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ATLANTA — The Georgia Senate has approved a significant bill that permits President Donald Trump along with over a dozen others to request reimbursement for legal expenses incurred while contesting the outcome of the 2020 election in the state.
This bill, which received unanimous support in the legislature on Thursday, allows individuals to claim attorney fees and associated legal costs from counties in situations where a prosecutor has been disqualified from a case.
In August 2023, Trump and 18 co-defendants were indicted in Fulton County, facing serious allegations including pressuring Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State to “find” sufficient votes for Trump, intimidating an election worker, and attempting to persuade state lawmakers to disregard the voters’ decision in favor of appointing new electoral college electors.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis saw her involvement in the election interference case cut short when a state appeals court disqualified her due to a personal relationship with special prosecutor Nathan Wade, who had been appointed to lead the prosecution.
Georgia Senate Minority Leader Harold Jones II, representing Augusta, presented an illustrative scenario, stating, “If you have that young person, possession of marijuana, whatever it may be, and the prosecutor has done something wrong and that case is dismissed because the prosecutor did something wrong, they’re entitled to have their attorney’s fees back. That’s actually something that we probably would have pushed many years ago.”
Additionally, the Senate advanced another bill on the same day, granting subpoena authority to committees of the State and House.
Both legislative measures follow a substantial development from the previous year when the Georgia Senate passed a bill to form a special committee aimed at probing allegations of misconduct concerning Willis, which included scrutiny of her relationship with Wade. The committee had previously sought to subpoena Willis but she failed to appear at a hearing. A judge later ruled that the committee had the right to issue a subpoena to her.
While the committee’s investigation progress remains stagnant, Lieutenant Governor Burt Jones and fellow Republicans indicated last week a desire to launch an inquiry into Stacey Abrams.
The motivation behind this inquiry stems from findings related to the New Georgia Project, a voter engagement organization accused of improperly coordinating with Abrams’ 2018 gubernatorial campaign. Abrams aimed to make history as the first Black woman governor, but was ultimately defeated by Republican Brian Kemp, who also bested her in a rematch during the 2022 elections, as detailed in another report.
There are also unproven allegations involving the newly appointed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin, who suggested that Abrams gained from a substantial federal fund aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Abrams has firmly denied receiving any such benefits from the Biden administration.
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Kramon is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Follow Kramon on X: @charlottekramon.
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abcnews.go.com