Georgia Today: Trump indicted in Fulton County; 'Cop City' referendum update; Maui relief effort

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Tuesday, Aug. 15. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, a Fulton County court indicts former President Donald Trump for trying to overturn the 2020 election. A federal judge denies the city of Atlanta's request to halt the "Stop Cop City" referendum petition; And Georgia Red Cross volunteers head to Maui to help with recovery efforts after devastating wildfires. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Former President Donald Trump and 18 others have been indicted and charged with felonies in a Fulton County court for their failed attempts to overturn the 2020 election. GPB's Stephen Fowler has more.

Stephen Fowler: After a full day of hearing the case, a Fulton County grand jury handed up indictments against Donald Trump and 18 allies for their parts and trying to subvert the presidential election outcome in Georgia. There are 41 total counts of breaking the law, but all are combined under the state's racketeering statute. District Attorney Fani Willis said. Those acts constituted a criminal enterprise and those named are charged with seeking to:

District Attorney Fani Willis: To accomplish the illegal goal of allowing Donald J. Trump to seize the presidential term of office beginning on Jan. 20, 2021.

Stephen Fowler: Others charged include former Georgia GOP chair David Shafer, former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows. In all, the 98-page indictment covers multiple attempts to overturn the 2020 election. For GPB News, I'm Stephen Fowler at the Fulton County Courthouse.

Story 2:

Peter Biello: In response to the Fulton County DA's indictments, Gov. Brian Kemp posted on social media that, quote, "The 2020 election in Georgia was not stolen," saying elections in Georgia are secure, accessible and fair. GPB's Donna Lowry reports on reactions from Georgia's political party leaders.

Donna Lowry: The current chairman of the Georgia Republican Party, Josh McCown, says he's hurt and angry.

Josh McCown: We don't settle political disputes in America by using the criminal justice system to go after a political opponent. I'm particularly upset about a lot of Georgians who have been pulled into this who simply wanted to be able to preserve President Trump's ability to fight his election contest in court.

Donna Lowry: Democratic Party of Georgia Chair Congresswoman Nikema Williams released a statement saying "Anyone who tries to silence or subvert the voice of the people at the ballot box is attacking the very foundation of our democracy." She ended her remarks with "Georgians will watch him face accountability." For GPB News, I'm Donna Lowry.

Peter Biello: Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger also weighed in on the indictments. He said in a statement, quote, "The most basic principles of a strong democracy are accountability and respect for the Constitution and rule of law. You either have it or you don't." In a recorded phone call, then-President Donald Trump pressured Raffensperger in 2021 to, quote, "find" enough votes to give him a victory in Georgia.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: A court ruling has extended the deadline to collect signatures in the "Cop City" vote campaign. So far, organizers fighting against a new police training center have collected 80,000 signatures, but they plan to keep going. GPB's Amanda Andrews has more.

Amanda Andrews: Canvass teams have said Aug. 21 is the deadline to reach the new goal of 100,000 signatures. Mary Hooks is a leader with Cop City Vote. She says despite the challenges of the referendum system, they will succeed.

Mary Hooks: Requirements of who can sign and or who can't sign it has made it a challenge. And we are not above a challenge. You know, we're here for it because we know that our people, our communities, our environment are worth the sacrifice.

Amanda Andrews: State law requires just over 58,000 signatures to get the measure on the ballot. But organizers are gathering more in case of any challenges by the city of Atlanta. Michelle Sanchez is canvasing in Latino communities where they're fighting misinformation.

Michelle Sanchez: I heard that "it doesn't even matter if I do sign because the mayor said it doesn't." And so having to, you know, let them know that it absolutely does matter, because if we are able to get this on the ballot, then voters will be the ones who decide where their money is being used.

Amanda Andrews: After the deadline, the city clerk has 50 days to verify the signatures. A vote could come as soon as November. For GPB News, I'm Amanda Andrews.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Controversial new rules for teacher training that leave out words like "diversity," "equity" and "inclusion" take effect today. The rules replace those words with phrases including "fair access," "opportunity" and "advancement for all students." The Georgia Professional Standards Commission adopted the new rules earlier this summer. Supporters say the changes were adopted to avoid confusion, but opponents say they are sowing confusion among teachers.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Today is the 45th anniversary of the creation of the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area. The law signed by President Jimmy Carter in 1978 provided for the preservation and protection of the river. Sally Bethea, former Chattahoochee River keeper, says with this law Carter helped protect natural spaces from development.

Sally Bethea: Our rivers don't need to be lined with private property. Public space is what Jimmy Carter gave us for this river, and it's helped protect the river as well. The water quality.

