Author: Tom Pappert

Georgia Prosecutors Claim Mark Meadows Was ‘Meddling’ in ‘Matters of State Authority’ After 2020 Election

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) accused former White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows of abusing his federal position to interfere with Georgia’s 2020 elections, according to a filing her office submitted to the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday.

Meadows has repeatedly sought to have his case removed from Fulton County to a federal court. That attempt was stymied by a federal judge, but an expedited appeal was granted to the 11th Circuit. Meadows’ lawyers submitted their filing last week, arguing that Willis was committing unforced constitutional “errors” in her “unnecessary” effort to prevent his case’s removal.

Read the full story

Gov. Brian Kemp Will Back Trump if Nominated in 2024: ‘A Lot Better Than Biden’ and ‘Can Win Georgia’

Tom Pappert

Governor Brian Kemp (R) said he believes former President Donald Trump “can win Georgia” during an interview last Friday. Kemp added that he would support Trump, should he become the Republican nominee for president, despite the public feud between the men.

Kemp said he is willing to support the former president during the 2024 general election during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Kemp described Trump as “a lot better than Biden,” adding that those “serving in the administration would be a lot better” than those tapped by the Biden White House.

Read the full story

Arizona Political Ads Must Now Disclose Top 3 Sources of Funding: Citizens Clean Elections Commission

Tom Pappert

Political advertisements in Arizona must now disclose their top three funding sources, according to a new rule announced last Friday by the Clean Elections Commission (CEC).

New political advertisements placed in Arizona will be required to disclose the top three funding sources used to place the ads, per the new rule. All forms of political advertising, including TV, radio, and printed mailers sent to homes, are included.

Read the full story

Charlie Kirk, Dennis Prager Set to Return to Arizona State University as Legislators Promise More Hearings

Tom Pappert

Conservative leaders Charlie Kirk and Dennis Prager are scheduled to return to Arizona State University (ASU) for the “Health, Wealth & Happiness 2.0” event on Wednesday. The first event, held in 2022,  sparked fierce opposition from faculty and staff, which in turn provoked hearings in the Arizona Legislature.

Prager and Kirk will host the event alongside Tom Lewis, a former ASU donor who was the primary benefactor of the T.W. Lewis Center where the first event was held last year. Ann Atkinson, who was the director of the center at ASU, and State Representative Austin Smith (R-Surprise), will also speak at the event.

Read the full story

Investigator at Fani Willis’s Office Accidentally Shot Herself in Fulton County Courthouse

Tom Pappert

An investigator working for the Fulton County District Attorney’s office shot herself on Friday while at the Fulton County Courthouse. The investigator, who works in the office of District Attorney Fani Willis, was not critically injured in the accidental discharge.

News first broke on Friday morning that a shooting incident occurred at the Fulton County Courthouse, with the sheriff’s office reporting there was “no active threat” at the time. Within an hour, the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office confirmed “an accidental discharge” by an “investigator who wounded herself” but was not critically injured.

Read the full story

Lawyer Indicted in Georgia Trump Case Warns Fani Willis Violated Attorney-Client Privilege, Wants Evidence Stricken

Tom Pappert

Attorney Kenneth Chesebro argued that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis may have violated his privileged communications with clients during her blanket search of his email account, according to legal filing made by his lawyers on Thursday.

Chesebro, who is among those indicted by Willis in her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election, alleged that Willis and her office violated Georgia law when it gained blanket access to Chesebro’s email account in July, according to his lawyers’ filing. Chesebro is asking Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee to suppress any evidence gathered from those emails.

Read the full story

Nation’s Largest Liberal Donor Group Moves Against No Labels as Arizona Democrats Express New Fears

Tom Pappert

A powerful network of liberal donors are reportedly planning to oppose No Labels, the newest political party to be recognized in Arizona, as Democrats in the state express concerns the party could serve as a spoiler and cause President Joe Biden to lose the 2024 presidential election.

The influential Democracy Alliance, the nation’s largest club for wealthy liberal donors, told German-owned Politico that Democrats are “increasingly concerned” that a No Labels presidential ticket “could function as a spoiler” for Biden and help former President Donald Trump regain the White House.

Read the full story

Georgia Secretary of State Raffensperger Among Witnesses Fani Willis Plans to Call in Trump Trial

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis revealed about a dozen witnesses she plans to call in her racketeering case against former President Donald Trump in a legal filing on Wednesday. Willis named the witnesses to illustrate potential conflicts of interests for defense attorneys.

