The Public Record

Raffensperger blames Stacey Abrams for federal election lawsuit

Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is turning up the heat on the Justice Department over its lawsuit challenging controversial election law changes the General Assembly adopted last March. Raffensperger announced Wednesday he has filed a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA) with the federal agency to release any records of contacts it may have had with civil and voting rights organizations in light of the lawsuit. “We believe there’s potential they’ve been following orders from [2018 Democratic gubernatorial nominee] Stacey Abrams and others,” Raffensperger said. “We think something is going on.” The FOIA request calls for the release of…

The Public Record: Marjorie Taylor Greene compares masks to Nazi gold stars

What Happened?: Marjorie Taylor Greene has landed at the center of controversy again, this time for comparing Nancy Pelosi's mask mandate on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives, to Nazi practices requiring Jews to wear gold stars during the Holocaust. The Setting: Greene made her remarks on Real America's Voice network's show "The Water Cooler with David Brody." The Quote: Greene began by calling House Speaker Nancy Pelosi insane, and then made her Nazi comparison. The quote is below. “You know, we can look back in a time in history where people were told to wear a gold…

Did a Georgia Congressman claim Capitol insurrectionists were just tourists?

A Georgia Congressman is under fire this week from both Republicans and Democrats after his remarks at a Congressional hearing, where he claimed that the insurrectionists who invaded the U.S. Capitol Jan. 6 were normal tourists. The Congressman: The Congressman who made the claims is Republican Andrew Clyde. He represents Georgia's 9th Congressional District and is from Athens. Who does he represent: The 9th district runs from Athens to much of Northeast Georgia. If you live in Catoosa, Dade, Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Jackson, Lumpkin, Murray, Pickens,Union, White, Walker, and Whitfield counties, Clyde represents you. If you live in…

Will Georgia’s election bill be a strikeout for the All-Star game?

The Story: Georgia's controversial new election law may have landed the state in foul territory with Major League Baseball. According to media reports, the league is considering its options for moving the All-Star game -- originally scheduled to be played at Cobb County's Truist Park -- out of Georgia. Biden Weighs In: Joe Biden was asked during an ESPN interview what he thought of the push to move the game and Biden said he would support moving the game. "I think today's professional athletes are acting incredibly responsibly," Biden said. "I would strongly support them doing that. People look to…

Brian Kemp fires back at Joe Biden and his ‘handlers’

The Players: Georgia Governor Brian Kemp and President Joe Biden. The Issue: Kemp signed a massive 95-page election overhaul bill Thursday. The bill limits the amount of time Georgians have to request an absentee ballot, requires a photo ID to request an absentee ballot, and restricts absentee ballot boxes. Biden fired the first shot, calling the bill "Jim Crow in the 21st century." Biden's remarks prompted a clap back from Kemp, which was released in a statement Friday evening. Kemp's Response: Kemp responded with a criticism of Joe Biden and Biden's "handlers." You can read Kemp's statement in its entirety…

Georgia elections chief strikes back against top critic

The Players: Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger lashed out at lawyer Sidney Powell, who was an integral part of voter fraud claims against Georgia in the November election. The Background: Powell is being sued for defamation in federal court by Dominion Voting Systems for her role in former President Donald Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election. In her court filing, Powell said "no reasonable person would conclude" that her statements were "truly statements of fact." Raffensperger responded to the ideas expressed in Powell's filing in a statement released on Tuesday. Raffensperger's Statement: You can read Raffensperger's statement in…

Georgia official says Republicans need leadership, not election reform

The Players: Georgia's Lieutenant Governor Geoff Duncan appeared on Meet the Press with Chuck Todd to discuss Georgia's controversial election reform bills. About Geoff Duncan: Duncan, who is a Republican, has been critical of Donald Trump in the past. During the controversy surrounding the Nov. 6 election, Duncan was quoted as saying that the Republican party is bigger than one person, referring to Trump. He has criticized claims of voter fraud in Georgia. In December, Duncan said he believed misinformation about the election hurt the Republican brand and that the party was "certainly bigger than one person." The Quote: Here's…

Georgia lawmaker says people have been ‘brainwashed’ about slavery

The Gist: A Georgia lawmaker sparked controversy after remarks he made Thursday night on Georgia Public Broadcasting's "Lawmakers" show. The Players: Northwest Georgia state representative Tommy Benton was on "Lawmakers" debating Rep. Al Williams on a measure to replace a statue of the Vice-President of the Confederacy that sits at the U.S. Capitol with a statue of Civil Rights icon John Lewis. Benton is a Republican and Williams is a Democrat. The Quote: Benton, who was defending the statue of Confederate Vice-President Alexander Hamilton Stephens, was asked what he thought about the fact that some people are offended by confederate…

