Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ investigation into whether former President Donald Trump broke state laws by trying to overturn the results of the election is moving forward.
Over the holiday weekend, the Daily Beast quoted Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger confirming that Fulton County investigators have “asked us for documents, they’ve talked to some of our folks, and we’ll cooperate fully.”
The outlet reported that investigators have interviewed at least four people, including office attorney Ryan Germany, communications specialist Ari Schaffer, chief operating officer Gabriel Sterling and outreach director Sam Teasley.
We’re told that Raffensperger has yet to be interviewed.
Investigators are also coordinating with federal lawmakers probing the Jan. 6 insurrection at the Capitol to share documents that could be useful to the state probe, according to a person with direct knowledge of the discussions.
The DA’s office is focusing on the Jan. 2 phone call Trump placed to Raffensperger, in which he urged his fellow Republican to “find” the votes to reverse Joe Biden’s win in Georgia.
But the investigation also could extend to Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani, who promoted lies about election fraud in a state legislative hearing; and U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who was accused by Raffensperger of urging him to toss mail-in ballots in certain counties. Graham and Giuliani have denied any wrongdoing.
It’s not clear how quickly the investigation is proceeding, but we’re told to expect significant developments within months.
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The Cobb County Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs has raised the ire of one state Representative -- and the eyebrows of plenty of Cobb County residents -- with the prison theme of an upcoming county-sponsored game room event.
Unlike past game rooms sponsored by the Parks department with whodunit themes, this month’s theme is “Prison Break,” with participants to be told they’ve been wrongly sentenced to life without parole and challenged to find a way out of jail after a riot.
The advertisement for the event reads: “You’ve settled in, made a few friends, but every man has his breaking point. While the prison is in chaos because of a riot in the yard, you have a tiny window of opportunity to explore the building and carry out a great escape. It’s time to get busy living, or get busy dying... One team, one hour, one chance to break free.”
The “get busy living or get busy dying” reference is from Shawshank Redemption, the story of a man wrongly convicted of murder. The game room event is scheduled to begin September 10 and run through October 30.
With criminal justice and social justice at the forefront of many people’s minds, a entertainment and team-building exercise making light of an innocent person being wrongly convicted for a crime they didn’t commit struck many as being somewhere between poor taste and downright offensive.
State Rep. Josh McLaurin, a Fulton County Democrat, tweeted at the department, “.@cobbcountygovt, end your “prison break” escape room game.”
.@cobbcountygovt, end your “prison break” escape room game.
— Josh McLaurin (@JoshforGeorgia) September 7, 2021
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If you’ve ever wondered why you have just two candidates to choose from in most of the races on your November ballot, look no further than the unusually high bar that the state of Georgia sets for third-party candidates just to get onto the ballot in the first place.
Up to now, the state’s election laws have allowed Democrats and Republicans to automatically appear on the ballot after winning their primaries-- even without opposition. But third-party candidates for most races have been required to present a petition with thousands of signatures, at least 5% of the total registered voters, in their districts just to get on the ballot.
A federal judge has ruled that, until the Georgia General Assembly enacts a permanent measure, third-party candidates will need signatures from 1%, not 5%, of their district’s voters to get on the ballot. Look for the AJC’s Mark Niesse to file a full report on what the ruling means later today.
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Tucked into one of your Insider’s latest stories about how Republican candidates are navigating their Senate campaigns in a race against Herschel Walker was this new broadside from Gary Black’s campaign.
From Black spokesman Dan McLagan:
“Team Herschel is running a Biden-in-the-basement strategy, which means they think Houston — or Dallas in this instance — has a problem. That’s a really bad sign when control of the Senate and America’s future is on the line. This isn’t signing autographs. It’s our kids’ future.”
While the other U.S. Senate contenders tiptoe around Walker, tacitly trying to draw a contrast with the front-runner, Black has been steadily escalating his criticism of the long-time Texan. This comment only reached a new level.
