Former President Donald Trump lashed out twice over the weekend against Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, including in a post to his Truth Social platform pushing two Georgia bills designed by Republicans to rein in “rogue prosecutors.”
“They want to make it easier to remove and replace local rogue prosecutors who are incompetent, racist, or unable to properly do their job,” he wrote of two bills now moving through the Georgia General Assembly. “Congratulations to the Georgia Legislature for having the courage to act boldly, fairly, and fast!”
Credit: Audra Melton/The New York Times
Credit: Audra Melton/The New York Times
Georgia House Bill 229 would lower the threshold to recall a prosecutor from 30% of registered voters to 2%, while Senate Bill 92 would create a panel appointed by GOP leaders with the power to remove elected DAs for “willful misconduct in office.” SB 92 passed the state Senate last week, while a similar measure — House Bill 231 — is set for a vote today.
Trump attacked Willis as she weighs whether to bring criminal charges against him and his associates for possible election interference now that the Fulton County special grand jury investigating the 2020 elections has completed its inquiry.
Willis has called the motivation behind the two Georgia bills racist, since Georgia now has more people of color elected to local prosecutor positions than any time in history. She also said in an interview last week, “It seems to me that what they’re really saying is that there should be local control until we don’t like who the locals choose.”
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
Along with his post to Truth Social, Trump singled out Willis in his speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) over the weekend. He also singled out special grand jury forewoman Emily Kohrs during his remarks.
“Racist D.A. from Atlanta, whose city is among the most violent and dangerous places per capita in the country,” Trump said. “It’s totally out of control, and yet she has her kangaroo court focused on a perfect phone call that I made. While her jury foreman, a rather bizarre young woman, is going around doing media interviews.”
Credit: File photo
Credit: File photo
One district attorney who considered to be a target of Republican-backed legislation will meet with her constituents at a town hall meeting this week.
Athens-Clarke County District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez will hear from the public from 6 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Athens library. It’s part of an ongoing series of town halls she’s held since she’s been in office.
State Rep. Houston Gaines, R-Athens, has pointed to Gonzalez’s performance in office as the reason he is sponsoring HB 229.
In an interview with the AJC, Gonzalez said the new DAs are bringing new perspectives and backgrounds that voters wanted.
“What we see in these bills is not an oversight, but an overstep, where the Legislature is coming in and trying to undo the will of the people,” she said. “The people elected us and we are doing what they wanted. It might not be what the legislators would agree with, but that’s not their call.”
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
CROSSOVER DAY. It’s Crossover Day at the state Capitol, the day when bills that don’t win approval from one of the two chambers will (mostly) have to wait for action next year.
Yes, there are plenty of workarounds to circumvent that rule, and nothing is “dead” until that final gavel is banged on Sine Die. But for dozens of pending legislative proposals, Monday is a now-or-never moment.
Here are a few measures we’re watching closely:
Sports betting: One measure to legalize a form of gambling already went down in flames, but state legislators will ante up with two others. Senate Resolution 140 would legalize sports betting through a constitutional amendment, while House Bill 380 do would so through a legislative change.
Transgender: The Georgia Senate is set to vote on a measure to ban doctors from delivering hormonal or surgical transition treatment to transgender children. Senate Bill 140 wouldn’t ban medication that blocks puberty, but it would restrict physicians from giving youth under 18 estrogen or testosterone.
Environment: A measure to prevent mining near the ecologically fragile Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge has now reached 91 cosponsors and is still pending. House Bill 71 comes just as a yearslong effort by an Alabama company to extract titanium near the swamp appears to be nearing the finish line. It was bottled up on committee but backers want to make a final drive to pass it.
Hate crimes: The push to treat attacks fueled by antisemitism as a hate crime gained new traction after flyers denigrating Jewish people were found in the driveways of state Rep. Esther Panitch, D-Sandy Springs, and other Jewish leaders. House Bill 30 would also prohibit using swastikas with the intent to terrorize another person.
Is it really dead? Proposals to expand gun rights, restrict abortion, revive “religious liberty” legislation and restrict public school teachers from discussing gender identity or sexual orientation have been bottled up in committees. But we’re watching for any sudden movement.
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Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
Credit: Natrice Miller/AJC
UNDER THE GOLD DOME, Legislative Day 28:
- 7:30 a.m.: Committee meetings begin, with last-minute hearings to move bills for Crossover Day consideration.
- 10 a.m.: The House gavels in for Crossover Day;
- 10 a.m.: The Senate convenes.
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Credit: State Senate video
Credit: State Senate video
BUCKHEAD OUT: The leaders of the effort to split Atlanta into two municipalities have called it quits “for now” after their Buckhead secession movement lost badly in the Republican controlled Georgia Senate. But not before blasting Gov. Brian Kemp on their way out the door.
