Court sides with Brad Raffensperger in defamation lawsuit
Today’s newsletter highlights:
- Jon Burns is worried about U.S. trade policy.
- Keisha Lance Bottoms picks up an endorsement for governor.
- State Supreme Court weighs city liability in car crashes.
Raffensperger’s victory
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger has picked up a key legal victory over a conservative commentator who picked a fight with him over his defense of Georgia’s 2020 election results.
A federal appeals court on Monday upheld the dismissal of a lawsuit filed by Jacki Pick, who accused Raffensperger of defamation over passages in his 2021 book, “Integrity Counts.”
The dispute started during a Dec. 3, 2020, hearing of a Georgia Senate subcommittee about “alleged election irregularities.” Pick showed lawmakers clips from a 20-hour security surveillance video that she said showed election workers secretly restarting a ballot count after observers had left for the evening. She also noted election workers pulled containers out from under a table, referring to them as “suitcases of ballots.”
In his book, Raffensperger referred to the video as deceptively “sliced and diced.” He also quoted Gabriel Sterling, who at the time was the office’s chief operating officer, dismissing concerns about “‘secret suitcases’ … with magic ballots."
Raffensperger, who is now running for governor, never mentions Pick by name in his book. But she said his statements were about her and damaged her reputation.
A lower court threw out the case, and the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed that decision in a 33-page ruling that found, among other things, that Raffensperger’s statements about the “sliced and diced” video were “substantially true.” They also ruled Pick failed to “adequately allege” Raffensperger’s statements in the book were about her.
Things to know
Good morning! It’s day 21 of the federal government shutdown. Gov. Brian Kemp will deliver the keynote address to the third annual Governor’s Workforce Summit this morning. After the speech, he’ll chat with Georgia Hospital Association CEO Caylee Noggle.
Here are three other things to know for today:
- Organizers of Georgia’s “No Kings” protest want to harness the momentum from the demonstrations into civic engagement heading into the midterms, the AJC’s Caleb Groves and Shaddi Abusaid report.
- Researchers at George Washington University say Georgia would lose about 33,600 jobs if federal health insurance subsidies expire at the end of the year, the AJC’s Ariel Hart reports.
- Georgia Power officials will begin making their case to state regulators today about why they should build gas-fired power plants, among other things, to meet the unprecedented electricity demand driven by data centers, the AJC’s Kristi Swartz reports.
Pushback
What can make southern Republican leaders push back ever so slightly against the Trump administration? We found out on Monday.
It’s the forestry industry. The $288 billion behemoth says it is struggling in the Southeast after a slew of mill closures throughout the region. Now, legislative leaders across five southern states, including Georgia, are urging Congress to push back against some of the president’s trade policies.
In a letter to Georgia’s congressional delegation, they asked for them to urge the U.S. to stop immediately imposing tariffs and instead issue a 90-day notice as has been the norm in past years. The goal is to stop U.S. exports from getting stuck en route to their overseas destinations.
Also, they want lawmakers to push the “current administration” to work toward reopening the Asian market to U.S. log imports. That market shuttered back in March in response to the Trump administration’s tariffs on China.
The letter was signed by Georgia Republican House Speaker Jon Burns along with his counterparts in Alabama, Arkansas, Florida and South Carolina.
“Significant shifts in the market, regulatory barriers, and uncertainty in trade policy have contributed to mill closures throughout the region and unprecedented challenges for our forestry industry,” they wrote.
CDC layoffs
Democrats in Georgia’s congressional delegation, led by U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, are asking U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to explain recent layoffs at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The letter described Kennedy’s decisions as “incompetent” and “foolish.” It notes that during the government shutdown, hundreds of workers received layoff notices only to be hired back days later.
“Your abrupt reversals of some of these most foolish mass firings do not mitigate the overwhelming damage you are inflicting on the CDC,” the lawmakers wrote. “But they do raise fundamental and obvious questions about the process, or lack thereof, informing your haphazard personnel decisions.”
Ossoff and Warnock last month called on Kennedy to resign, citing his efforts to change vaccination standards and push out career scientists from the agency.