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R), and his wife Patricia, will both be called as witnesses by the prosecution, according to Willis’s filing.

Read the full story

Family Announces Lawsuit Against Fulton County Jail After Inmate Stabbed to Death

Tom Pappert

The family of a deceased Fulton County Jail detainee who was stabbed to death announced its intention to sue the jail on Wednesday but will first offer the facility a 30-day window to “address the situation appropriately” before the lawsuit is filed. During a Thursday press conference, the family’s lawyers provided details surrounding the stabbing death.

Read the full story

Georgia Republican Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene, Mike Collins Receive ‘F’ Grades on Pro-Ukraine Scorecard

Tom Pappert

Georgia Representatives Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA-14) and Mike Collins (R-GA-10) received failing grades from Republicans for Ukraine, a group that lobbies for the Republican Party to continue its support for the Eastern European country.

Greene and Collins both received “F” grades from the Republicans for Ukraine, while Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) received a “C” grade for his allegedly lukewarm support.

Read the full story

Arizona State Senator TJ Shope to Probe If Gov. Hobbs’ Dark Money Security Funding Violated Campaign Finance Laws

Tom Pappert

Arizona Senate President Pro Tempore T.J. Shope (R-Florence) intends to probe how Governor Katie Hobbs (D) had a private security guard during the 2022 elections without disclosing how he was paid. Hobbs, who was serving as Arizona’s secretary of state in 2022, did not disclose how the security guard was paid in her campaign finance reports.

Though it remains unclear exactly how former security guard J.M. “Jesse” Torrez was employed to protect Hobbs, The Arizona Republic notes the governor appointed Torrez to head the Arizona Governor’s Office of Highway Safety, where he will earn $115,000 per year, after taking office.

Read the full story

Georgia Rep. Andrew Clyde Moves to Cut Federal Funding from Trump Prosecutions as Government Shutdown Looms

Tom Pappert

Georgia Representative Andrew Clyde (R-GA-09) is championing two budget amendments this week, with both aimed at preventing congressional funding for the Department of Justice, or any state or local government, from being used to prosecute a declared candidate for president, particularly former President Donald Trump. Clyde, who is reportedly willing to allow a government shutdown to force spending cuts from Democrats, is expected to submit the amendments as part of the annual budget process.

The two amendments championed by Clyde, which were originally written by The Article III Project, would specifically forbid federal funding for the Department of Justice’s prosecution of Trump, and would prevent federal dollars from funding local prosecutions in Georgia and New York.

Read the full story

Arizona Lawsuit to Disqualify Trump from 2024 Ballot Begins October 23

Tom Pappert

A lawsuit aimed at disqualifying former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot in Arizona is set to be heard by a federal judge on October 23.

The lawsuit was filed in Arizona federal court by John Anthony Castro, who Arizona’s Family describes as a “long-shot Republican presidential candidate from Texas.” Castro, who claims to be mounting a nationwide write-in campaign, argues that Trump’s alleged role in the civil unrest on January 6, 2021 should preclude him from running for office.

Read the full story

Atlanta to Scan Petitions to Stop Public Safety Training Center, Post Online

Tom Pappert

The City of Atlanta has approved legislation to scan more than 115,000 petition signatures calling for a referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Safety Training Center on Monday. After scanning the petitions, Atlanta will make them available to the public, but will not determine the validity of the signatures at this time.

Activists claimed to deliver 116,000 petition signatures on September 11, nearly doubling the 58,232 required to force a public vote on the future of the training center for law enforcement and first responders. However, a legal ruling briefly extended the petition deadline from August 21 to late October, before it was stayed by a higher court. Atlanta ultimately accepted the petitions, but said it would not begin processing them until it received guidance from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Read the full story

Mark Meadows Argues Fani Willis ‘Committed Errors’ in ‘Unnecessary’ Effort to Keep Case in Fulton County

Tom Pappert

Mark Meadows, the former White House Chief of Staff for the Trump administration, argued in a Monday legal filing that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis “committed errors” that raise “serious constitutional concerns” in her “unnecessarily complicated” attempts to prevent his case from being removed to a federal court.

