Georgia Today: Trump prepares to surrender; Surprise Kemp appearance at debate; Eye movement therapy

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Thursday, Aug. 24. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, former President Trump is expected to surrender to authorities at the Fulton County Jail this evening. Gov. Brian Kemp makes a surprise appearance at the Republican primary debate in Milwaukee. And how can eye movement therapy help people suffering from trauma? These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: Dozens of supporters of former President Donald Trump gathered outside the Atlanta jail today where Trump is expected to turn himself in to authorities tonight. GPB's Sarah Kallis was there.

Sarah Kallis: As Fulton County prepared for Trump to surrender himself on charges related to efforts to overturn Georgia's 2020 presidential election, his supporters protested in front of the jail. Daniel Demoura came to the protests from Boston. He says he fully supports Trump and does not believe the charges against him are legitimate, despite the evidence presented by the special grand jury.

Daniel Demoura: You know, I believe that these charges just shows that President Trump is really in between us and this corrupted judicial system. It just shows that he is the target.

Sarah Kallis: Eighteen of Trump's allies were also indicted in the case. For GPB News, I'm Sarah Kallis.

Caption

Fani Willis

Credit: AP Photo/John Bazemore

Story 2:

Peter Biello: Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is asking a court to set an October trial date for the 19 defendants in the case involving alleged criminal interference in Georgia's 2020 election. Willis previously proposed a March trial date. The new request, made this morning, would move the trial of former President Trump and his allies ahead of the busy presidential primary season.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Republican Sen. Matt Brass of Newnan is calling Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis' indictment of Trump and 18 others politically motivated. He says the new state Prosecuting Attorneys Oversight Commission should examine Willis's actions. The commission was created by a new state law. Appointed members can remove or sanction prosecutors found to have neglected their duties. Gov. Brian Kemp is slated to appoint the commission to begin work by Oct. 1.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Former President Donald Trump has hired a new Atlanta attorney to help him fight his Fulton County election interference indictment. GPB's Donna Lowry has more.

Donna Lowry: Veteran criminal defense attorney Steve Sadow is known for defending high-profile and celebrity clients, including musicians T.I., Rick Ross and Usher. Defense attorney and former Fulton County assistant DA Clint Rucker faced Sadow during the prosecution of a defendant in the trial of former football player Ray Lewis.

Clint Rucker: He is an absolute bulldog in a courtroom. Very tenacious. He is no nonsense, very aggressive. He understands the nuances with respect to the law to be able to take advantage of every single issue to benefit his client.

Donna Lowry: Sadow said in a statement that Trump, quote, "should never have been indicted. He is innocent of all the charges brought against him." He replaces attorney Drew Findling, who negotiated Trump's $200,000 bond. For GPB News, I'm Donna Lowry.

Peter Biello: Exclusively here on Georgia Today, we have more of Donna's conversation with attorney Clint Rucker about former President Trump's new lawyer, Steve Sadow.

Clint Rucker: You know, over the years, you know, we've talked many times. We've gotten to be on a personal level, I would say friends. But I know him to be a very, very formidable adversary for Fani Willis and her team. He's going to bring a different style to the defense of the former president. And so, you know, so Steve is — he's, he's going to be something else. He's a — he's a character in his own right. You know, he's represented people like T.I. You know, T.I. got charged a couple of years ago with an incident. I think he they suspected he was intoxicated and he had an altercation, you know, trying to get into a gated community. I think Steve Sadow also represents Rick Ross. You know who owns — who's living in Holyfield's house. He owns Holyfield's old house. He and Rick, I think, are really good friends. He's represented him on several cases. And, you know, and so forth and so on. So, you know, he's he's very, very experienced, Donna, you know, and he's very expensive.

Donna Lowry: Do you think his experience with RICO in Georgia is a factor in all of this, too?

