Georgia isn’t the only state where election officials received a telephone call from then-President Donald Trump pressuring them regarding the 2020 vote results.
Recordings of a conversation involving Trump and two Michigan GOP officials were revealed Thursday in a Detroit News report. In the Nov. 17, 2020 recordings, Trump pressures members of the Wayne County Board of Canvassers not to certify the 2020 election.
“We’ve got to fight for our country,” Trump told the two members in the recordings, warning that it would look “terrible” if they formally certified the outcome.
The two commissioners, William Hartmann and Monica Palmer, didn’t sign the county’s official vote statement that night.
The call has echoes of another significant recording: Trump’s January 2021 call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urging him to “find” just enough votes to overturn his defeat.
One of the participants involved in the Michigan call was Republican National Committee chairwoman Ronna McDaniel, who was recorded telling the canvassers “do not sign it.”
McDaniel is among the dozens of potential witnesses in the Fulton County election interference case against Trump and 14 remaining co-defendants.
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Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
Credit: Alyssa Pointer/AJC
LISTEN UP. A push for the State Election Board to investigate the Secretary of State’s office and its handling of the 2020 election fell one vote short in a meeting earlier this week. On Thursday’s episode of the “Politically Georgia” podcast, the AJC team unpacked why the failed effort still troubles members of the General Assembly.
One of the election board members who supported the probe, former state lawmaker Ed Lindsey, joins the show to explain his reasoning.
Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or wherever you listen to podcasts. And catch “Politically Georgia” as it airs live at 10 a.m. every weekday on WABE 90.1 FM, at AJC.com and at WABE.org.
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FIGHTING FOR FARMERS. It can be hard enough to get Georgia lawmakers working together on non-controversial issues, let alone divisive debates over fiscal policies.
But legislators have found common ground over a call for additional relief for Georgia fruit and vegetable growers.
About three dozen state senators — top leaders from both parties — signed a letter this month urging Congress to include extra funding for those farmers in the next agricultural bill.
“This program would provide some relief for growers who compete against low-priced, seasonal imported products by issuing payments when a grower’s revenue loss is due to seasonal import volumes,” the letter reads.
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
Credit: Miguel Martinez/AJC
The push was orchestrated by Republican state Sen. Russ Goodman, who chairs the Senate Agriculture Committee. He told the AJC the labor crunch and “trade policy that tilts the playing field” toward rivals has gutted the industry.
“If we continue on this path we will outsource our food production and be 100% reliant on other nations for our fresh fruits and vegetables,” said Goodman, a farmer from Cogdell, located in rural south Georgia.
His letter framed that sentiment in a different way.
“While labor concerns and disaster are certainly of top concern to the Georgia specialty crop industry, solutions to these issues will be wasted if producers do not have a profitable avenue to effectively market their crop.”
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Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
Credit: Steve Schaefer/AJC
EMAIL DUMP. A court has ordered two-time Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams to hand over communications regarding her 2018 campaign to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, ending a four-year standoff.
The emails, less than two dozen in all, are suspected to offer evidence of the Abrams’ campaign’s coordination efforts with outside groups. Under Georgia law, groups advocating for candidates must disclose contributions and expenditures regularly and are generally not allowed to directly coordinate their efforts with a candidate’s campaign, such as jointly planning advertising or canvassing efforts.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
RUN ON. Candidates running for federal office next year will have an easier time using funds they raise from supporters to pay themselves a salary under a new rule approved by the Federal Election Commission.
State Sen. Nabilah Islam Parkes, D-Lawrenceville, testified in favor of the change during an FEC hearing in March. She first suggested tweaks to federal election rules after running for Congress in 2020. She applauded the revision as a step toward evening the playing field and allowing for a diverse field of candidates.
“Running for federal office should not be reserved for just the wealthy,” she said in a statement. “Campaigning to serve in Congress is an expensive, full-time commitment that prevents you from working regular hours — which makes it incredibly hard for everyday Americans to run for higher office.”
Under the new rules, candidates who are unemployed or most recently served as caregivers can draw a salary using campaign funds. Previously, only candidates who earned income during the 12 months before running for office were allowed to be paid by their campaign.
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Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
Credit: Hyosub Shin/AJC
SMYRE STYMIED. Former Georgia state Rep. Calvin Smyre’s nomination to serve as ambassador to the Bahamas was sent back to President Joe Biden by the U.S. Senate on Wednesday, meaning Smyre once again has failed to be confirmed.
Now, the president must decide if he wants to nominate Smyre, a Columbus Democrat, to the post for a third time. Smyre has spent the past several months serving as one of the United States’ five delegates to the United Nations General Assembly.
At least one other person with Georgia ties was also on the list of returned nominees. Roy Minter Jr., the former Savannah Police chief, was Biden’s appointee to serve as U.S. Marshal for the Southern District of Georgia.
The White House has not yet said whether Smyre, Minter or any of the others on the list will be reappointed.
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden announced that he has commuted the sentences of 11 individuals currently serving prison sentences for non-violent federal drug offenses.
- The president and first lady Jill Biden visit patients and families at Children’s National Hospital.
- The Senate and House are on holiday break until after the new year.
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PERSONNEL MOVES. Georgia has a new inspector general. Nigel Lange officially assumed the post this week after serving as the interim leader of the state government office since February, when the former officeholder, Scott McAfee, became a Fulton County Superior Court judge.
The Inspector General’s office is an internal affairs-type agency for the state government. Lange and his staff investigate complaints regarding management and operation of state agencies and to prevent, detect, identify, expose and eliminate fraud, waste, abuse and corruption by state officers and employees.
Lange has worked 22 years in Georgia’s state government.
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PROGRAMMING NOTE. The Politically Georgia newsletter team is taking the final week of 2023 off — fitting given what lies ahead in 2024: the legislative session, an ongoing federal budget battle and, of course, a presidential election that promises to be the most contentious in modern history.
We wish you a cheerful holiday season and Happy New Year. Look for the newsletter’s return on Jan. 2
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Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
Credit: Casey Sykes for the AJC
LOOKING AHEAD:
- Jan. 8: Planned first day of the Georgia General Assembly’s legislative session.
- Jan. 8: The U.S. Senate returns from holiday break.
- Jan. 9: The U.S. House reconvenes.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. In this, the almost-Christmas Eve edition of the Politically Georgia newsletter, we share the story of George Bailey.
No, not that George Bailey, the protagonist in the Christmas film classic “It’s a Wonderful Life.” This George Bailey is a Boston terrier who lives in Sandy Springs with his person, Vivian Hoard. George’s Christmas gift to the family is his ongoing crusade to rid the backyard of copperhead snakes.
For his hunting prowess, George is our Dog of the Day. We wish him all the best as he and Vivian prep for the household Christmas Eve tradition of popping corn and watching Jimmy Stewart give his unforgettable portrayal of George Bailey in the Frank Capra-directed classic.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and location, and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @MurphyAJC. We’ll consider them in 2024.
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AS ALWAYS, Politically Georgia readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com, and adam.vanbrimmer@ajc.com.
