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☆ Fulton County faces ransomware attack by ‘financially motivated actors,’ but county elections still on track
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-14 | by ( Sean Lyngaas | Alta Spells | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Officials in Georgia’s Fulton County, which includes parts of Atlanta, said Wednesday that “financially motivated” hackers appeared to be behind a ransomware attack that has disrupted key county services for weeks. The leak will only up the stakes for Fulton County to get a handle on a cyberattack that has hobbled services for weeks. The group that claimed Fulton County as a victim is a prolific group known as LockBit. It’s unclear if there has been any communication between Fulton County and the hackers. Fulton County’s ransomware attack comes amid a years-long effort by the US government to limit the damage of ransomware attacks on local governments, hospitals and other critical infrastructure.

Persons: “, Robb Pitts, Pitts, Fani Willis, Donald Trump, ” Pitts, LockBit, Fulton County’s, Cybercriminals, ” Alexander Leslie Organizations: CNN, Fulton, LockBit, Commercial Bank of China Locations: Georgia’s Fulton County, Atlanta, Fulton County, ” Fulton County, Fulton, Fulton County , Georgia

☆ Fulton County government outage: Cyberattack brings down phones, court site and tax systems
▼ + stars: | 2024-01-30 | by ( Alta Spells | Sean Lyngaas | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —An ongoing cyberattack against Georgia’s Fulton County, which includes parts of Atlanta, has brought some of the government’s systems to a standstill, halting access to court filings, tax processing and other services. The office of the county’s District Attorney Fani Willis lost access to its phones, internet and the court system website, according to a source with direct knowledge of the matter. The communication, court and tax systems have all been brought down, said Fulton County Board of Commissioners Chairman Robb Pitts in a news briefing Monday. A source with first-hand knowledge in Fulton County told CNN the internet and Odyssey court access are down as well. “We at Fulton County take cybersecurity seriously and we place a high priority on the protection of sensitive information,” Pitts said.

Persons: Fani Willis, Willis, Donald Trump, Robb Pitts, Pitts, ” Pitts, “, ” Organizations: CNN, Georgia’s, county’s Department of Information Technology, FBI, Fulton, IT, The Atlanta, Baltimore Sun, Baltimore Locations: Georgia’s Fulton County, Atlanta, county’s, Fulton County, Baltimore, New Mexico’s, Albuquerque, US

The Senate voted 30-19 along party lines Friday for Senate Bill 358, sending it to the House for more debate. The chamber's Republican majority also on Friday pushed through a proposal to ban ranked-choice voting in Georgia on a 31-19 party-line vote. Raffensperger, also a Republican, says it is unconstitutional for the Senate to give the State Election Board the power to oversee an elected official. Activists have been pushing the State Election Board to investigate whether Raffensperger mishandled his audit of Fulton County’s 2020 results, motivated by unproven claims of fraud. Parent said the bill is pointless because ranked-choice voting is only allowed in Georgia today on overseas ballots.

Persons: —, Brad Raffensperger's, Bill, Raffensperger, ”, Charlene McGowan, Sen, Max Burns, Burns, Chris Carr, Fulton, Joe Biden, Donald Trump, Trump, Lower, uncounted, Republican Sen, Randy Robertson, Cataula, Robertson, Elena Parent, Parent Organizations: ATLANTA, Republican, Senate, Sylvania Republican, Raffensperger, Board, Democratic, Republican Georgia, Atlanta Democrat, ” Locations: — Georgia's, Georgia, Atlanta, ” Florida, Idaho , Montana , South Dakota, Tennessee

Skinner is running for reelection to the City Council of Johns Creek, an Atlanta suburb of about 85,000. In 2020, they were pivotal in Democrat Joe Biden's close victory over Trump, the Republican incumbent, in the president election. “President Trump is obviously divisive,” said Skinner in a interview, insisting the endorsement “was about the veterans” rather than Trump himself. I don’t want to become Atlanta,” said Kramer, the Johns Creek Republican. Johns Creek is about 52% non-Hispanic white.

Persons: Stacy Skinner, “, Donald Trump, Skinner, ”, Devon Dabney, Betsy Kramer, “ I'm, ” Kramer, “ I’m, Democrat Joe Biden's, Brad Raffensperger, Brian Kemp, Trump, It’s, Sarah Reckhow, Dabney, ” Dabney, Johns, Kramer, I’m, Jason Miller, ” Miller, Allen Sells, “ I’ve, Miller, Sells, Bridget Thorne, She’s Organizations: Veterans, Trump, Republicans, City Council, Republican, Democrat, Republican Party, Georgia, Raffensperger, Michigan State University, Democratic, Civil Rights Movement, Johns, . Census, City Locations: China, Mexico, Johns Creek, Atlanta, Fulton County, Fulton, Georgia's, lockstep, Washington, Georgia, U.S, America, Johns, Black, Boston, ”, Roswell, “

☆ Opinion: Why Lindsey Graham wasn’t indicted
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-11 | by ( Dennis Aftergut | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

(It shouldn’t be confused with the regular grand jury, whose duty it was to decide whether to indict those under criminal investigation.) The special grand jury completed its duties in December. Using the extra layer of a special grand jury is often reserved for complex corruption cases. There are multiple explanations for why some people may not have been indicted despite the special grand jury’s recommendations. Willis may simply have not presented to the regular grand jury some individuals she considered less than provably guilty.

