Georgia Today: Trump claims presidential immunity; Man convicted of Riley murder seeks new trial

Peter Biello: Welcome to the Georgia Today podcast from GPB News. Today is Wednesday, Dec. 4. I'm Peter Biello. On today's episode, President-elect Trump claims presidential immunity in his Georgia election interference case. The man convicted of killing a Georgia nursing student asks for a new trial. And Conyers residents push to revoke BioLab's business license after a toxic fire. These stories and more are coming up on this edition of Georgia Today.

Story 1:

Peter Biello: President elect Donald Trump is asking a Georgia appeals court to throw out the state's prosecution against him. In a court filing today, a Trump attorney argues the president-elect is immune from state or federal criminal proceedings. It says Trump's November reelection gives Georgia courts no jurisdiction to hear the case. Trump and 18 others were charged in August 2023 in a sprawling indictment, accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to overturn Trump's loss to Joe Biden in 2020. Trump pleaded not guilty and denied any wrongdoing. The filing came hours after one of Trump's co-defendants, his former campaign lawyer Kenneth Chesebro, asked a Fulton County judge overseeing the case to invalidate his guilty plea on a conspiracy charge.

Caption

Defense attorneys Kaitlyn Beck shuffles papers in a folder as Jose Ibarra, center, accused of killing a nursing student, Laken Hope Riley, appears in court for a motion hearing on Friday, Oct. 11, 2024, in Athens, Ga.

Credit: AP Photo/Brynn Anderson, Pool, File

Story 2:

Peter Biello: The Venezuelan man convicted of murder in the killing of Georgia nursing student Laken Riley is asking for a new trial. Attorneys for Jose Ibarra this week filed a motion seeking to overturn the guilty verdict. Texas-based criminal defense attorney and legal analyst Sam Bassett says such motions are common in serious cases like Ibarra's.

Sam Bassett: It gives you an extension of time to file an appeal, a notice of appeal. So it's — it buys you some time, but it also preserves your right to argue to the trial court to reverse the verdict.

Peter Biello: Ibarra was sentenced to life in prison without parole for the February killing that became a flashpoint in the national debate over immigration.

Story 3:

Peter Biello: Residents impacted by the BioLab Chemical fire in Conyers, east of Atlanta, are demanding state and national policymakers take action to protect communities from hazardous materials. Local activists are joining with residents of East Palestine, Ohio, where a Norfolk Southern train derailment last year released toxic chemicals into the community. Representatives for both groups spoke yesterday at a news conference at the state capitol. Conyers resident Ifat Walker says a first step would be to revoke BioLab's business license.

Ifat Walker: We want accountability on every single level. Are we placing blame on any specific elected official directly? We are saying that you have a responsibility.

Peter Biello: Although BioLab has partially reopened, manufacturing has not resumed. Rockdale County sued the company in October, aiming to hold it accountable for the September fire that led to evacuations and health concerns.

Story 4:

Peter Biello: Metro Atlanta's public transit agency is reporting no injuries, but major delays after one of its trains derailed this morning. The agency, MARTA, says 16 passengers on board the train were safely moved to another train after a set of wheels, quote, "lost contact with the rail." Rail service was suspended on a three mile stretch of track, requiring all eastbound or westbound passengers to reroute onto buses. MARTA says it notified state and federal authorities about the derailment and is investigating how it happened.

Credit: Pexels

Story 5:

Peter Biello: State lawmakers are considering options to help parents with child care costs. GPB's Chase McGee has more on what child care providers and policy experts are telling them.

Chase McGee: The Georgia Senate's Committee on Affordable Child Care wrapped up months of testimony this week. Jana Fox owns and operates Learning Treehouse, a child care center in Rincon near Savannah. She told panel members that if anyone's getting rich from day care, it's not the teachers watching the kids.

Jana Fox: The truth is that child care small business owners like me are struggling. Our staff are working harder than ever, but we are constantly at the risk of losing them to higher-paying jobs in other fields.

Chase McGee: Policy experts suggested using Georgia's $11 billion surplus to create a child care trust fund and easing regulations on child care providers, among other options. The committee is expected to release its preferred alternatives later this month before the Legislature convenes in January. For GPB news, I'm Chase McGee.

Story 6:

Peter Biello: State lawmakers investigating artificial intelligence are calling on their colleagues to take a balanced approach to the technology. Members of a Georgia Senate study panel this week released a report outlining 22 policy recommendations they hope the General Assembly takes up in the legislative session that begins in January. Acworth's state senator, Republican Ed Seltzer, says the aim is to provide guardrails on the technology while not stifling innovation.

Ed Seltzer: We're not approaching this with a regulatory mindset. We're approaching this as a thing that sometimes government does best what it does least.

Peter Biello: The report calls for AI business incentives, among other suggestions.

Story 7:

Peter Biello: The State Public Service Commission voted yesterday to certify Georgia Power's plan to build battery energy storage systems at four locations. Two of the new facilities will be close to Robins Air Force Base in Houston County and Moody Air Force Base in Lowndes County. Georgia Power says the system can store energy produced when demand for electricity is lower and return it to the grid when demand is higher. The Atlanta-based utility says the proposal will add 500 megawatts of electrical generating capacity.

Story 8:

Peter Biello: The recently reelected district attorney in Tifton has died. DA Bryce Johnson served as state prosecutor in four south Georgia counties. Tift, Irwin, Turner and Worth. He was first elected in 2020 and was about to start a second term in office. Gov. Brian Kemp and Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr both issued statements mourning the loss. Assistant DA Patrick Warren will step into his role on an interim basis until Kemp names a successor.

Story 9:

Peter Biello: An Atlanta area news publishers is acquiring Georgia's largest LGBTQ media outlet. Rough Draft Atlanta says it's taking over Georgia Voice. Rough Draft publishes six free monthly newspapers and will take Georgia Voice monthly as well. Georgia Voice currently publishes two papers a month. Its content will transfer to the Rough Draft website in January.

And that's a wrap on this edition of Georgia Today. Thank you so much for tuning in. If you want to learn more about any of these stories, visit GPB.org/news. And don't forget to subscribe to this podcast. That's a great way to stay on top of the news. When you hit that subscribe button, we'll pop up in your podcast feed automatically every weekday afternoon. And if you've got feedback, we're all ears — or eyes. We'll be reading your emails. You can send us that feedback via email to GeorgiaToday@gpb.org. I'm Peter Biello. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

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