Security is tightening at the Fulton County Courthouse. Many staffers are working from home, and District Attorney Fani Willis said she’s “ready” to move forward with her decision regarding election interference charges against former President Donald Trump and his allies.
But an announcement of a potential indictment isn’t expected for at least a few more days, possibly until next week.
That’s because some subpoenaed witnesses have yet to receive their 48-hour notice to testify behind closed doors.
Credit: John Spink/AJC
Credit: John Spink/AJC
So unless Willis has changed her mind about seeking their testimony, that makes Thursday the earliest for Willis to start presenting evidence to a grand jury.
Recall that when Willis brought a complex case involving racketeering charges in 2013 — with the indictment of 35 educators involved in the Atlanta Public Schools cheating scandal — she took about two days to deliver the case and unveil an indictment. RICO charges are considered a distinct possibility with the Trump probe.
As for Trump’s defense strategy against federal charges brought last week, one of the former president’s attorneys made the rounds on the Sunday morning TV shows to address allegations that his client conspired to overturn the 2020 election.
Of Trump’s call to Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger asking him to “find” votes to swing the state’s result, attorney John Lauro said there was nothing criminal in Trump’s words or intentions.
That was an “aspirational ask,” Lauro said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.”
“He believed that there were in excess of 10,000 votes that were counted illegally,” Lauro told host Chuck Todd. “And what he was asking for is the secretary of state to act appropriately and find these votes that were counted illegally … That was an aspirational ask.”
The federal indictment brought by Justice Department special prosecutor Jack Smith last week cites the call as evidence Trump attempted to solicit fraud activity in order to reverse the outcome of the election.
Lauro said Trump wasn’t threatening Raffensperger but requesting that he “get to the truth,” describing it as political speech protected by the First Amendment.
Some legal experts don’t buy that argument.
“You know who else asks people to commit crimes in an ‘aspirational way’ without ‘directing’ them to?” asked Joyce Vance, a former federal prosecutor. “Mob bosses, human traffickers and the heads of organized drug rings.”
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Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
Credit: Jenni Girtman for the AJC
COLOR THEORY. Is Georgia a purple state? Maroon? A shade of crimson?
Gov. Brian Kemp issued a call to action to hundreds of conservative activists over the weekend at the 10th District GOP barbecue in Monroe. Kemp warned attendees to remain engaged next year or risk Georgia turning into an eternal battleground.
“Don’t be complacent — just because we won in 2022 doesn’t mean we’re going to win in 2024. But I’ll tell you one thing: If we do to them again in ‘24 what we did to them with our statewide candidates … this whole talk about Georgia being a purple state will be over with,” Kemp said.
Georgia Republicans staged a comeback in last year’s elections after a devastating 2020 cycle. Kemp and every other state constitutional officer thumped their Democratic rivals. The lone blue spot on the ballot was U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who bested Herschel Walker in a runoff.
But Kemp cautioned that Georgia politics have fundamentally changed. Regardless of whether next year’s election brings a GOP tide, he anticipates future election battles will be closer than those his predecessors faced.
“We are also not the red state we were when Sonny Perdue got elected. We are not the red state we were when Nathan Deal got elected,” said Kemp. “But we are a red state that has conservative values, with people who will stand up to fight for what we believe in.”
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PURPLE STATE. Don’t tell Gov. Brian Kemp, but plenty of people do consider Georgia to be a bona-fide battleground state. The latest sign came this weekend, when Politico’s Playbook newsletter reported that the Peach State is the only mutually agreeable location for a possible debate between Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and California Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The idea originated with Newsom, when he challenged DeSantis to a mano a mano policy showdown moderated by Fox News’ Sean Hannity. DeSantis agreed to the concept last week during an appearance on Hannity’s show, with specifics to be worked out.
One of the most important details would be the location — a neutral site that is neither too red nor too blue. A memo from the Newsom campaign named three states, including Georgia, which the California camp described as “a true purple state that will represent both parties effectively.”
DeSantis, in turn, named his preferred states to debate, with only Georgia and first-in-the-nation Iowa on the list. Both camps said Nov. 8 would work for them.
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Credit: AJC, AP
Credit: AJC, AP
GEORGIA ON HIS MIND. Is former President Donald Trump daring Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis to seek criminal charges against him? Sure sounds like it.