Meadows has repeatedly asserted the case brought against him by Fulton County should be tried in a federal court, citing his position as a government employee who answered directly to former President Donald Trump when his alleged offenses were committed. U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones denied various attempts from Meadows to remove the case, but late last week the 11th Circuit announced it would hear his appeal and grant it expedited status.

Read the full story

Senator Raphael Warnock Asks Atlanta to be Lenient on Petitions to Stop Public Safety Training Center

Tom Pappert

Senator Raphael Warnock (D-GA) wrote a letter to the City of Atlanta on Friday asking officials to be lenient when examining the petitions gathered to force a public referendum on the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center.

In his letter, Warnock reportedly advised Atlanta he is “closely monitoring” the petition, and claimed to be “concerned” the city’s signature matching and verification process “led to discrimination” and potential “disenfranchisement of eligible voters” during previous ballot initiatives. Warnock urged Atlanta “to err on the side of giving the people the ability to express their views” and to establish “clear and transparent timelines and requirements” going forward.

Read the full story

Arizona Expected to Receive Over $800 Million in 2024 Political Advertising, Most of Any Battleground State

Tom Pappert

Arizona is projected to be the recipient of nearly $1 billion in political advertising during the 2024 cycle, meaning the Grand Canyon State will receive the highest share of spending of any battleground state, and the second highest of any state in the union, should the projections be correct.

The state is expected to see about $821 million in advertising over the 2024 political cycle, according to a new report published by AdImpact. Arizona will receive almost $100 million more than the second highest battleground state, Pennsylvania, which is estimated to receive $725 million.

Read the full story

Pro-Trump Lawyer Gives Court Transcript He Claims Proves Georgia’s GOP Electors Broke No Laws

Tom Pappert

A transcript of a December 2020 meeting among those who became the Republican slate of alternative electors in Georgia appears to directly contradict claims levied by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis in her August indictment of former President Donald Trump and 18 others involved with his efforts to contest the 2020 election.

Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, who is among those indicted in the Georgia racketeering case against former President Donald Trump, submitted the transcript to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAffee in a filing that seeks to dismiss charges related Republican slate of alternative electors.

Read the full story

TSMC Reportedly Delays Equipment Deliveries to Arizona Semiconductor Factory

Tom Pappert

The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is reportedly asking vendors to delay deliveries of major equipment to its facility in Arizona. This comes after TSMC delayed the opening of its Arizona chip facility until 2025, and amid reports the company will not manufacture complete semiconductors in the United States.

TSMC is asking manufacturers of high-end semiconductor equipment to hold off on deliveries to its Arizona facility, according to a report released Friday by Reuters. The Taiwanese semiconductor giant is reportedly concerned about decreasing costs, and is “increasingly concerned” about cooling consumer demand, though the company referred to the report as a “market rumor” in a statement to Reuters.

Read the full story

Majority of Georgia Voters Say Trump Prosecution Unfair, Support Special Session to Reign in Fulton County

Tom Pappert

A majority of Georgia voters now believe the Fulton County criminal case against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election is “unfair,” according to new polling by Rasmussen Reports. Georgia voters also support a special session in the Georgia Legislature to defund or impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

The majority of Georgia voters believe Trump is being unfairly prosecuted, with 56 percent of respondents to Rasmussen agreeing, including 39 percent who said it was “very likely.” This is compared with just 37 percent of voters who said it was unlikely Trump was being unfairly prosecuted.

Read the full story

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis Announces $2.5 Million Federal Grant to Examine Backlog of 4,300 Rape Kits

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) has received a $2.5 million federal grant for her office to examine a backlog of more than 4,000 rape kits, with some dating back to the 1980s, she revealed in a press conference this week.

Willis announced the $2.5 million grant in a press conference on Thursday, when she said the funding will support testing for the rape kits of “4,342 victims” who “had the very worst day of their life” but “didn’t get justice” from Fulton County.