Clint Rucker: Oh, absolutely. You know. You know, there are, you know, — and Donna, you know this just from the coverage you've done, you know, in our legal community here, they have probably, I would say on the outside edge probably less than 20 really high profile, really experienced criminal defense lawyers who've been doing it a long time, who have the capability to handle a really complex RICO case, either on a state level or on a federal level. Right? And so, you know, when you when you whittle that 20 down to maybe the top 10, clearly Steve Sadow is in the top 10. You know, he may be even in the top, you know, two or three. So I think it's going to be really interesting, you know, going forward. You know there's going to be, you know, behind the scenes, there'll be lawyering. It's what I call lawyering going on at a very high level. You know, you are talking about very smart people on both sides of the coin. You know, with respect to this prosecution. You know, certainly Fani is no, you know, small fish. And then on the other side of the coin, you know, we've got real prominent lawyers lining up, you know, to represent the people who are accused.

Peter Biello: Defendants Mark Meadows and Harrison Floyd surrendered to authorities at the Fulton County Jail today. Several others turned themselves in yesterday. The deadline for these defendants to turn themselves in is noon tomorrow.

Story 5:

Peter Biello: Gov. Brian Kemp made a surprise appearance at the Republican primary debate in Milwaukee yesterday. Kemp appeared on the conservative podcast Ruthless to repeat his criticisms of Trump.

Brian Kemp: I think the Trump campaign's making a big mistake by not being here. They are my loser tonight.

Peter Biello: Kemp is seen as a kingmaker in the GOP field, with several candidates courting his endorsement.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: A panel of state lawmakers is considering legislation that would make it illegal for teachers and any non parental adult from talking about gender identity with minors without a parent or guardian's consent. A hearing on the bill yesterday drew a parade of opponents, including some religious conservatives. Taylor Hawkins of Frontline Policy Action said the bill challenges the independence of private schools.

Taylor Hawkins: This bill, while not intending to do so, undermines parental rights and our code, accepts the indoctrination it tries to prevent and inserts the government into private schools' ability to operate free from government coercion.

Peter Biello: Transgender people, their parents and others argued the bill would further isolate already vulnerable young people. The bill's chief sponsor, Cordele Republican Carden Summers dismissed comparisons of the measure with the "Don't Say Gay" bill that Florida lawmakers passed last year.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The state agency that oversees Georgia's Medicaid program is asking for about $7 million for a new initiative aimed at improving oversight of the private companies that manage health care for Medicaid recipients. The Department of Community Health's board today approved seeking the funds as part of the agency's fiscal 2024 mid-year budget request. DCH officials say most of the money would go toward adding 49 positions to help the agency predict where the Medicaid program is headed, rather than being forced to react to budget needs.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: Intrusive thoughts. Anxiety attacks. Poor sleep. Traumatic experiences can haunt people, and many struggle to move past traumatic memories even through a range of therapies. But for some, one therapy using eye movement is helping turn past traumas into experiences to learn from and let go of. GPB's Ellen Eldridge reports.

Ellen Eldridge: A traumatic brain injury and paralysis left former Marine Jess Geyerman with nightmare-plagued insomnia and depression. Traditional talk therapy wasn't working. Neither did antidepressants or ketamine. So today he's trying something new called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing therapy, or EMDR. Geyerman is already struggling when his 10 a.m. appointment begins.

Jess Geyerman: I just I woke up to the news this morning that a friend of mine killed himself and I — I'm not having a great day.

Ellen Eldridge: We won't hear Geyerman's full session to respect his privacy. But therapist Marlo Taylor says the first step in an EMDR session is picking a traumatic moment to focus on — to visualize in the mind. Taylor explains how the technique works.

Marlo Taylor: The client holds that image in mind along with the negative cognition that's associated with it. So something like, "I'm not good enough, I'm helpless. I'm stuck."

Ellen Eldridge: Then the therapist asks the client to track her, moving fingers with his eyes. Every few minutes they talk about feelings.

Marlo Taylor: So some clients may feel a tightness in their chest or that their throat feels like it's closing or their hands feel clammy.

