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☆ Opinion: Fani Willis and Nathan Wade need to step aside for the sake of the country
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-15 | by ( Opinion William Cooper | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

“The optics are horrific,” Fulton County Judge Robert McBurney said about the fundraiser before disqualifying Willis and her staff from pursuing charges against Jones in July 2022. More recently, Willis admitted to having a “personal relationship” with Nathan Wade, a special prosecutor she hired to help with Trump’s prosecution. Wade hasn’t just billed Fulton County over $650,000 under Willis’ supervision; he’s done so in irregular fashion. Combined with his personal relationship with Willis, they raise significant questions, including whether any of his outsized earnings have benefited Willis. If Willis and Wade step aside, other competent lawyers can make the case that Trump violated the law.

Persons: William Cooper, Substack, Donald Trump, Fani Willis, Sen, Burt Jones, Willis, Robert McBurney, disqualifying Willis, Jones, Nathan Wade, Michael Roman’s, Wade, Attorney Willis, Trump’s, Brad Raffensperger, “, ” Trump, Raffensperger, team’s misjudgments, Wade’s, Wade hasn’t, Willis ’, ”, Scott McAfee, Trump, it’s Organizations: CNN, District, Republican, Trump, Attorney, Fulton County prosecutorial Locations: California, Fulton County , Georgia, Republican Georgia, Fulton County, United States, Georgia, Fulton

☆ 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

☆ Tex McIver — an Atlanta attorney sentenced to life — may walk out of prison after admitting he killed his wife
▼ + stars: | 2024-02-04 | by ( Christina Maxouris | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +14 min

Behind Diane sat her husband, Claud Lee “Tex” McIver, an attorney with powerful political connections, with a gun in his lap. Claud "Tex" McIver enters the courtroom holding a bible filled with papers before his sentencing at the Fulton County courthouse in Atlanta in May 2018. A family photo of Tex McIver and his wife, Diane. “There is no doubt that Tex McIver depended on his wife’s money,” defense attorney Bruce Harvey said in trial. Tex McIver pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter in the death of his wife, Diane, on Friday, January 26, 2024.

Persons: Dani Jo Carter, Carter, Diane McIver, Diane, Claud Lee “ Tex ” McIver, “ Tex, ” Diane muttered, Claud, Tex, McIver, Alyssa Pointer, Fani Willis, retry McIver, Robert McBurney, McIver’s, –, he’s, Don Samuel, Diane chatted, Tex McIver, ” McIver, Seleta Griffin, Tex McIver’s, Griffin, Diane McIver's, Hyosub Shin, Zuma, ”, Clint Rucker, “, ” Prosecutors, ” Griffin, Bruce Harvey, Prosecutors, court’s, codicil, Adam Abbate, Samuel, Amanda Clark Palmer, CNN’s Jamiel Lynch Organizations: CNN, Ford Expedition, Georgia Supreme, WSB, Atlanta, TNS, ”, Prosecutors Locations: Atlanta, Fulton, Georgia, Fulton County, ” Fulton County, Putnam County, Buckhead, “, –

“That’s my initial reaction.”The hearing was focused on a request by two defendants to separate their cases not only from the larger racketeering trial but also from each other. At least two defendants in the Georgia racketeering case have their dates set – attorneys Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro – for Oct. 23. “You’ve got to consider the Georgia speedy trial statute,” says Amy Lee Copeland, former federal prosecutor and criminal defense lawyer in Savannah. “Chesebro and Powell demanded a speedy trial and, by statute, McAfee has to start the trial or start the jury empanelment. In 2014, she oversaw a 12-person racketeering case against a group of Atlanta teachers and principals who schemed to cheat on standardized tests, as well as a racketeering case last year against members of a street gang called Young Slime Life, which originally charged 28 people.

Persons: Donald Trump’s, Scott McAfee, “, McAfee, Fani Willis, Will Wooten, ” McAfee, Mark Meadows, Jeffrey Clark, ”, –, Donald Trump's, Trump, Stormy Daniels, he’s, Willis, Sidney Powell, Kenneth Chesebro –, “ You’ve, Amy Lee Copeland, “ Chesebro, Powell, that's, ” Copeland, Copeland Organizations: Fulton, White House, Justice, Circuit, District of Columbia, Capitol Locations: Georgia’s Fulton County, ” Fulton County, Fulton County, That’s, Atlanta, Georgia, New York, Florida, District, Washington, Savannah, That's

Mr. Smith’s team described a similar conspiracy, one that he said was “fueled by lies.”There is no road map for indicting a former president, much less simultaneously prosecuting one for similar crimes in two jurisdictions. Prosecutors, especially those working for the Justice Department, typically seek to avoid concurrent cases to prevent discrepancies, small or significant, in witness testimony that can be exploited by the defense. Mr. Smith, who was appointed special counsel in November, has a more streamlined case, and is pushing hard for a speedy trial starting in early January. Those include Mr. Trump’s unrelenting effort to pressure Vice President Mike Pence into blocking official certification of Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory, even as Trump loyalists rampaged through the halls of Congress. One of the more surprising developments revealed on Monday was how far Ms. Willis’s investigators roved beyond state borders.

Persons: Willis, Smith, Trump, “, Smith’s, Ms, Mike Pence, Joseph R, Biden, ” Organizations: Prosecutors, Justice Department, U.S . Capitol, Trump Locations: ” Fulton, Georgia

A South Carolina judge ruled Wednesday that former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows must testify before a special grand jury in Georgia investigating possible interference in the 2020 presidential election. Meadows, who lives in South Carolina, has tried to avoid testifying before the grand jury probe into possible election interference by then-President Donald Trump and his allies. A spokesperson for Willis said Meadows won’t appear before the grand jury until sometime after the midterm elections next month, as the investigation is in a “quiet period” around then. A federal appeals court ruled last week that Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., also must testify before the Fulton County grand jury. Trump's former White House counsel Pat Cipollone and former personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani have also testified before the grand jury.

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