In the middle of a recent closed-door meeting of high-dollar Republican donors, a Georgia billionaire interrupted pro-Donald Trump election attorney Cleta Mitchell to tell her something she didn’t want to hear.
“I want to, unfortunately, say something that’s probably not very popular in this crowd,” said the donor, identified in a recording as Tommy Bagwell, the Cumming philanthropist and former poultry magnate. “So, to keep you from throwing things at me, I figure I’d say it.” The audio was obtained by the left-leaning activist Lauren Windsor.
NEW: At the RNC Spring Retreat, a billionaire donor from northern Georgia explained to election denying Trump atty Cleta Mitchell and a room full of donors why the 2020 Georgia election was "pretty damn clean" and implored them not to believe in "debunked" conspiracy theories. pic.twitter.com/tXTLZVpsPw
— Lauren Windsor (@lawindsor) May 3, 2023
Bagwell gave to Trump’s campaign well before the 2020 election. He told the other donors ensconced with him in a Nashville hotel during the recent RNC donor retreat that he was once one of Trump’s biggest donors in Georgia, but “not anymore.”
“One of the worst things you can do in this stuff is start repeating and promoting stuff that absolutely just didn’t happen. And Georgia’s election was pretty damn clean,” Bagwell told the group, adding that the election fraud lies were “beyond insane.”
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
“Everything, especially that Mr. Trump promoted that I heard was roundly and convincingly debunked.”
Mitchell, who recently acknowledged she never saw evidence of voting machine fraud in Georgia, responded by repeating election fraud conspiracies she floated in 2020 and alluding to more “problems” to come in the next election.
“There are problems in Fulton County. There are problems in DeKalb County. And we know what they are now,” she said to applause. “I just want to prepare for those before 2024.”
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LISTEN UP. Why are Georgia’s top Republicans skipping the state Republican convention? When will the Georgia presidential primary happen in 2024? Which Georgian got roasted at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner and probably didn’t mind?
We answer almost all of those questions and more in today’s episode of the Politically podcast.
Listen at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher.
And if you have a question of your own, call us on our 24-hour hotline at (770) 810-5297 and will answer it on Friday’s episode.
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BILL BLITZ. Gov. Brian Kemp signed dozens of measures into law Tuesday. Among them were measures that create an online state-run marketplace for health care, preserve public rights to fish along many of Georgia’s navigable rivers, extend welfare benefits to low-income pregnant women, and restrict TikTok and other social media platforms from state devices.
In case you’re a bare-knuckle boxer, Kemp signed the bill making that legal and regulated by the state, too. And you’ll soon see a state tax on digital downloads like books, games, and music. The bill from state Rep. Kasey Carpenter, R-Dalton does not tax streaming services like Netflix, since the user does not keep the product.
Also now on the books: Cities and counties are officially prohibited from banning gas-powered leaf blowers or limiting the kind of fuel that homeowners use under House Bill 374.
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SCOTUS ETHICS. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’ friendship with Texas billionaire Harlan Crow was a key focus of Tuesday’s Senate Judiciary Committee hearing. Recent reporting showed that Crow paid for lavish trips for Thomas and his wife, and also purchased Thomas’ mother’s home in Savannah
Democrats on the committee that includes Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said Thomas’ actions are just the most visible among a host of problematic business and personal dealings by the court’s nine justices, who have few ethics rules governing their conduct.
But Republicans said the criticism of justices’ private conduct is nothing more than partisan attacks in the wake of the court’s new conservative composition.
“This assault on Justice Thomas is well beyond ethics,” said ranking GOP member Lindsey Graham, R-South Carolina. “It is about trying to delegitimize a conservative court that was appointed through the traditional process.”
Georgia’s U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff said the lack of ethics rules is hurting the court itself.
“The appearance of a conflict of interest can undermine public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary, correct?” Ossoff asked one witness, who agreed.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
REBOOT. You could call it “key-stituent services.”
State Sen. Josh McLaurin’s push for a statewide ban on car booting stalled this year. Now he’s amplifying a sales pitch from Christian Verrette, an Atlanta entrepreneur who is selling master keys online to unlock boots.
Verette told Fox 5 News he’s already sold 600 of them — including one to the Sandy Springs Democrat.
I just bought a set of the boot keys for myself. https://t.co/BxD1yXrWe8
— Josh McLaurin (@JoshforGeorgia) May 2, 2023
The Atlanta Police Department told Fox that it’s legal to unlock boots in private lots using the keys — as long as the device isn’t stolen or otherwise damaged.
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Credit: T.J. Kirkpatrick/The New York Times
Credit: T.J. Kirkpatrick/The New York Times
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- U.S. Senate Democrats will unveil new legislation building upon last year’s CHIPS and Science Act to help U.S. businesses and industries better compete with China.
- The Senate also has floor votes scheduled.
- President Joe Biden will host a dinner at the White House for top military officials.
- Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell will hold a news conference on the board’s latest policy decisions.
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Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
Credit: Christina Matacotta for the AJC
DEBT CEILING. Democrats continued their criticism of House Republicans’ recently-passed debt ceiling bill, which also requires reductions in future federal spending.
U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta, participated in a virtual news conference Tuesday, when she called the potential cuts in the GOP measure damaging and draconian.
“Extreme House Republicans are literally putting children and seniors on the chopping block,” she said.
The GOP legislation calls for reducing 2024 federal spending back to 2022 levels. Democrats have said people who rely on agencies like Veterans Affairs will be severely impacted by such reductions in services. Williams said working families will also be hurt.
Republicans maintain that federal debt, which both parties have helped push to nearly $31 trillion, is unsustainable. They also accused Democrats of fear-mongering, since the legislation doesn’t outline how the reductions would be accomplished.
Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen told Congress this week that without a debt ceiling deal by June 1st, the government will run out of cash for operations.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. If you think politicians are the dirtiest dogs around, you haven’t met Baxter Smith, the mud-loving Goldendoodle from Atlanta.
Baxter calls Grady Health System lobbyist (and AJC subscriber) Katie Smith his person.
An informed source calls Baxter “a natural-born leader,” since he was recently invited to leave doggy daycare for teaching other dogs to knock over water bowls to make mud, seen here.
Baxter enjoys Greenies, chasing tennis balls, and, obviously, health care policy.
Send us your pups of any political persuasion — and cats on a cat-by-cat basis, to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us on Twitter @MurphyAJC.
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AS ALWAYS, Jolt readers are some of our favorite tipsters. Send your best scoop, gossip and insider info to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com and greg.bluestein@ajc.com.