Kemp had raised at least 11 constitutional or logistical questions about the legislation before it came to a vote in the state Senate. “There is no path forward for a cityhood referendum while he remains governor until the end of his term in 2026,” the group wrote.
The Buckhead City Committee announced its “farewell” to supporters in a late Sunday email. Along with Kemp, the letter lambasted Republicans who raised concerns about the breakaway push, too. Read more here.
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SPORTS BETTING. As lawmakers prepare to vote on sports betting legislation, a new study by tech firm GeoComply Solutions shows that about 1.4 million attempts by Georgians to access legal sports books in other states were blocked during the last NFL season.
Of those attempts, 43.4% were to access online sports betting sites in Tennessee, wrote covers.com, which reports on the gambling industry. Tennessee is one of more than two dozen states where sports betting is legal.
Heading into expected votes on sports betting, lawmakers have been flooded with arguments for and against expanding gambling in the state. One essay written by an Atlanta mother and provided to House members by pro-gaming groups said sports betting would boost the HOPE scholarship and other lottery-funded programs.
But during a debate on the Senate floor on a separate gambling measure, Republican senators warned that gambling addictions would worsen exponentially if Georgia OK’s sports betting.
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Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
Credit: Ben Gray for the AJC
MAKING THE CASE. Two developments in Atlanta’s push for the Democratic National Convention happened locally over the weekend.
A group of civil rights leaders on Saturday urged President Joe Biden to pick Atlanta over other finalists, saying it would not only honor the city’s legacy but also boost Black-owned businesses. Among the authors of two letters were the family of the late U.S. Rep. John Lewis and the daughter of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Separately, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a front-page editorial Sunday by publisher Andrew Morse calling Atlanta “the only choice” for the all-important Democratic event.
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Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
CPAC RECAP. U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., wasn’t given a prime time slot at this year’s CPAC conference, and there were plenty of empty seats in the back of the huge ballroom where she delivered her 10-minute speech Friday morning.
But the enthusiastic audience that was there gave her several standing ovations. Fans and the news media later mobbed her in the hallways after her speech, with supporters clamoring to take pictures with the woman they think could be a future running mate to Donald Trump or even run for president herself.
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CLOSING A CHAPTER. President Joe Biden traveled to Selma, Alabama, over the weekend for the annual re-enactment of the “Bloody Sunday” march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge.
Biden previously attended the historic weekend as vice president and as a candidate for president, when he locked arms with the late Congressman John Lewis, who had been badly injured during the original march in 1965.
But Sunday was his first time participating as president. Former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was among the crowd that accompanied Biden across the famous bridge. Bottoms recently announced she is leaving her position as senior White House adviser to Biden after being one of the earliest Georgians to endorse him for president in 2019.
“She’s, understandably, going home because she’s got some kids and it’s about time,” Biden said of Bottoms in remarks earlier in the day. “She promised she’d stay as long as she did, and she did. But we got another mayor coming too. So, anyway, thank you very much, Keisha.”
In an interview from Selma with MSNBC’s Rev. Al Sharpton, Bottoms was asked what she’ll do next.
“I have not put to bed running for office again. I don’t know if I ever will or not,” she said. “I am just looking forward to a future that continues to be full of purpose.”
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TODAY IN WASHINGTON:
- President Joe Biden will headline the 2023 International Association of Fire Fighters Legislative Conference.
- The U.S. Senate is in session, working through nominations.
- The House returns on Tuesday.
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Credit: Vino Wong/AJC
Credit: Vino Wong/AJC
FARM FRIEND. U.S. Rep. Austin Scott traveled to Texas last week with Republican members of the House Agriculture Committee and the House Western Caucus Foundation.
He was there to participate in an Agriculture Summit that served as a preview of sorts to the upcoming discussion on renewing the Farm Bill.
Scott, a Tifton Republican, was there in his capacity as vice chairman of the Agriculture Committee and chairman of the Subcommittee on General Farm Commodities, Risk Management, and Credit.
During a panel discussion, Scott said that one of his biggest priorities during the reauthorization process will be setting effective reference prices for certain crops. These reference prices provide benchmarks for two federal programs for farmers that offset declines in crop prices or revenue.
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Credit: Courtesy photo
Credit: Courtesy photo
DOG OF THE DAY. Today’s Crossover Day winner is Henry Oliver, the locally famous seven-year-old basset hound of state Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver.
Henry is known to photobomb Zoom committee hearings and town hall meetings. He can also often be heard during Oliver’s appearances on GPB’s Political Rewind and the occasional news interview.
And in a Jolt first, Henry was not nominated by his person, Rep. Oliver. Instead, a group of her close friends created a video montage of Henry to lobby for his placement close to the Decatur Democrat’s birthday, which is Tuesday.
Your Insiders are not at all susceptible to lobbying, but we are suckers for a dog this adorable. Congratulations, Henry!
Send us your pups of any political persuasion —and cats on a cat-by-case 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.
