by Dave Williams | Sep 7, 2023 | Capitol Beat News Service
ATLANTA – Freshman state Sen. Colton Moore renewed his call Thursday for a special session of the General Assembly to investigate, defund, and potentially impeach Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis for pushing to indict former President Donald Trump.
“I represent 200,000 hardworking Georgians in Northwest Georgia,” Colton, R-Trenton, said during a news conference inside a legislative committee meeting room packed with sign-waving, T-shirt wearing supporters. “They don’t want their tax dollars funding this type of corruption in Georgia.”
A Fulton grand jury indicted Trump and 18 co-defendants last month following a two-and-a-half-year investigation led by Willis into alleged attempts to overturn the results of Georgia’s 2020 presidential election.
The former president and his allies are accused of participating in a criminal conspiracy to award Georgia’s 16 electoral votes to incumbent Republican Trump after Democrat Joe Biden carried the Peach State. Those alleged efforts included a phone call in which Trump tried to pressure Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find” 11,780 votes for Trump, one more than Biden’s margin of victory.
The alleged conspiracy also included organizing a meeting of “fake” Republican electors inside the Georgia Capitol to certify Trump the winner rather than Biden, spreading false allegations of election fraud during legislative hearings at the state Capitol, and attempting to intimidate two Fulton elections workers.
On Thursday, Moore characterized the activities of Trump and the other defendants as exercising their constitutional rights to free speech.
“This is about basic fundamental First Amendment rights to question the results of an election,” he said.
Moore took exception to Gov. Brian Kemp referring to him as a “grifter” last week during a news conference in which the governor said he would not call a special legislative session.
“I haven’t seen anything illegal that [Willis has] done,” Kemp said Aug. 31.
Moore also criticized his legislative colleagues for “cowering” rather than stepping up and demanding a special session. Thus far, only two other lawmakers have signed his petition calling for a special session.
“The legislature has the sole power of the purse, to provide oversight, and – if appropriate – impeachment,” added state Rep. Charlice Byrd, R-Woodstock, who also signed Moore’s petition.
Thursday’s news conference was followed by a rally across the street from the Gold Dome at Liberty Plaza.