Read the full story

Arizona Senate Committee Rejects Gov. Hobbs’ Nominee for Housing Department, Cites ‘Systemic’ Plagiarism

Tom Pappert

An Arizona State Senate panel rejected the nomination of Joan Serviss to run the Arizona Department of Housing in a 3-2 vote on Thursday, with Republican senators highlighting alleged “systemic” plagiarism by Serviss in letters she wrote to the federal government while working in advocacy. Arizona State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek) provided three examples in which Serviss, nominated by Governor Katie Hobbs (D) to run the Arizona Department of Housing, appeared to blatantly plagiarize advocacy groups and the media while running the Arizona Housing Coalition. After Serviss offered opening remarks and received questioning from State Senators Lela Alston (D-Phoenix), Flavio Bravo (D-Phoenix), Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson), and T.J. Shope (R-Florence), Hoffman referenced a letter sent by Serviss in her former position at the Arizona Housing Coalition, a group she boasted of shepherding from one to 10 employees. That letter contained six paragraphs, five of which Hoffman claimed were directly plagiarized from two other advocacy groups, one being non-profit supporting food banks in Washington state. “It appears you copied and pasted without attribution,” said Hoffman, adding that “the only changes were minimal at best, and stylistic.” He questioned if Serviss considered her letter to be an example of plagiarism. Rather than…

Read the full story

40,000 Fulton County Criminal Cases ‘Frozen’ Because Fani Willis ‘Blindly’ Pursuing Trump, Says Former Sen. Kelly Loeffler

Tom Pappert

During an appearance on “The John Fredericks Show” on Thursday, former Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler said the criminal justice system of Fulton County is “frozen,” with the county jail overcrowded and 40,000 criminal cases in the backlog, because District Attorney Fani Willis is “blindly” pursuing her cases against former President Donald Trump and those who helped him contest the 2020 election.

Loeffler told host John Fredericks, the publisher of The Georgia Star News, that Willis’s actions suggest “a two tiered system of justice” and said the Georgia Legislature should encourage the Prosecuting Attorneys Qualifications Commission (PAQC) to fully investigate Willis, including how she is spending taxpayer money.

Read the full story

Georgia Trump Case Severed from Powell, Chesebro in First Major Blow to Fani Willis

Tom Pappert

The criminal case in Fulton County, Georgia against lawyers Kenneth Chesebro and Sidney Powell was severed from the greater indictment against former President Donald Trump and the other 17 defendants on Thursday morning, representing the first major blow to District Attorney Fani Willis (D).

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee received arguments from Willis and the defendants on Wednesday, and on Thursday morning ultimately determined it was “a procedural and logistical inevitability” to sever the cases. McAfee also wrote that “[a]dditional divisions of these 17 defendants may well be required” as the trial proceeds.

Read the full story

Arizona Republicans Sound Alarm After Flagstaff Considers Firearm Ad Ban on City Property, Including Airport

Tom Pappert

Three Republicans in the Arizona House of Representatives signed a letter questioning Flagstaff’s plan to see firearm advertisements banned from public buildings and facilities. The letter came after Flagstaff city leaders received a draft of new advertising guidelines that explicitly ban any mention of firearms or ammunition, even though the previous policy focused on banning “violence” and “antisocial behavior” in the advertisements.

Arizona State Representatives David Marshall (R-Snowflake), Leo Biasiucci (R-Lake Havasu), and Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) warned the draft policy “raises a host of constitutional concerns, including viewpoint discrimination, and very likely violates state law,” urging the city leaders to “postpone your consideration” until the new policy adheres Arizona law and the U.S. Constitution.

Read the full story

One Trial with 19 Defendants Only ‘Feasible’ Option to Prosecute Georgia Trump Case, Fani Willis Claims

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis claimed the only “feasible” way to prosecute former President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants is in one, unified case on Wednesday. Willis said separating the cases, as multiple defendants have requested, would “create an enormous strain” for Fulton County.

Willis, in a legal filing submitted with colleagues F. McDonald Wakeford and Alex Bernick, argued to preserve the case against Trump and the other defendants who helped him contest the 2020 election. The filing was submitted to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee on Wednesday.

Read the full story

Judge Denies Mark Meadows’ Latest Effort to Remove Georgia Election Case from Fulton County

Tom Pappert

U.S. District Court Judge Steve Jones denied the latest effort for Mark Meadows on Wednesday to remove the Georgia election case against him from Fulton County. The case against Meadows, former President Donald Trump, and 18 other defendants will proceed unless the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 11th Circuit intervenes.

Attorneys for Meadows argued last month that any actions taken by the former White House Chief of Staff for the Trump administration to contest the 2020 election results were part of his official role as a government employee. Thus, the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution and other laws require the case against him to be tried in federal court and not in Fulton County.