“Any time they file an indictment, we go way up in the polls,” Trump said at a Republican Party dinner in Alabama. “We need one more indictment to close out this election. One more indictment, and this election is closed out. Nobody has even a chance.”
Separately, the Trump campaign also released an online ad featuring Willis, along with Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg, New York Attorney General Leticia James, and Justice Department special counsel Jack Smith, accusing them of being “unleashed” by President Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 election.
According to the Associated Press, a Trump aide said the ad will begin airing Monday and Tuesday in Washington, D.C., and New York City as well as right here in Atlanta.
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Credit: Nicole Craine/The New York Times
Credit: Nicole Craine/The New York Times
WALKER CASH. While on the topic of interesting fundraisers, we noticed that Republican Herschel Walker’s political action committee continued to raise cash over the first six months of the year despite his December 2022 defeat.
The group collected about $7,300, the bulk of which came from five contributors all listed as out-of-state retirees. Walker has only limited options for the money, including paying for travel or donating it to other campaigns.
The football icon also reported that he had nearly $4.5 million in his campaign account, even after refunding some frustrated donors.
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SHHHH. Donald Trump’s legal problems might be one of the most potent political issues for Democrats in November 2024. Polls showing most registered voters are deeply concerned by the criminal charges that have piled up against him.
But Georgia Democrats are sidestepping the former president’s mounting courtroom battles. At a rally Saturday in the North Georgia mountains, lawmakers avoided the topic, focusing instead on Medicaid expansion and abortion and gun rights, writes Political Insider Greg Bluestein.
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TEAM PLAYER. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome, has strengthened her ties to House Speaker Kevin McCarthy by launching a new political committee that will allow her to raise money jointly with the Republican Party’s campaign arm.
Greene filed paperwork last week establishing the MTG Victory Fund joint fundraising committee. The dollars raised will be shared by Greene’s campaign, her Save America Stop Socialism federal PAC and the National Republican Congressional Committee, the party’s campaign arm for House races.
The NRCC is a major resource that McCarthy leverages to fund Republicans seeking election or reelection to the House. Greene is now officially on board to assist those efforts.
Greene represents a safely conservative district and is not an incumbent the NRCC would typically spend money defending. But amid grumblings that some on the far-right are unhappy with Greene’s ties to the establishment — with some even calling for a 2024 primary challenge — the new joint committee is a sign that McCarthy and other GOP leaders consider Greene part of their team.
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Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
Credit: Jason Getz/AJC
BIPARTISANSHIP. What Georgia candidate can unite both Gov. Brian Kemp and his two-time election nemesis Stacey Abrams? If you guessed Court of Appeals Judge Ken Hodges, you guessed right.
The Republican and Democratic rivals appeared atop a fundraising appeal for Hodges’ 2024 reelection bid, when the former Dougherty district attorney is up for a second term.
“Ken’s diverse legal background and his actual courtroom experience makes him ideally suited to hear and decide the controversies that come before the court,” read the note.
“It’s a level of proven and balanced experience that resonated with Georgians in 2018 and is needed now more than ever.”
Hodges was the Democratic nominee for attorney general in 2010, losing to Republican Sam Olens. In 2015, Hodges started a law practice in Atlanta and Albany before winning an open seat on the appeals court in 2018 with roughly 70% of the vote.
Abrams and Kemp aren’t the only bipartisan supporters of Hodges on the note. Others include former Democratic Gov. Roy Barnes, Republican Attorney General Chris Carr and two-term Republican Gov. Nathan Deal.
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Credit: Charles Fox via TNS
Credit: Charles Fox via TNS
TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will celebrate the Houston Astros’ 2022 World Series championship during an event at the White House today.
- U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., and Valdosta Mayor Scott James Matheson will meet with leaders at Moody Air Force Base about the arrival of new F-35 fighter jets in the coming years.
- The House and Senate recess continues.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. We here at the Jolt have a soft spot for rescue animals and Ms. Roxy Furst is no exception.
The little French bulldog calls Chamblee City councilman and Jolt subscriber Jimmy Furst her person. She’s just two years old but was already being used for breeding when Dog Days Rescue found her. The Fursts found her after that.
Welcome home, Roxy. You’re our Dog of the Day.
Send us your dogs of any political persuasion and cats on a cat-by-cat basis to patricia.murphy@ajc.com, or DM us at @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.