Peter Biello: The Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area saw more than 3.5 million visitors in 2022 and ranked 21st in the country in number of visitors to national parks just behind Yosemite.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: Volunteers from the American Red Cross of Georgia are in Hawaii as recovery efforts continue following devastating fires. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports, so far, nearly 100 people are confirmed dead.

Ellen Eldridge: Seven disaster trained volunteers are working in temporary shelters, providing evacuees a safe place to stay, food to eat and emotional support while preparing to expand relief efforts if needed. The biggest need right now is finding housing for all those people displaced by the fires. Volunteers are also assisting residents in reconnecting with displaced family members. Overall, 250 Red Cross volunteers are on the ground in Hawaii. For GPB News. I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: Atlanta-based Home Depot topped profit and sales expectations in its most recent quarter. However, the home improvement retailer says sales continued to decline as inflation and soaring interest rates play a larger role in the spending choices made by Americans. Despite the stronger-than-expected sales figures. Home Depot is sticking to previous guidance for the year, seeing sales decline between two and 5%, and that is after lowering its forecast in the last quarter. It's the first time the chain has forecast declining annual sales since 2009, when the U.S. economy was decimated by a massive housing bubble.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The indictment of former President Trump and 18 associates yesterday encompasses a variety of misdeeds that Fulton County DA Fani Willis says add up to a wide-ranging conspiracy. She charged them under Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt organizations, or RICO law. For more insight into this case, we turn to attorney Clint Rucker. He's a veteran prosecutor who now works with Garland, Samuel and Loeb in Atlanta, handling criminal defense matters and trial cases. He's also a judge presiding in the city of East Point and the city of South Fulton. Clint Rucker, welcome to the program.

Clint Rucker: Thank you very much for having me.

Peter Biello: In this nearly 100-page indictment, what stands out to you about the strength of this case?

Clint Rucker: The thing that really jumped out at me was the factual specificity with respect to the allegations in the indictment. It says to me that this district attorney's office and her team really, really took their time and developed the case such that, despite many of the complaints I have heard about how long the investigation took, I would say it's better to be safe than sorry. And certainly this indictment demonstrates to me that they have crossed every "T" and dotted every "I".

Peter Biello: OK. And do you see any major challenges on the road ahead for the prosecution?

Clint Rucker: Well, you know, there are always challenges because the burden rests with the prosecutors to prove each and every essential element in the indictment beyond a reasonable doubt. That is not a very easy standard to meet. And certainly, given the other outside dynamics, you know, the status of the defendants and certainly lots of the publicity that has surrounded this case and other cases, I would expect that they're going to be challenges for this DA's office to successfully present this case. But historically, that office has handled high profile, very complex cases before in the past. They've been very successful with those presentations. And so I would certainly expect no less in this case.

Caption

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is leading an investigation into attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.

Credit: John Bazemore | AP

Peter Biello: And Fulton County DA Fani Willis has brought RICO charges before in other cases. Do you have any insight into how effective she is at getting convictions under this statute in particular?

Clint Rucker: Certainly, DA Willis and myself Co-presented the only RICO case prior to this one that was ever brought by the Fulton County DA's office that occurred in 2015 with respect to the Atlanta Public Schools cheating case. And and at that time, the RICO statute had not been previously used by that office to bring about criminal charges. And so we both underwent a very intense level of education and training with respect to understanding the RICO act itself in Georgia and also how it can be used and to obtain, you know, successful results in — in criminal cases. And so I would say she's extremely familiar with the statute. She has historically been a prosecutor that has a tremendous amount of success as a litigator. I find her to be very thoughtful and very thorough with respect to her analysis, with complex legal issues. She is well positioned to present this case in a very, very complete and comprehensive manner.

Peter Biello: Let me ask you about some of the details of this nearly 100-page indictment. Some of the acts described here occurred out of state. Former President Donald Trump and his allies pressured elected officials in, for example, Arizona and Pennsylvania, much like he famously pressured Georgia Secretary of — Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. How much does it matter that some of these actions occurred outside of Georgia?

Clint Rucker: Not much. You know, that is the benefit of using the RICO act. It allows you to bring in other acts in other instances. And they may not necessarily be crimes, but they can be presented in a comprehensive way to give you an overall global picture about how each of these persons would have been engaged in a conspiracy in order to interfere with Georgia's election — electoral process. And so the fact that they are bringing in incidents from out of state, I think shows the breadth and the depth under which the investigation took. And it will give the jurors a complete picture.

Peter Biello: There are as many as 30 unindicted coconspirators referenced in this indictment. What roles might those people play in the case going forward? I know you might not know each of them individually, but in general, like what would an undated coconspirator mean to the rest of this case?