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Ken Pullin, a former GOP state Representative from Zebulon, has switched parties from Republican to Libertarian.
A former state rep’s party affiliation may not be front-page news, but the statement Pullin released when he made his switch caught our eyes, especially for his harsh words about his old party.
“When I got to the Capitol, I quickly realized it wasn’t as advertised,” Pullin said. “The Republican leadership was more interested in growing government and maintaining power than focusing on liberty and small-government policies. Leadership would routinely partner with Democrats to push through big government policies, and showed no interest in unconstitutional gun laws, civil asset forfeiture, cannabis laws, lack of ballot access, or school choice. There is basically zero difference between Republicans and Democrats in Atlanta.”
During his single House term, Pullin introduced legislation to block “red-flag” laws, which would take guns away from a person a judge deems to be a threat to himself or others. He also signed a resolution calling on House Speaker David Ralston to resign from office.
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U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock isn’t the only one taking a victory lap for the bi-partisan win behind including I-14, the possible Georgia-Texas connector, in the latest infrastructure bill.
U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz is doing some bragging of his own for his partnership with the Georgia Democrat, according to the Houston Chronicle.
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved the project last month as an amendment to the Biden administration's $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill. Cruz co-wrote the amendment with Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Georgia).
Cruz said he and Warnock worked together on the project because they had a shared interest in creating jobs in their respective states.
“I'm very proud that we were able to get a big legislative win for the Permian Basin in this time where Washington is so divided with partisan infighting," he said in an interview following the press conference. “It's good to see we can get some good things accomplished in addition to all the bad policy that's being pushed by the current administration."
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If you’re like us, you love to peruse Tunisian news services over Labor Day weekend.
That’s where we saw U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff’s name pop up as a member of a U.S. delegation traveling to the country to meet with Tunisian President Kais Saied after a particularly tumultuous period in the country.
Ossoff’s office told us that the senator did indeed join a Congressional Delegation, or CODEL, traveling overseas during a portion of the Senate’s August recess.
In addition to Tunisia, Ossoff traveled with three fellow members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to Lebanon, Israel, the West Bank, and Greece.
The group visited with local leaders in the countries, surveyed a Naval Submarine base, and met with State Department and Defense Department personnel in the region.
More pictures here from the visit of Senators @ChrisMurphyCT and @ossoff to @NSA_SoudaBay Thank you @Hellenic_MOD @hndgspio and Commodore Sarriyiannis for the great Cretan hospitality. https://t.co/PinhEQb9k0 pic.twitter.com/XTJ624Yz3i
— Geoffrey Pyatt (@USAmbPyatt) September 6, 2021
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States like Georgia that ended the extra $300 in pandemic-related unemployment benefits earlier than planned for their residents did not see higher job growth than states that left the benefits in tact, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Nonfarm payrolls rose 1.33% in July from April in the 25 states that ended the benefits and 1.37% in the other 25 states and the District of Columbia, the Journal analysis of Labor Department data showed. The payroll figures are taken from a government survey of employers. The analysis compared July totals with April, before governors in May started announcing plans to end or reduce the benefits during the summer.
The unemployment benefit expired in the remaining 25 states this week.
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The Atlanta City Council is scheduled to vote Tuesday on the proposal to lease 85 acres of land in DeKalb County for the construction of a new training center for Atlanta’s police and fire ranks.
The council earlier delayed taking action on the proposal involving the land known as the old Atlanta prison farm after residents, activists and some DeKalb County officials objected, the AJC’s Wilborn Nobles and J.D. Capelouto report.
Later this week, candidates will participate in a forum focused on greenspaces. Most support the need for a new public safety training center, although many criticized the process in which the prison farm proposal was handled.
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In personnel news, Katie Byrd has moved on from being state Attorney General Chris Carr’s communications director to become press secretary for Gov. Brian Kemp.
Byrd takes over for Mallory Blount, who is now communications director for Herschel Walker’s U.S. Senate campaign.
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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.
