally orchestrated a plot to overturn Georgia’s 2020 presidential election results.
“You’re talking about partisan politics,” Macon Democratic Sen. David Lucas said during Friday’s Senate floor debate.
The new committee is the latest twist surrounding the historic case since an attorney for Michael Roman, a former Trump campaign official and one of Trump’s Fulton co-defendants, accused Willis and Wade of having an improper romantic relationship.
Earlier this month, Wade’s estranged wife filed in Cobb County divorce court credit card statements showing two roundtrip flights to San Francisco and Miami had been purchased for Wade and Willis.
Dolezal, a Cumming legislator, described his resolution as a way of determining if the allegations against Willis are legitimate and whether she is impartial while leading a team of prosecutors.
Despite the committee’s subpoena power, it will not be able to sanction Willis.
“This resolution will empower the Senate to address the multitude of questions raised by Georgians regarding the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office,” Dolezal said last week prior to the adoption of the resolution. “I am eager to see its adoption, which will emphasize the importance of transparency, accountability and integrity within our judicial system,” he added.
The special investigatory panel represents another battle line between Georgia Republicans and Democrats in an election year when there is expected to be another showdown between Trump and President Joe Biden. This year’s election season includes all 236 seats in the state Legislature up for grabs.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, a Butts County Republican and longtime supporter of Trump, has a contentious relationship with Willis. She sought to indict Jones for serving on a false alternate slate of electors who cast votes for Trump in the 2020 election. However she was barred from charging Jones after a judge found she had a conflict of interest because she raised money for his opponent during the 2022 campaign for lieutenant governor.
Sen. Shawn Still was among the 19 people indicted in August in the election interference case for having served on the alternate electoral college slate.
Norm Eisen, former ethics czar under the Obama Administration, said that based on what is publicly known there is no legal basis under Georgia law for Willis or Wade to be disqualified.
Eisen noted the significance of holding Trump and his co-defendants accountable for their actions surrounding the 2020 election.
“However the right thing to do is for Mr. Wade to voluntarily bring his time on this case to an end – an act of wisdom on top of the strong record of court successes he’s helped create,” Eisen said last week. “He has taken this case far and has built a foundation for conviction that others can now take forward. Mr. Wade has done an outstanding job building the case, under the direction and active guidance of DA Willis.”
Republican legislators have also targeted Willis with the creation of a statewide prosecutors oversight commission that can investigate complaints filed against Willis regarding her decision to pursue racketeering charges against Trump.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee has scheduled a Feb. 15 hearing to discuss the allegations that a romantic relationship constitutes prosecutorial misconduct that should prevent Willis from overseeing the election case in the future.
During a church service in Atlanta on Jan. 14, Willis strongly defended Wade’s professional reputation.
A former prosecutor, Wade has served as a Cobb County municipal judge for a decade and is a partner with an Atlanta firm that specializes in cases involving personal injury claims, family and domestic law, contract litigation and criminal defense.
Fulton County taxpayers have been billed more than $650,000 by Wade’s firm since November 2021.
GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Georgia
Kane Brown Transports Texas Crowd to Georgia With Soulful Ray Charles Cover at the 2024 ACM Awards
This year’s Academy of Country Music Awards took place in Frisco, TX, but for about three minutes, Kane Brown had the whole Ford Center at The Star audience transported to the Peach State with a performance of “Georgia On My Mind.”
Before taking the stage, the 30-year-old singer-songwriter was introduced by the War and Treaty’s Michael Trotter Jr. and Tanya Trotter, who pointed out Ray Charles’ role in popularizing the American Songbook classic, originally written by Hoagy Carmichael and Stuart Gorrell. Prime Video cameras then panned to a dapper-looking Brown dressed in a black suit, whose silky voice melted into the microphone with support from a section of string instrumentalists.
“Georgia, Georgia, the whole day through,” he crooned. “Just an old sweet song keeps Georgia on my mind.
Immediately afterwards, Brown — who released his cover of “Georgia On My Mind” on streaming services in April — stepped backstage for a one-on-one interview with Bobby Bones. “I was so scared,” he told the radio personality. “I was nervous, man. It’s a big song, but also, I’m used to running around. I didn’t have any moves, I just stood like this. I wish I had tequila before I went on.”
Brown is nominated for entertainer of the year at the 2024 awards, as are Luke Combs, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, Morgan Wallen and Lainey Wilson. Hosted for the 17th time by Reba McEntire, the ACMs are produced by Dick Clark Productions.
DCP is owned by Penske Media Eldridge, a Penske Media Corporation (PMC) subsidiary and joint venture between PMC and Eldridge. PMC is the parent company of Billboard.
Georgia
UN rights chief: Georgia ‘foreign agents’ law undermines freedom of expression
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk stated on Wednesday that Georgia’s newly passed foreign agents bill “undermines the freedoms of expression and association.”
Türk mentioned his concern regarding the possible effects of this bill being signed by the President of Georgia: “The ability of associations to seek, secure and use resources is essential to their effective operation. This overbroad law risks these organisations being labelled and stigmatised, and having to face an atmosphere of mistrust, fear and hostility.”
This bill stipulates that NGOs and media organizations receiving more than 20 percent of their funding from abroad must be formally registered as “pursuing the interests of a foreign power.” This, according to Türk, will undermine and curtail the rights of freedom of expression and association in Georgia. UN human rights organs argue that Georgian lawmakers have disregarded the warnings of human rights defenders and civil society organizations. This is considering the same bill was withdrawn in March 2023, and government officials and parliamentarians assured UN organs that the draft would not be reintroduced.
The foreign agents bill, entitled the “Law on Transparency of Foreign Influence” still needs the signature of Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili, who vowed during a CNN interview to veto it. However, the ruling party has a majority in parliament and can override the president’s veto to enact the legislation.
Georgia
Georgia's Central Bank Spends $60 Million to Support Lari Amid Political Crisis
-
Politics1 week ago
Biden takes role as bystander on border and campus protests, surrenders the bully pulpit
-
Politics1 week ago
'You need to stop': Gov. Noem lashes out during heated interview over book anecdote about killing dog
-
News1 week ago
Man, 75, confesses to killing wife in hospital because he couldn’t afford her care, court documents say
-
Politics1 week ago
RFK Jr said a worm ate part of his brain and died in his head
-
World1 week ago
Pentagon chief confirms US pause on weapons shipment to Israel
-
Politics1 week ago
Here's what GOP rebels want from Johnson amid threats to oust him from speakership
-
World1 week ago
Pro-Palestine protests: How some universities reached deals with students
-
World1 week ago
Convicted MEP's expense claims must be published: EU court