Georgia

Trump seeks to appeal judge’s order keeping Fani Willis on Georgia case

Published

2 years ago

March 18, 2024

Trump seeks to appeal judge’s order keeping Fani Willis on Georgia case

ATLANTA — Former president Donald Trump and several allies charged in the Georgia election interference case asked the presiding judge to let them appeal his ruling allowing Fulton County District Attorney Fani T. Willis (D) to stay on the case.

In a Monday court filing, Trump and eight co-defendants requested that Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee grant them a “certificate of immediate review” of his order last week denying defense motions seeking to disqualify Willis over claims that she had an improper romantic relationship with an outside prosecutor she had appointed to lead the case.

The certificate, if approved, would allow defendants to appeal McAfee’s order before the Georgia Court of Appeals.

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On Friday, McAfee ruled that Trump and the others had “failed to meet their burden” in proving that Willis’s romantic relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade and allegations that she was financially enriched by trips the two took together were enough of a “conflict of interest” to remove her from the case. However, McAfee also found a “significant appearance of impropriety” and said either Willis and her office or Wade had to leave the case. Wade resigned later Friday.

In their Monday motion, Trump and the others argued that Wade’s resignation was “insufficient to cure the appearance of impropriety the Court has determined exists.”

“The Court found that District Attorney Willis’ actions had created an appearance of impropriety and an ‘odor of mendacity’ that lingers in this case, as well as the continuing possibility that ‘an outsider could reasonably think that District Attorney Willis is not exercising her independent professional judgment totally free of any compromising influences,’” the defense motion stated, quoting McAfee’s ruling.

“Defendants believe that the relevant case law requires dismissal of the case, or at the very least, the disqualification of the District Attorney and her entire office under the facts that exist here,” the motion added.

Trump and others had also argued that Willis should be disqualified because of comments she made in a Jan. 14 speech at a historic Black church in Atlanta where she suggested that the criticism of her and Wade was racially motivated.

McAfee ruled Friday that defendants had not proven that Willis’s comments had tainted the potential jury pool, partly because it was too early to know. He also said case law on forensic misconduct by prosecutors was too vague to determine whether Willis’s remarks met that standard. But the judge was deeply critical of Willis’s speech, describing it as “legally improper.”

Trump and the others pointed to McAfee’s opinion about the speech as they argued that a higher court should review his ruling.

“Whether District Attorney Willis and her Office are permitted to continue representing the State of Georgia in prosecuting the Defendants in this action is of the utmost importance to this case, and ensuring the appellate courts have the opportunity to weigh in on these matters pre-trial is paramount,” the defense motion stated.

The defense motion was initially filed by attorneys for eight co-defendants who originally sought to disqualify Willis, including Trump, former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani, former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, former Trump campaign aides Mike Roman and Harrison Floyd, former Trump campaign attorney Robert Cheeley, former Georgia Republican Party chair David Shafer and Trump Georgia elector Cathleen Latham. Former Justice Department official Jeffrey Clark joined the motion a short time later, a delay caused by a “paperwork mistake,” according to his lawyer Harry MacDougald.

A spokesman for Willis declined to comment.

Steve Sadow, an attorney for Trump, said in a statement that McAfee’s ruling on Willis “is ripe for pretrial appellate review.”

McAfee has given no hints about whether he will grant defendants the right to appeal his ruling on Willis. In a separate order last week dismissing six counts of the original 41-count indictment, the judge included language informing prosecutors he would approve an appeal if they requested one. No such language was included in Friday’s order on Willis — an omission that surprised some involved in the case.

Defendants had 10 days from last Friday to seek a certificate of review. There is no timetable for McAfee as he considers whether to allow an appeal to move forward. If McAfee grants a review, Trump and others would have another 10 days to file their case before the state Court of Appeals, which then has 45 days to determine whether to take the case. If the appellate court declines to take the case, Trump and the other could ask the Georgia Supreme Court to hear it.