Read the full story

Georgia State Sen. Beach Slams ‘Concentration Camp’ Overcrowding in Fulton County Jail, Blames Fani Willis

Tom Pappert

Georgia State Senator Brandon Beach (R-Alpharetta) compared the conditions of the Fulton County Jail to a “concentration camp,” pointing to the 10 deaths at the facility so far this year, and the facility’s overcrowding, as evidence that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis (D) is not doing her job.

Beach condemned Willis during an appearance on “The John Fredericks Show” on Tuesday, suggesting that Willis is “obsessed” with prosecuting former President Donald Trump “for her own political gain.”

Read the full story

Fulton County Special Prosecutor’s Law Firm Earns Nearly $550,000 in Trump Case, so Far

Tom Pappert

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis has spent nearly $550,000 bankrolling defense lawyer Nathan Wade as special prosecutor in her case against former President Donald Trump and 18 of his current or former associates who helped him contest the 2020 election in Georgia.

Records made available by the Fulton County government reveals that the Law Offices of Nathan J. Wade earned $303,226.51 in 2022, and thus far in 2023 has earned an additional $245,750. Similarly, his legal partner Christopher Campbell has received $116,670 from Fulton County between 2021 and 2023, while former colleague Terrence Bradley was paid $74,480 by Fulton County in 2021 and 2022.

Read the full story

9th Circuit Court of Appeals Hears Kari Lake Vote Tabulator Case

Tom Pappert

A lawsuit brought by former gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake prior to the 2022 elections was heard by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit on Tuesday. Lawyers representing Lake, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes (D), and Maricopa County were in court at the Sandra Day O’Connor U.S. Courthouse in Phoenix before a panel of three judges.

Lake, alongside former Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem, brought the lawsuit on April 2022, and it was dismissed in August. By December, a district court judge had awarded $122,000 in sanctions against the attorneys for Lake and former Secretary of State candidate Mark Finchem in the case, including against well known legal scholar Alan Dershowitz.

Read the full story

Activists Turn in Petition to Force Vote on Atlanta Public Safety Training Center Just Days after RICO Case Unveiled

Tom Pappert

Activists seeking to challenge the construction of the new Atlanta Public Safety Training Center claim to have turned in more than 115,000 petition signatures on Monday, three weeks after the City of Atlanta required signature gathering to conclude. The city has accepted the signatures, but will not examine them without a ruling from the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals.

Originally given until August 21 to return at least 58,232 valid signatures, a legal ruling on July 26 gave the activists an additional 60 days, and stripped a requirement for those gathering the signatures to be residents of Atlanta. However, a stay was issued freezing that ruling by the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on September 1, meaning the additional time granted to activists may have disappeared.

Read the full story

Georgia Activists Knock on Doors in Republican Strongholds to Fuel Special Session Push

Tom Pappert

Conservative activists in Georgia are knocking on doors in the districts of House Speaker Jon Burns (R-Newington) and senators who have vocally opposed the petition for a special session created by Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton), according to Georgia State Freedom Caucus Director Mallory Staples, with the aim of pressuring more legislators into backing the nascent effort.

Staples announced the plans to door knock on “The John Fredericks Show” last Friday, indicating the activists planned to start on Monday, and will target the most vocal opponents of Moore’s petition for a special session.

Read the full story

Arizona TSMC Factory Will Ship Incomplete Semiconductors to Taiwan for Final ‘Packaging’: Report

Tom Pappert

A new report claims the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) will only complete part of the chip manufacturing process at its controversial Arizona facility. The company reportedly intends to ship incomplete products made in Arizona to Taiwan, where they will be finished and sold to major electronics manufacturers in the West.

The report, published Monday by New Information, claims sources close to the company and its new facility in Phoenix have already been informed that the plant will be used to create partially complete products. As a result, the outlet explained, TSMC’s Arizona factory will do little to create an independent supply of semiconductors based in the United States.

Read the full story

Arizona Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Will Use AI to ‘Scale Up’ After 50,000 Students Join in One Year

Tom Pappert

The new director of Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account (ESA) program announced plans to use artificial intelligence (AI) to “scale up” the program’s operations after 50,000 students joined the school voucher program.

Arizona now has nearly 62,000 students enrolled in the ESA program, according to Arizona Capitol Times, including about 12,000 students who enrolled in the last three months. The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) previously estimated another 50,000 students could join over the next year.

