Jon Ossoff, whom top Democrats have lined up behind in the Sixth District congressional race, has been awarded one Pinocchio by the Washington Post for his claim of five years' work as a national security staffer for U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson. From the Post:
But Ossoff is pushing the envelope by referring to his "top-secret security clearance" in almost the same breath. He appears very careful to not connect the two elements in one sentence, but his statements and ads might leave an impression that the 30-year-old held a security clearance for longer than five months.
Updated at 11:55 a.m.: Meanwhile, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee is holding up the Post's fact check as proof that attacks against Ossoff's record are without merit:
These claims are baseless, so it's not surprising that their efforts continue to backfire, as another fact check upholds Ossoff's resume.
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Former Georgia congressman Lynn Westmoreland will join host Bill Nigut and one of your Insiders at 2 p.m. today on GPB radio (88.5FM in Atlanta).
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Over at The Root, Michael Harriot has a great take-out on the turmoil over at Morehouse College.
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Over the weekend, Tim Echols, a member of the state Public Service Commission that has backed Georgia Power's pursuit of two new nuclear reactors at Plant Vogtle, gave exasperated voice on his Facebook page to the dilemma the power company and its ratepayers now face:
Toshiba, of course, is the parent company of Westinghouse Electric, the chief contractor at Vogtle. Westinghouse filed bankruptcy last week, which presumably will allow it to walk away from its obligations in east Georgia – and South Carolina, too.
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Weekend analyses of the I-85 debacle include a piece by Ed Kilgore, a former Georgia Democrat, in New York magazine, who notes:
Then there is Atlanta writer George Chidi. A few paragraphs from his Facebook post (originally it was on Georgiapol.com, which is down this morning):
I don't really care.
Let me state the obvious: whoever is responsible for storing material that could melt a bridge under the interstate had better still be in prison when Eleby gets out
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President Donald Trump praised the reporting of Fox News this morning, for reasons you can probably deduce for yourself:
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An influential member of Gov. Nathan Deal's inner circle is backing John Watson in the race for Georgia GOP chief.
David Werner, a Deal protege who is the governor's executive counsel, over the weekend sent out notice that he was hosting an April 13 fundraiser for Watson. Tickets start at $100.
"At this point, we need you to jump on board to help make this a successful event," Werner wrote. "A few of you have offered to co-host with me and we would love to have more."
Is this a sign that Deal is wading back into the thorny thicket of Georgia GOP politics? Probably not. The governor has steadily retreated from the state party since his choice for chair, Tricia Pridemore, was defeated shortly after his election. As the party descended into more financial turmoil, he has kept at arm's length -- and he skipped the party's convention in June.
But it is a sign that some of the state's establishment figures are rallying around Watson, a former chief of staff to Gov. Sonny Perdue and longtime Republican operative and fundraiser who lobbies at the state Capitol.
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More proof Republicans in Georgia's special election see an opening to hit Democrat Jon Ossoff for his work for Al-Jazeera as an investigative filmmaker came from a reader who received this flier from former state Sen. Judson Hill:
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Bruce LeVell is taking aim at the 6th District GOP for holding debates with only a fraction of the 11 Republicans in the Georgia special election.
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Yahoo! TV has the origin story of the "rape kit" sequel that last week was aired on TBS' "Full Frontal with Samantha Bee." The piece told the story of state Rep. Scott Holcomb, House Speaker David Ralston, and how they maneuvered a bill past state Sen. Renee Unterman and through the Capitol in 2016. A few paragraphs:
"We were on the edge of our seat literally as he told the story," producer Hannah Wright [said]. "He sat us down and told us the whole story behind it, which we didn't know the extent of, and it was just so dramatic and cinematic. Afterward we realized we had to somehow either do a re-creation with actors or animation, which is what we ended up doing."
Filming was done in February. To continue:
….Holcomb and Ralston didn't pull punches when it came time to criticize Unterman for dragging her feet. "That was helpful!" King said. "Everybody involved wanted to tell this story. I think everybody in the country is fed up with gridlock and parties being at each other's throats. For the speaker and Scott, this was a great way to highlight that we actually can come together, work together to get something done when we have to."
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