Since the government shutdown began on Oct. 1, about 1,200 CDC employees received layoff notices. But 600 or 700 saw their terminations rescinded within days.
Backing Bottoms
A national PAC that works to elect more progressive Black women is throwing its weight behind former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms’ bid for governor.
Higher Heights for America endorsed the Democrat this morning, praising her platform that includes pledges to increase school funding and preserve abortion rights.
“At a moment when our democracy and freedoms are under attack, Keisha brings the experience, the vision, and the moral clarity needed to lead the state forward,” said Glynda Carr, the group’s president.
The endorsement adds to a growing list of early backers picking sides in the 2026 governor’s race, where top candidates are fiercely competing for influential support.
Road rules
City governments across the state will be closely watching the Georgia Supreme Court today as the justices hear arguments in a case that has big implications for taxpayers.
Joshua Chang died in 2016 when the car he was driving skidded off a road and collided with a concrete planter owned by the city of Milton. A jury ordered Milton to pay Chang’s parents $32.5 million — about 85% of the city’s annual budget — and the court of appeals upheld the verdict.
Now, the state Supreme Court is hearing the case that has spooked city officials across Georgia. The Georgia Municipal Association, plus a group of 85 cities, have filed amicus briefs with the court urging them to overturn the verdict. On the other side is the powerful Georgia Trial Lawyers Association arguing to preserve victims’ rights.
The issue is whether the city can be held liable for Chang’s death. Chang’s parents argue the city did not uphold its legal duty to ensure the roadways were safe. But the city argues its decisions on road maintenance are protected from lawsuits.
Chang’s parents argue “more than 100 years of precedent” show the city did not uphold its legal duty, accusing the city of distorting the facts to “manufacture new limits only the General Assembly could adopt.”
Milton officials argue if the verdict is allowed to stand, it “will lead to vast and expansive liability for municipalities across Georgia.”
Silent catastrophe
Billion-dollar natural disasters usually bring to mind massive hurricanes or ferocious tornados. But don’t sleep on droughts.
We’re in one right now, with 96% of the state either “abnormally dry” or in some degree of drought, according to the U.S. Drought Monitor. That carries big implications for the agriculture industry, which Georgia lawmakers love to remind everyone is the state’s largest industry.
Since 1980, Georgia has had at least 17 droughts account for $1 billion or more in damages. That’s the third most on the list, behind severe storms and tropical cyclones, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information.
It did rain in Georgia over the weekend. But as Mirtha Donastorg reported, it wasn’t enough to put a dent in this drought.
Listen up
Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast we a look inside a surprising scene in Atlanta politics — a farewell dinner for former Buckhead City leader Bill White and former U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker, both newly confirmed as U.S. ambassadors. Then Trump’s latest comments on Georgia’s 2026 Senate race hint at how his next move could shape the GOP Senate primary.
You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free an Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.
Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.
Today in Washington
- President Donald Trump will host Republican members of Congress at the White House and participate in a Diwali celebration.
- The House is out this week.
- The Senate will attempt to advance more Trump nominees.
Shoutout
New arrival:
- Gabriel Sterling and his wife welcomed a baby boy last week. Sterling, a former Sandy Springs City Council member and state elections official, is running for secretary of state.
Want a birthday shoutout in the Politically Georgia newsletter? There’s a form for that. Click here to submit the shoutouts. It’s not just birthdays. We’re also interested in new jobs, engagements, birth announcements, etc.
Before you go
In a new memo, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins’ Senate campaign lays out why it believes the Jackson Republican is the front-runner in the three-way GOP primary.
That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.
About the Authors
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
Tia Mitchell is the AJC’s Washington Bureau Chief and a co-host of the "Politically Georgia" podcast. She writes about Georgia’s congressional delegation, campaigns, elections and the impact that decisions made in D.C. have on residents of the Peach State.
Patricia Murphy is the AJC's senior political columnist. She was previously a nationally syndicated columnist for CQ Roll Call, national political reporter for the Daily Beast and Politics Daily, and wrote for The Washington Post and Garden & Gun. She graduated from Vanderbilt and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University.
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