Read the full story

Faith and Freedom Coalition Identifies Key Issues for Evangelical, Conservative Voters in 2024

Tom Pappert

Faith & Freedom Coalition executive director Timothy Head outlined what he believes are the key issues for faith-based voters in the state as the second Republican presidential debate, and the 2024 presidential election, in an interview with The Georgia Star News on Friday.

Head told The Georgia Star News that Fulton County’s racketeering case against former President Donald Trump looms large over Georgia’s political landscape, likely drawing even more Republicans in The Peach State to the former president, but added that the economy will likely be the single, largest issue in voters’ minds as they cast ballots in 2024.

Read the full story

Trump Questions ‘Credibility’ of Fulton County After Grand Jury Recommended Charges for Lt. Gov. Jones, Former Georgia Senators

Tom Pappert

Former President Donald Trump released a statement expressing further doubts in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and her office, after the grand jury report for the racketeering case against him was made public. The report revealed that, in addition to the 19 charged by Willis, charges were recommended for additional 20 people, including Georgia Lt. Governor Burt Jones, former Republican Georgia Senators Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

Trump wrote that the grand jury report has “zero credibility and badly taints” Willis, and her case against him, in a post on Truth Social. The report, according to Trump, “undermines the credibility of the findings, and badly hurts the Great State of Georgia.”

Read the full story

Phoenix Approves Backyard Casitas, or Accessory Dwelling Units, Inside City Limits

Tom Pappert

On Wednesday the City of Phoenix approved casitas, or accessory dwelling units (ADUs), to be built in back yards of existing homes, in a move aimed at shoring up the amount of affordable housing in the city.

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego and city council members approved the change to the city’s zoning to help address the 270,000 housing unit shortage in Arizona, reported ABC 15.

Read the full story

State Sen. Moore Defends Special Session Push, Plans to Rally Georgia Voters Against Senators ‘Sitting on the Sidelines’

Tom Pappert

Georgia State Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) joined “The John Fredericks Show” on Wednesday to defend his push for a special session in the Georgia Legislature to defund or impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, and confronted accusations of grifting by announcing plans to spend money raised on the special session in the districts of legislators who are outspoken in their opposition to the special session.

Moore, who has used the press generated by Trump’s arrest and his special session petition for fundraising, said he intends to use the money to challenge Republican critics of the petition by sending text messages to voters in their districts.

Read the full story

Tea Party Patriots’ Jenny Beth Martin Rallies with State Senator Colton Moore to Back Special Session in Georgia

Tom Pappert

Tea Party Patriots co-founder Jenny Beth Martin joined members of the Georgia Freedom Caucus on Thursday, including State Senator Colton Moore (R-Trenton) and State Representative Charlice Byrd (R-Woodstock), for a rally and press conference in support of Moore’s petition calling for Governor Brian Kemp (R) to call a special session to defund or impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.

Read the full story

State Senator Justine Wadsack Victorious After Recall Petition Fails, Reports Zero Signatures in Four Months

Tom Pappert

State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson) emerged victorious after the recall petition against her failed, with activists returning zero petitions to the government. Wadsack, speaking to The Arizona Sun Times, thanked her supporters in Legislative District 17 for becoming her surrogates through the process.

Wadsack said in a press release that “the far left so-called ‘recall effort’ in LD17 has failed” to return “a single signature” by the September 5 deadline, and said their failure “amounts to a third electoral victory after being nominated in 2022 and then elected in November.” She added that the recall “was never a serious effort” but rather “a 4-month social media campaign with little to no ground game.”

Read the full story

Fani Willis to Call 150 Witnesses over Four Month Trial in Georgia RICO Case Against Trump, Allies

Tom Pappert

Wednesday marked the first, live-streamed hearing in Fulton County’s racketeering case against former President Donald Trump and 18 other defendants who aided his 2020 election contest, and prosecutors revealed that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis intends to call 150 witnesses over a four-month trial slated to begin on October 23.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee originally planned for the hearing to include arraignments, but all 19 defendants waived their right to arraignment and entered not guilty pleas before the court appearance. Instead, Judge McAfee heard attorneys for Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro invoke their clients’ rights to a speedy trial, specifically requesting to be severed from each other and the other defendants in the case.