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Georgia

GOPers ignore election officials’ warnings, leaving Georgia little time for paper ballots switch

Published

11 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

GOPers ignore election officials’ warnings, leaving Georgia little time for paper ballots switch

Georgia election officials have less than three months to convert the state’s entire voting system from touchscreen machines to paper ballots, after the state Senate failed to vote Friday on legislation that would have delayed the conversion until 2028.

The rushed system switch risks compromising election security and will complicate ballot counting, delay reporting results and create “widespread confusion” for voters and election administrators, county officials say.

Georgia’s current touchscreen system generates QR codes for ballot counting. But in 2024 GOP state lawmakers voted to sunset these machines by July 1 of this year, making it illegal to use them beyond that. Last week, the state Senate passed a bill to change over to a completely hand-marked ballot system.

However, local election officials urged lawmakers to delay that switch until 2028 so that they would have time to put the new system in place, which would include pre-printing millions of ballots and re-training election workers.

The state House passed a bipartisan bill this morning that would’ve allowed for that two-year grace period. But the Senate – led by Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R), who is running for the GOP nomination for governor – declined to bring it forward for a vote Friday, the final day of this year’s legislative session.

That means election officials now have until July 1 to develop a system where voters use a pen to fill in oval bubbles to select their candidates.

“This proposal would create widespread confusion for Georgia voters and election officials,” said Joseph Kirk, a county election supervisor and president of the Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials (GAVREO), last month. “Simply put, transitioning to a new election system and implementing major changes to the voting process this close to the 2026 general election is unworkable.”

Among the problems with doing a ballot system conversion in a crunch – and so close to midterms and Georgia’s gubernatorial election – is that the bill offers no funding for implementing the switch or for technology that could help expedite it. It also creates a security risk, according to GAVREO, given that election officials have little time to train staff and develop protective measures for guarding the millions of pre-printed ballots required by the law before Election Day.

Election officials also warn that the law’s new reporting requirements will cause delays in ballot counting and in delivering timely results. Those problems often trigger chaos, controversy and conspiracy theories, as seen in the fallout over Fulton County’s 2020 election ballot count, which is still being probed today.

Leaders of both parties are now scrambling to see if they can make other modifications or resuscitate the delayed deadline through a special emergency session.

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Georgia

Tyson Foods to shut down Georgia prepared food plant, laying off 168 employees

Published

23 hours ago

April 3, 2026

Press Room

Tyson Foods to shut down Georgia prepared food plant, laying off 168 employees

Tyson Foods is shutting down its prepared foods plant in Rome, Georgia, next month, laying off over a hundred employees as part of the closure.

According to a notice posted to Georgia’s WARN Act database, the company plans to close its plant on Darlington Drive, which is operated under The Hillshire Brands Company, on May 31. The notice shows that all 168 workers employed at the plant will be laid off.

The WARN Act, or Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, requires certain employers to give advance notice of large layoffs or closures, giving workers time to prepare for job loss.

In a release shared to CBS News Atlanta, a spokesperson for the company called the closure a “difficult decision.”

“The facility has operated under a unique single-customer model, but recent changes have made continued operations at the site no longer viable,” the spokesperson said. “We recognize the impact this has on our team members and the Rome community. Supporting our people is our top priority, and we are encouraging impacted team members to apply for other roles within the company while working with state and local partners to provide support during this transition.”

This is the latest closure by the multinational meat giant, which has struggled with losses in the beef business. Last year, the company closed its beef plant in Lexington, Kentucky, which had employed roughly 3,200 people in the city of 11,000. In 2024, Tyson closed a pork plant in Perry, Iowa, that employed 25% of the town’s working-age residents.