Persons: Dennis Aftergut, Fani Willis, Donald Trump, Trump, Trump’s, Sen, Lindsey Graham of, David Perdue, Kelly Loeffler, Michael Flynn, Boris Epshteyn, Cleta Mitchell, Fulton County’s, Perdue, “, indicting, Loeffler, Graham, Willis, Flynn, Epshteyn, Mitchell, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows, ” Organizations: Defending American Democracy, CNN, Fulton County, Trump, Georgia, New York City, Trump White House, Twitter Locations: Fulton, Georgia, Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Sens, New York

CNN —A federal judge on Friday rejected former White House chief of staff Mark Meadows’ bid to move his Georgia criminal case to federal court, a significant setback for Meadows and a troubling sign for former President Donald Trump. Meadows was the first of five defendants who already filed motions to move the case to federal court – and Trump is expected to do so, too. ‘Outside Meadows’ federal role’The indictment identifies eight overt acts Meadows allegedly took in furtherance of the scheme to overturn the 2020 election results. Meadows argued that these actions were part of his federal duties – and thus, the case should be moved to federal court – but Jones disagreed. independent of its conclusion” in the Meadows case, Jones wrote.

Persons: Mark Meadows, Donald Trump, Steve Jones, Meadows, ”, Jones, Obama, –, Trump, Fulton, ” Jones, Brad Raffensperger, Joe, “, Fani Willis ’, Jeffrey Clark, David Shafer, Cathy Latham, – Shawn Still, Shafer, Latham, would’ve, “ It’s, ” Meadows, Raffensperger, ” Raffensperger Organizations: CNN, White House, Meadows, US, White, Staff, Circuit, Appeals, Georgia, Trump, Fulton, Prosecutors, DOJ, GOP, Former Georgia Republican, GOP Coffee, House, Republican Locations: Georgia, Fulton County, Meadows, ”, Meadows ’, New York, Trump’s, United States, Fulton

This will be the first time that substantive arguments will be made in court about the four criminal cases brought against Trump this year. While he may still face an uphill battle to move his case, Meadows is “uniquely situated” in Willis’ case, said Steve Vladeck, a CNN analyst and professor at the University of Texas School of Law. The orders the judge has already issued have hewed tightly to the relevant statutes and case law, and he has moved the proceedings along efficiently. According to the grand jury indictment, Meadows arranged a call between Trump and Watson, and texted Watson himself to offer Trump campaign funding toward speeding up a ballot review in Fulton County. Willis also subpoenaed two lawyers who were on the Trump-Raffensperger phone call on Trump’s behalf: Kurt Hilbert and Alex Kaufman.

Persons: Fani Willis, Donald Trump, Mark Meadows, Fulton, Willis, Trump, Brad Raffensperger, Meadows, David Shafer, Cathy Latham, Willis ’, Steve Vladeck, ” Vladeck, Steve Jones, Jones, absented, ”, Lee Kovarsky, ” Kovarsky, Obama, Vladeck, Frances Watson, Watson, texted Watson, Kurt Hilbert, Alex Kaufman, “, Elliot Williams, ’ Organizations: CNN, White, Trump, Georgia, Georgia Republican, University of Texas School of Law, Meadows, Staff, University of Texas, Justice Department Locations: Fulton County, Georgia, Meadows, Trump’s New York, Manhattan, Atlanta

The case is the fourth time criminal charges have been brought against former President Donald J. Trump this year, but Thursday was the first time that he was booked at a jail and had his mug shot taken. Mr. Trump spent about 20 minutes at the Fulton County Jail, submitting to some of the routines of criminal defendant intake. He was given an identification number — P01135809 — in the Fulton County criminal justice system. He was finished in 20 minutes and on his way back to the airport, where his private plane was waiting. That weight is 24 pounds less than the White House doctor reported Mr. Trump weighing in 2018.

Persons: Donald J, Trump, Trump’s Organizations: House Locations: Fulton, Fulton County, Fulton County’s

☆ Live updates: The latest news on Trump and the Fulton County, Georgia, election case
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Aditi Sangal | Mike Hayes | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

Fani Willis, the Fulton County district attorney, in Atlanta on August 30, 2022. Audra Melton/The New York Times/ReduxFani Willis had only been in office as Fulton County district attorney for a day when former President Donald Trump phoned Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger urging him to “find” votes to overturn the 2020 presidential election results on Jan. 2, 2021. She had campaigned on the premise of restoring integrity to the Fulton County district attorney’s office, was elected after ousting six-term incumbent Paul Howard and inherited a stack of backlogged cases from her predecessor. According to a South Atlanta Magazine profile, she worked in the private sector for five years before becoming assistant district attorney for Fulton County in 2001. Read more about the district attorney here.

Persons: Fani Willis, Audra Melton, Donald Trump, Brad Raffensperger, Paul Howard, Fulton County’s, Donald Trump’s, Young Thug, Willis, “, ” Willis, Read Organizations: New York Times, Georgia, Howard University, Emory School of Law, South Atlanta Magazine, Atlanta Public School Locations: Fulton County, Atlanta, Georgia, California, Washington, DC

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