Read the full story

Judge Restores Georgia Law Banning Transgender Hormone Treatments for Minors

Tom Pappert

A federal judge has restored a Georgia law banning transgender hormone treatments for minors in the state on Tuesday after the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a similar Alabama law.

Georgia’s Republican-backed SB 140 bans licensed medical professionals from providing minor patients with cross-sex hormone therapy, with potential criminal and civil penalties for healthcare providers found flaunting the law. Though the law went into effect in July, a legal challenge brought in June ultimately allowed U.S. District Judge Sarah Geraghty to block its enforcement beginning on October 20.

Read the full story

Georgia Charges 61 People with RICO Indictment over Atlanta Public Training Center Protests

Tom Pappert

More than 60 people have been indicted by Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr (R) as part of an alleged criminal conspiracy related to protests of Atlanta’s new Public Safety Training Center.

Public officials confirmed that 61 individuals were indicted as part of a racketeering case tied to the protests on Tuesday, and charging documents claim an organized criminal effort to derail the police and public safety training facility began as early as 2020. The case will be prosecuted by Carr using the Georgia Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act.

Read the full story

Moms for Liberty to Hold Arizona Town Hall Next Week with Four State Legislators, Superintendent Tom Horne

Tom Pappert

Parental rights advocacy group Moms for Liberty announced a public town hall event in Mesa, Arizona, on September 14, with confirmed attendees including State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne, four Republican state legislators, Moms for Liberty co-founder Tina Descovich, and award-winning musician and actress Mary Millben.

Described as an “honest discussion on the state of education and parental rights in Arizona,” Moms for Liberty revealed on X, formerly Twitter, that State Senator Jake Hoffman (R-Queen Creek), State Senator Justine Wadsack (R-Tucson), State Representative Justin Heap (R-Mesa), and State Representative Barbara Parker (R-Mesa) are also scheduled to attend as members of a panel.

Read the full story

Biden’s New Georgia Ad Makes Questionable Claims on Supply Chains, Drug, and Utility Prices

Tom Pappert

President Joe Biden unveiled a new advertisement in Georgia this week, making bold claims about the accomplishments of his administration. However, the president’s claims to have addressed the supply chain crisis and lowered the prices of drugs and utilities may not stand up to scrutiny.

In the 30-second video, a narrator claims Biden “got to work” by “fixing the supply chains, fighting corporate greed, passing laws to lower the cost of medicine, cut utility bills, and make us more energy independent.” However, recent reporting reveals the supply chain crisis continued as recently as May, utility bills rose over last year, and the costs of most drugs increased in January.

Read the full story

Biden Releases New Arizona Ad Touting ‘Manufacturing Boom’ Despite Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. Delay

Tom Pappert

President Joe Biden launched a new ad in Arizona on Labor Day touting a “manufacturing boom” as part of a $25 million advertising campaign in battleground states, even after the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) recently delayed its new Phoenix microchip plant claiming the state lacks skilled talent.

The 30-second ad features Phoenix resident Bill Ruiz, according to The Hill, who brags that “we’re building some of the biggest tech factories in the world right here” in Arizona, and specifically lists new semiconductor factories as an example, ultimately crediting “the laws that Joe Biden got passed” for making their construction possible.

Read the full story

Report: Fani Willis Has Transcript Exonerating Former Trump Lawyer Ray Smith, Former Georgia GOP Chair David Shafer

Tom Pappert
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is reportedly in possession of a meeting transcript that exonerates two defendants named in her August 14 indictment against former President Donald Trump, his former lawyers, and Georgians involved in his effort to contest the 2020 presidential election.

A transcript of a December 14, 2020 meeting of those involved in the effort to create alternative Trump delegates in Georgia for the 2020 election, reviewed by The Federalist, reveals that Shafer and former Trump attorney Ray Smith specifically planned to act as “Republican nominees for Presidential Elector,” and not “duly elected and qualified” electors, in what seems to be a direct contradiction to Willis’s indictment.

Read the full story

Most Arizona Voters Now Registered Independent, Unable to Vote in Presidential Preference Election

Tom Pappert

More Arizona voters have continued to change their party affiliation to independent, making it the state’s largest voting bloc. This means more than 1.4 million voters will be unable to cast a ballot in the state’s 2024 presidential primary contests.

The Arizona Secretary of State released new data this month dating from July 2023, revealing that 1,450,697 Arizonans, or 34.55 percent of the state’s voters, are now registered independent.

Read the full story