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Investigation underway into North Hall County shooting

By
Staff Report
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The Hall County Sheriff’s Office is investigating a shooting that occurred Thursday, Oct. 19, at a residence in the 4800 block of Jess Helton Road in northern Hall County.

Deputies responded to the scene around 5:30 p.m. and found an adult male suffering from a gunshot wound to his upper right arm. The shooter left the scene prior to the arrival of law enforcement. The victim and the shooting suspect know one another, so the shooting is not believed to be a random crime.

HCSO criminal investigators do not have a motive for the shooting at this time, a sheriff’s office spokesperson says. The search for the shooter continues.

The victim was taken to the hospital for treatment. He remains hospitalized at last report.

Nancy Jane Tench Dodd

By
Now Habersham
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Nancy Jane Tench Dodd, age 63, of Alto, passed away on Thursday, October 19, 2023.

Ms. Dodd was born on March 29, 1960, in Alto. She recently retired from Regions Bank as Branch Manager in Clarkesville and was a member of B.C. Grant Baptist Church.

Nancy was an avid reader and enjoyed nature. She especially loved feeding the squirrels every day at a specific time; they always knew when it was feeding time because they would gather to greet her. Most of all, Nancy was a wonderful mother, friend, and mentor.

She was preceded in death by her father, Paul Tench; mother, Martha Eldorado Barrett Tench; bonus mother, Jessie Tench; and stepbrother and spouse, Bill and Reba Martin.

Survivors include her son, Joshua Paul Dodd (Jessica Siscel) of Alto, and former husband and friend, Donald Dodd.

Graveside services are scheduled for 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, October 22, 2023, at B.C. Grant Baptist Church Cemetery with Pastor David Colston officiating.

Everyone should meet at the cemetery no later than 1:45 pm the day of the service.

An online guest register is available and may be viewed at www.mcgaheegriffinandstewart.com.

McGahee-Griffin & Stewart Funeral Home of Cornelia, Georgia (706/778-8668) is in charge of arrangements.

Former Trump attorney pleads guilty in election scheme to overturn Biden win

By
Stephen Fowler
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Attorney Kenneth Chesebro, architect of the scheme that saw Republicans in Georgia and other swing states falsely claim to be official 2020 presidential electors, took a last-minute plea deal with prosecutors in the election interference racketeering case Friday.

Hours after the first 450 jurors appeared at the Fulton County Courthouse to fill out a questionnaire ahead of an expected monthslong trial where he faced seven felony counts, Chesebro and his attorneys pleaded guilty to a single felony charge of conspiracy to commit filing false documents.

Chesebro’s deal includes five years of probation, $5,000 in restitution to the secretary of state’s office, 100 hours of community service, a letter of apology, an agreement to testify in future trials and to hand over remaining documents and text messages to the district attorney’s office.

Chesebro authored a series of memos outlining ways Republicans could falsely submit documents in states where Joe Biden won the Electoral College in a scheme that sought to create dueling slates for Republicans in Congress to reject the results and help former President Donald Trump be declared the winner.

This is the third plea deal in the 19-person racketeering case that includes Trump, joining attorney Sidney Powell and bail bondsman Scott Hall, who both helped orchestrate an effort to illegally copy election data in Coffee County.

Powell and Chesebro both sought speedy trials and filed a litany of motions to minimize or dismiss the charges against them, all of which were unsuccessful. Powell entered her guilty plea Thursday.

Now, with both Powell and Chesebro accepting deals from prosecutors, there will be no trial until later down the road. The Fulton County DA’s office estimated this trial would last up to five months and include more than 150 witnesses as it planned to outline the entire racketeering conspiracy case before a jury.

This article comes to Now Habersham through a partnership with GPB News

Jim Jordan’s bid to be U.S. House speaker ends

By
Ariana Figueroa and Ashley Murray
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Former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, left, shakes hands with speaker nominee Jim Jordan after delivering the nomination speech on the House floor on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023. (U.S. House of Representatives livestream image)

WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — Ohio Republican Jim Jordan is no longer the Republican nominee for speaker of the U.S. House.

Shortly after a failed floor vote Friday on Jordan’s bid, Republicans held a closed-door meeting where Jordan failed to garner enough votes from his fellow GOP lawmakers to stay in the race as their nominee.

“I told the (Republican) conference it was an honor to be their speaker designee,” Jordan said to reporters.

The floor vote was Jordan’s third attempt this week to win sufficient support from Republicans, who hold a slim majority in the House.