Georgia Senate Candidate Doug Collins slams Ruth Bader Ginsberg on abortion hours after her death

What happened: Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg died Friday night. Just hours after her death, Georgia Senate candidate Doug Collins slammed her on Twitter for her stance on abortion. The Tweet: Below is the Tweet from Doug Collins. https://twitter.com/CollinsforGA/status/1307129730961936386 Why it matters: It is generally accepted when a politician dies people refrain from criticism of the deceased. This common practice is seen in politics, in celebrity deaths and is extended to private citizens by their families. In the United States we have an expression not to "speak ill of the dead." Another reason this matters is that Doug Collins,…

Atlanta official says it was ‘startling’ to see unmasked crowds on Labor Day

Atlanta City Council President Felicia A. Moore said she was startled to see social media posts showing crowds of young people gathering without masks over Labor Day weekend. Moore felt so strongly about what she saw that she released a statement about it. You can read her statement below. “This Labor Day weekend, I spent time monitoring social media, indirectly observing the activities of our public safety personnel, and fielding concerns of stakeholders throughout the city. I would like to commend our police, fire, medical units, dispatch, corrections department and other personnel who labored this weekend in an effort to…

Georgia lawmaker under fire for scathing remarks about John Lewis

A Northeast Georgia state lawmaker was stripped of his Georgia House committee chairmanship Friday for belittling the late Congressman John Lewis’ legacy in a radio interview. It’s the second time Rep. Tommy Benton, R-Jefferson, has lost a leadership position in the General Assembly since June 2017, when he distributed an article promoting the idea that slavery did not cause the American Civil War. Speaking with WJJC radio on Friday, Benton dismissed growing support in Congress to replace the Alexander Stephens statue in Washington, D.C., with a monument honoring Lewis, stating he had “never read of a significant piece of legislation”…

Savannah Mayor: ‘Governor Kemp does not give a damn about us’

Savannah Mayor Van Johnson fired back at Gov. Brian Kemp Thursday in response to the governor's new COVID-19 executive order that suspends city and county mask mandates. Savannah was the first city in Georgia to adopt a mask mandate, despite a part of Kemp's original order that prevented cities from enacting measures above and beyond statewide restrictions. The new order not only prohibits local governments from enacting such measures, it specifically names mask use and suspends any mask requirements currently in place. Johnson didn't mince words in his rebuttal of Kemp's action. "It is officially official. Governor Kemp does not…

Atlanta’s mayor was asked to comment on Trump’s disinfectant injection suggestion. Here’s how she responded

Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms was a guest on CNN's New Day on Friday morning and was asked to comment on Donal Trump's suggestion at Thursday's Coronavirus Task Force Meeting that disinfectant could be injected into the body to treat coronavirus. Bottoms did not shy away from the question and after remarking that the whole situation was something out of the "Twilight Zone" elaborated on her frustration. "In a normal world, we'd be able to look to our president and receive sound guidance and advice. But instead we're now having to tell people not to ingest & inject your body…

The Public Record: Newt Gingrich was ‘disgusted and insulted’ by Nancy Pelosi ripping Trump’s speech

The tear heard 'round the world: At the end of President Donald Trump's State of the Union Address, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi ripped the printed copy of the speech. The move rallied liberals and enraged conservatives. The incident also placed Pelosi in the spotlight the next day and not Trump. The Aftermath: While pundits and politicians were quick to speak their mind about the shredded speech, one pundit with deep ties to Georgia who added his voice to the fray was former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich. Gingrich, as you may recall, represented Georgia's 6th Congressional District…

Now a Georgia democrat is using a toy gun in a campaign ad

They say imitation is the best form of flattery, but that may not apply in politics, especially when one's political opponent is doing the imitating. Matt Lieberman is a democrat who is running for Johnny Isakson's senate seat in 2020. He released an ad this week that parodies republican Gov. Brian Kemp's famous gun ad. For those who haven't been following local politics, Kemp released an ad during the 2018 gubernatorial primary that featured him quizzing "Jake," a boy who was interested in dating his daughter, about politics while Kemp is not-so-subtly cleaning his gun. Lieberman's new ad features Lieberman…