Clint Rucker: Right. So an unindicted coconspirator normally means a person who will serve in another capacity with respect to the case. So that could mean as a witness, it could mean that that person is actually cooperating with the DA's office. And, you know, their information would be used, you know, in the presentation of the case. And so the fact that they are unnamed in the indictment, eventually their identities will come to light. And so I would expect that at some point we would learn who they are and what connection they actually have to the case.

Peter Biello: The case has been assigned to Judge Scott McAfee. Can you tell us about him in his work as a judge?

Clint Rucker: Sure. Well, first, let me say that Judge McAfee is — is a great guy. He's a great person. I know him personally. We worked together for several years in the Fulton County DA's office. Our offices were actually right across the hall from each other at one point. And I found him to be very affable. He's very smart. He's very thoughtful, and he's thorough in terms of how he handles the business of analyzing complex legal issues. And so I've had the privilege of actually appearing before him in my role as a defense attorney when he was appointed as judge to the superior court bench in Fulton County. And I found his court demeanor to be very, very good. He's very cordial and and he runs his courtroom with great efficiency. He's got a great staff. And so I don't think this case will be over his head. He will prepare himself to handle lots of the nuances that comes from, you know, overseeing a case of this magnitude. And so certainly, I think the judge will have the ability to oversee it and make sure that fairness is in play for both sides.

Peter Biello: Mm hmm. Attorney Clint Rucker is a veteran prosecutor who now works with Garland, Samuel and Loeb in Atlanta, handling criminal defense matters and trial cases. He's also a judge presiding in the city of Eastpointe in the city of South Fulton. Thank you very much for speaking with me.

Clint Rucker: Thank you very much.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: In sports, the Atlanta Braves recalled infielder Vaughn Grissom from AAA Gwinnett ahead of their game against the New York Yankees tonight. The Braves beat the Yankees 11-3 yesterday. Grissom lost out for the starting shortstop job during spring training, but was promoted after the Braves placed second baseman Ozzie Albies on the 10-day injured list with a left hamstring strain. Mickey Lopez had three hits and drove in three runs while replacing Albies last night. It's the first game Albies missed all season.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: We've mentioned before, but worth repeating that GPB has a new podcast called Narrative Edge, hosted by me and Orlando Montoya, some of your favorite public radio book nerds. We know you have many. In this podcast, we introduce you to authors, their writings and the insights behind their work. We mix them up with our own thoughts and ideas on just what gives these books the narrative edge. On this week's episode, we talk with author Jonathan Eig and discuss his book, King: A Life. It's the first major biography of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in decades. Eig told us how he tackled writing about Martin Luther King's "I Have a Dream" speech, a speech that has been analyzed many, many times.

Jonathan Eig: Well, there's a problem with this storytelling that I encountered: How am I going to write about the I Have a Dream speech in a way that feels as powerful as the dream speech itself. I can't I cannot, on the printed page, convey the magic, the power, the majesty of that speech. So I had to do something different. I had to think about being creative. And I decided to take the lens off of Dr. King and show how that speech echoes with the people in the crowd. So I wove in three stories, really the story of Dr. King and the words and the speech he's giving, along with the story of a teenage girl from Chicago, Francine Washington — who just at the last minute got on a train with a bottle of Coke and a change of underwear in her backpack and decided that she was going to come there because she was inspired by what she saw King doing — who's a Black girl. And she wanted to believe that King could actually change her life. The other third person I wove in is the white bodyguard who's standing next to King as he gives the speech. If you look in the photos, you'll see there's this tall guy in a park ranger hat. His name is Gunny Gunja. And I thought, "Who's that guy? Why is he in every photo of King giving his speech?" And at one point, if you watch the video, Gunny reaches in and adjusts the microphone in the middle of the speech. Who has got the nerve to stick his arm in front of Dr. King when he's giving the greatest speech of his life? But Gunny did. So I tracked him down to and talked about what it was like for a white man who had never met a Black person until he went into the Army. What was it like for him? How did that speech change his life? So I wove those three stories into the chapter.

Peter Biello: King: A Life is filled with new information and perspectives from living witnesses, information from declassified documents and portions of unheard audio recordings. You can find Narrative Edge at GPB.org/NarrativeEdge or listen and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts.

And that's it for today's edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And if you haven't yet subscribed to this podcast, do it now. We'll be back in your podcast feed tomorrow afternoon. And as always, if you've got feedback, we'd love to hear from you. Email us. The address is GeorgiaToday@GPB.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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For more on these stories and more, go to GPB.org/news