Although it is too early for a definite decision, Bobby Christine said he is willing to consider potentially filling the district attorney position with a new Columbia County judicial circuit.
Christine served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Georgia from November 2017 until Tuesday, when he stepped down at the request of President Joseph Biden. Biden asked all 57 Trump-appointed U.S. attorneys to submit their resignations.
“I can tell you that there is a robust discussion,” Christine said and mentioned that there are “many folks” who are inquiring about his interest in the position. “I have been a prosecutor all my public career, both in the District Attorney’s office and in the military, for the federal government.”
Christine said he would welcome a discussion with Governor Brian Kemp but stated that because there is no signed legislation officially declaring Columbia County a separate judicial circuit from Richmond and Burke Counties, it may be premature to begin talks.
Columbia County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously in December 2020 to pass a resolution requesting the General Assembly to consider the split. The Georgia Senate approved the measure earlier this month.
“But in the meantime, and if that doesn’t come to pass, I am setting a course with Cross Link and hope to bring my legal abilities to bare on that,” he said.
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Christine appeared at press conference Thursday morning at Augusta’s downtown Riverwalk to promote his new position of Senior Advisor with Cross Link Consulting, founded in 2004. North Augusta-based Cross Link is an information technology management company that also offers cyber security services, according to its website.
A video of that press conference can be found here.
“As Bobby can attest, there are a lot of adversaries that still want to kill and destroy American businesses,” Founder Patrick Reynolds said. “Our mission is to take territory from the enemy.”
“I have been blessed in recent years as your U.S. attorney until just the other day,” Christine said and mentioned his experience prosecuting cyber criminals. “I have been looking for a firm with which to partner in order to take that fight into the private sector.”
Working with the firm gives Christine the chance to see a product of his work, something not often experienced in the legal industry, he said.
“That’s an opportunity for me as a lawyer to actually see something tangible come out of my work,” he said. “That’s a blessing.”
Christine previously served as Chief Magistrate of Columbia County. He resigned Tuesday as U.S. Attorney.
Shellie Smitley is a staff writer at The Augusta Press. Reach her at shellie@theaugustapress.com
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