Jon Ossoff targets Mike Collins over Epstein files in new ad

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff is seizing on one of the most combustible issues in national politics by targeting U.S. Rep. Mike Collins over the Jeffrey Epstein files, launching his first TV attack ad of the general election with a seven-figure statewide buy.

The ad features a retired police sergeant who blasts Collins for siding with House Republicans last year to block a Democratic maneuver aimed at forcing the release of the Epstein files.

Collins later joined an overwhelming bipartisan vote to release the records after President Donald Trump abruptly reversed course and urged Republicans to support disclosure.

“Mike Collins protected powerful elites instead of our children,” the narrator says, also praising Ossoff for bipartisan legislation targeting sex trafficking.

The fight over the files exposed a GOP fracture in Georgia. Then-U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene had for months urged Republicans to back the measure forcing the disclosure of the files about Epstein, a convicted sex offender who died in prison in 2019. And it was a key issue in her messy public split with Trump.

It’s not just a Georgia strategy. Democrats in some of the nation’s most competitive races are turning the Epstein files into a midterm weapon, betting that Trump’s handling of the files will energize midterm voters.

But Ossoff is folding the issue into a broader argument that Collins is a Trump loyalist unwilling to break with the president. Trump endorsed Collins, who ran as a MAGA loyalist, just days before the June runoff.

There’s evidence the frustration cuts across party lines. A December Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll found about 90% of likely Democratic voters weren’t satisfied with the amount of information released about the case.

But the more revealing number is among Republicans. More than one-third of likely GOP primary voters say they’re not content with the disclosure, including 15% who are very dissatisfied.

Things to know

Good morning! Here are three things to know for today:

Speech speculation

Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Credit: AP Photo/Alex Brandon

The internet was buzzing on Monday with speculation that Trump’s primetime speech on Thursday is related to the Department of Justice’s investigation of Fulton County’s 2020 election.

Trump dodged questions Monday about what his speech will be about. And there is a chance it ends up being on a topic totally unrelated to Georgia’s elections. But the rumor mill was fanned by chatter among GOP activists that a public statement on his Georgia investigation was imminent.

Ossoff and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, who were also on the ballot in 2020 and helped Senate Democrats win the majority, both preemptively pushed back.

“Donald Trump is trying to cast doubt on 2020 to justify interfering in 2026,” Warnock wrote on X. “We see what he is doing and it will not work. Stay vigilant.”

Ossoff said this doesn’t bode well for Collins, who has Trump’s endorsement and has also falsely claimed Trump’s won the 2020 election in Georgia.

Ossoff wrote on X that Trump “will reheat debunked election conspiracy theories and tell bizarre new lies to deny his 2020 defeat and attack voting rights” because he is afraid of his party’s coming losses in the midterms. And he said Collins, in turn, has no choice but to “double down on conspiracy theories toxic in the General Election.”

Ossoff followed up with a second post: a photo of him and Warnock campaigning.

Surrogate watch

Credit: AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis

Credit: AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis

Maryland Gov. Wes Moore is coming to Georgia today to campaign for Keisha Lance Bottoms and Ossoff.

Moore is scheduled to “fire up the crowd” of volunteers before heading out to speak with voters about Bottoms, who is running for governor, and Ossoff, who is seeking a second term.

Get used to this. Georgia’s marquee races are sure to attract plenty of out-of-state politicians looking to boost their visibility in a swing state. Just this year, we’ve had visits from former U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Republican U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz.

Moore is a U.S. Army veteran who got national attention in 2010 when he published a book, “The Other Wes Moore,” which compares his life story with another man named Wes Moore who ended up in prison. The book’s tagline: “The chilling truth is that his story could have been mine.”

Moore told NBC’s “Meet the Press” last year that he won’t run for president in 2028. Ossoff has said he has “no interest” in a 2028 run. But U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock hasn’t ruled it out.

Listen up

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast Jones joins the show to talk about what’s next after his loss in the Republican primary for governor to Rick Jackson.

You can listen and subscribe to “Politically Georgia” for free on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube 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

Late endorsement

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Credit: Arvin Temkar/AJC

Trump has finally weighed in on Georgia’s only GOP-held open congressional seat, endorsing John Cowan only weeks after he became the Republican Party’s nominee to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk.

Trump stayed out of the crowded primary and runoff, making the 11th District the sole open Republican-held seat in Georgia where he declined to pick a favorite before voters settled the nomination.

Now he says he is behind Cowan, a neurosurgeon who was runner-up to Greene in the 2020 GOP runoff for a neighboring district.

Cowan was criticized during the Republican primary for some now-deleted posts on X that were critical of Trump. But Trump praised Cowan in a post on Truth Social on Monday as a “Proven Leader” who will “work tirelessly” to advance the president’s agenda in Congress.

Cowan will face Democrat Chris Harden in November.

Shoutouts

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Before you go

Credit: (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Credit: (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Warnock and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens held a news conference on Monday to tout new housing rules that became law without Trump’s signature last week. Warnock was the author of a key provision that limits the number of houses private equity firms can own.

That’ll do it for us today. As always, you can send your best scoops, gossip and insider information to greg.bluestein@ajc.com, tia.mitchell@ajc.com, patricia.murphy@ajc.com and adam.beam@ajc.com.