Ellen Eldridge: Taylor reminds clients that, quote, "Feelings aren't facts," but those feelings felt in the body do reinforce how we remember traumatic experiences. Think about how you might tense your shoulders after an unpleasant memory. EMDR focuses on resetting that connection between the body and the brain.

Marlo Taylor: At the same time, allowing the client to reprocess a memory that was improperly stored.

Ellen Eldridge: Angie Heath is the community coordinator for Georgia's EMDR network of about 150 certified specialists. But she estimates hundreds of therapists throughout the state are using EMDR techniques for people with PTSD.

Angie Heath: These are really pretty horrific memories that people hold. So we always know that they're going to have some type of emotional charge. They're going to be sad, they're going to be hard to look at, and nobody's ever going to take 9/11 and think, "Oh, it wasn't that bad." Like it was intense.

Ellen Eldridge: Back in his EMDR session. Jess Geyerman says he opted not to start with the most intense memory.

Jess Geyerman: I know it's not like in my top 10 traumatic moments. It was a great thing to start with.

Ellen Eldridge: Yeah, I agree. After therapy, Geyerman says he's amazed. And as incredible as this might sound, he says he could feel therapy working even before the session was over.

Jess Geyerman: I didn't anticipate it being as effective as it was, not in such a short period. I'm — I've got a lot of optimism about this going forward. That was pretty profound.

Ellen Eldridge: That was months ago. Geyerman says he's been using eye movement desensitization therapy and working through memories one by one since then. He says he's still amazed. For GPB News, I'm Ellen Eldridge.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: A strong mix of corporate and leisure demand are contributing to a steady performance in Georgia's hotel market. That's according to a quarterly report on the state's hotel industry released yesterday by analysts at Colliers. The report finds that financial hardships continue to plague Atlanta's hotel market while Savannah and Augusta are showing higher per room revenues. It also shows a sharp decrease in new room supply attributed to economic headwinds.

Story 10:

Peter Biello: An Atlanta-based private equity firm is buying fast food giant Subway. The sandwich chain said today that it's being sold to Roark Capital, a company with expertise in restaurant management. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But this could help Subway expand and improve its stores. Mark is a major investor behind multiple restaurant chains, including Arby's, Dunkin' and Buffalo Wild Wing.

Story 11:

Peter Biello: The Atlanta Braves beat the New York Mets last night, 7 to 0. Marcell Ozuna homered for his third consecutive game, driving in four RBIs. Charlie Morton threw seven innings, striking out 11 and allowing only two hits. Morton says his pitches had life and deception, meaning those pitches were more about fooling a batter than about hitting specific parts of the strike zone.

Charlie Morton: When there is the life there, when there is a deception. I get away with more, and I think that's what, as a starting pitcher, at least, for the most part, most of us, it's all about getting away with our misses.

Peter Biello: Morton threw a season-high 109 pitches last night. Manager Brian Snitker says Morton's discipline and professionalism allowed him to pitch so deep into games at 39, an advanced age for pitchers. As for Morton, he attributes at least some of his success to eating an over-salted meal the night before his starts. Years ago, he was advised to over-salt his food to avoid cramps he'd been feeling on the mound.

Charlie Morton: I'm not a dietitian. I'm not giving anyone advice. But since then, I mean, really, I don't know what to tell you, but I've over-salted my food the day before I started, and I haven't really dealt with many issues like that since. Shoot, for all I know, it extended my career.

Peter Biello: Whether it's salty food or discipline or a combination of the two, we can't say. But we can say that it was Morton's third consecutive scoreless outing, tallying 18 innings in which his opponents just can't get around the bases. Morton and his fellow hurlers get a day of rest today before the Braves face the Giants in San Francisco tomorrow. Spencer Strider is expected to get the start.

And that is it for this edition of Georgia Today. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, head on over to our web site, 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. If you have feedback or a story idea; a comment you'd like to make, we'd love to hear from you. Send us an email. 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.

Read the latest updates on the Georgia indictments here.