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Georgia

LIVE Updates: No. 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs California Baseball, Game One Score

Published

1 day ago

April 2, 2026

Press Room

LIVE Updates: No. 3 Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets vs California Baseball, Game One Score

Bottom of the 5th

Top of the 5th

Coleman Lewis came into the game and hit a one out home run to push Georgia Tech’s lead to 15-0 and after Rogers struck out swinging, Baker hit his second home run of the night to make it 16-0. Burress then walked and Brosius entered the game in place of Lackey and he walked to put two runners on. A pair of wild pitches advanced the runners and scored Burress to make it 17-0 and then Cal got the final out,

Bottom of the 4th

McKee gives up two singles, but no runs. GT leads 14-0 heading to the 5th

Top of the 4th

A solo home run from Baker made it 13-0 in favor of Georgia Tech and then after a pair of walks, a sac fly from Hernandez made it 14-0. Schmidt flew out to end the inning, but the lead has grown by two runs.

Bottom of the 3rd

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for McKee. GT leads 12-0 heading to the 4th

Top of the 3rd

Burress got things started with a leadoff single and then a walk from Lackey put two runners on with no outs. A 2-RBI triple from Advincula pushed the lead to 11-0 and then after a walk from Hernandez, Schmidt drove in Advincula to make it 12-0. Yellow Jackets did not add any more and they lead 12-0 heading to the bottom of the 3rd

Bottom of the 2nd

McKee walks one and gives up a single, but keeps Cal off the board. GT leads 9-0 heading to the 3rd

Top of the 2nd

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for GT. Yellow Jackets lead 9-0 heading to the bottom of the 2nd

Bottom of the 1st

Scoreless 1-2-3 inning for McKee. GT leads 9-0 heading to the 2nd

Top of the 1st

Burress got a leadoff walk and then Lackey doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs. A 2-RBI double from Advincula gave Georgia Tech an early 2-0 lead. Advincula advanced to third on a wild pitch and after Hernandez walked, Schmidt drove in Advincula with a sac fly to make it 3-0.

Zuckerman then singled to put runners on the corners and that led to an RBI double from Kerce to make it 4-0 with just one out. A throwing error scored Zuckerman and put Kerce on third and Daniel on first. That was it for the Golden Bears starting pitcher and they made a change.

The change did not produce immediate results. An RBI single from Baker made it 6-0 and after Burress struck out swinging, another error scored Daniel to make it 7-0 and then Advincula came up with another big hit, with an RBI double pushing the lead to 8-0. Hernandez walked in his second at bat of the inning and then Schmidt drew a bases loaded walk to make it 9-0. Then, Cal made another pitching change for the Golden Bears. Zuckerman struck out swinging, but it was a huge inning for GT

Pregame

RHP Tate McKee (4-0) is on the mound today and here is how Georgia Tech is going to be lining up:

1. CF Drew Burress

2. C Vahn Lackey

3. 2B Jarren Advincula

4. RF Alex Hernandez

5. 1B Kent Schmidt

6. 3B Ryan Zuckerman

7. SS Carson Kerce

8. LF Caleb Daniel

9. DH Will Baker

The No. 3 ranked Yellow Jackets enter the weekend series at Cal with a 23-5 (9-3 ACC) record, the best 28-game record since 2010.

Tech has won 23 games with five or fewer losses for only the 11th time in the program’s 131 seasons: 2010, 2008, 2003, 2002, 1997, 1994, 1992, 1990, 1971 and 1906 Head coach James Ramsey is tied with his predecessor, Danny Hall, for the best record by any first-year GT head coach through the first 28 games of their tenure.

Jarren Advincula is making his return to the Bay Area after playing each of the first two seasons of his college career at Cal. The junior enters the weekend leading the ACC in hits (47) and in the midst of a 12-game hitting streak. Should he collect a hit in all three games this weekend, he would match his career long hitting streak.

This will be the just the second weekend series between Georgia Tech and Cal and the 7th, 8th and 9th meetings overall. GT leads the all-time series 4-2 after winning all four games against the Golden Bears last season – a 3-0 series sweep in Atlanta and a 10-3 victory in the ACC Tournament quarterfinals in which the Yellow Jackets set an ACC Tournament record with seven home runs.

The Jackets went 3-0 in the state of California last season when they became the first college baseball team from east of the Mississippi River to sweep Stanford, at Stanford in a three-game series.

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