“We’ll have to go back to the drawing board,” former Speaker Kevin McCarthy told reporters.

Louisiana’s Steve Scalise said that Republicans will pick a new nominee and come back to their quandary on Monday.

North Carolina’s Patrick McHenry, who has been serving as speaker pro tempore, told reporters that the plan is to have a floor vote for speaker on Tuesday.

A candidate forum for a new speaker designee will be held Monday night at 6:30 p.m. Eastern. Republican Rep. Kevin Hern of Oklahoma told reporters shortly after Jordan’s rejection that he would run.

“I just voted for my good friend Jim Jordan to stay as our Speaker Designate, but the conference has determined that he will no longer hold that title. We just had two speaker designates go down. We must unify and do it fast. I’ve spoken to every member of the conference over the last few weeks. We need a different type of leader who has a proven track record of success, which is why I’m running for Speaker of the House,” Hern wrote on X Friday afternoon.

Several reports on X from news media indicated that Reps. Austin Scott of Georgia and Jack Bergman of Michigan will also run.

‘Swamp at work’

Florida’s Matt Gaetz, who introduced the measure to oust McCarthy more than two weeks ago and now supports Jordan, called the internal vote result “outrageous.”

“I think that was the swamp at work,” Gaetz told States Newsroom while entering a U.S. House basement elevator after the meeting. “The most popular Republican in the country was just knifed in a secret anonymous ballot in the bowels of the Capitol.”

Jordan lost more Republican votes on his third ballot Friday than on the previous two, in a 194-210 vote, bringing the totals to 25 GOP defectors. All Democrats present also opposed his candidacy, backing Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries. The successful candidate needed a majority of the 429 members voting on Friday.

Friday marked the 17th day the U.S. House has been without a speaker and unable to conduct business.

GOP Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, Tom Kean of New Jersey and Marcus Molinaro of New York voted against Jordan Friday, adding three to the Ohio Republican’s earlier deficit.

The third vote came as the White House sent a nearly $106 billion supplemental aid package to Congress early Friday for funding for Israel, Ukraine and U.S. border security, and as lawmakers have less than 30 days until government funding expires.

Jordan, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, has earned a reputation as a conservative firebrand and co-founded the far-right House Freedom Caucus. Several members who voted against him have received death threats from supporters of the Ohio congressman.

Jordan was one of more than 100 Republicans who objected to the 2020 election results following the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.

More ballots?

Hours before the third vote, Jordan held a press conference where he indicated that he was willing to insist on multiple ballots to be elected speaker.

“There’s been multiple rounds of votes for speaker before,” he said, referring to McCarthy, who went 15 rounds before he was elected in January.

Those votes could also spill into days ahead, Jordan said, when “our plan this weekend is to get a speaker elected.”

But the conference decided differently after the failed floor vote.

Among the Republicans who voted against Jordan Friday were Don Bacon of Nebraska, Vern Buchanan of Florida, Ken Buck of Colorado, Lori Chavez-DeRemer of Oregon, Anthony D’Esposito of New York, Mario Díaz-Balart of Florida, Jake Ellzey of Texas, Drew Ferguson of Georgia, Fitzpatrick, Andrew Garbarino of New York, Carlos Giménez of Florida, Tony Gonzales of Texas, Kay Granger of Texas, John James of Michigan, Kean, Mike Kelly of Pennsylvania, Jennifer Kiggans of Virginia, Nick LaLota of New York, Mike Lawler of New York, Mariannette Miller-Meeks of Iowa, Molinaro, John Rutherford of Florida, Simpson, Pete Stauber of Minnesota and Steve Womack of Arkansas.

Jordan lost two votes due to absences: Reps. Derrick Van Orden of Wisconsin, who arrived in Israel Friday morning on a fact-finding trip, and Wesley Hunt of Texas.

On the Democratic side, Vicente Gonzalez of Texas and Donald Payne of New Jersey were absent.

Speaker pro tem

House Republicans also punted a resolution Thursday that would have temporarily empowered McHenry as elected speaker pro tempore in order to pass critical legislation such as funding for the government, an annual defense bill and supplemental aid to Ukraine and Israel.

There is much debate about how much authority McHenry has in the role of designated speaker pro tem that was established after 9/11 to ensure continuity of government in the event of a catastrophic attack.

Following the third ballot, McHenry said flipping those votes is “a serious challenge that we’re going to have to work through.”

“That’s why we’re gonna have a conference meeting,” he said.

McCarthy, who was ousted in early October, delivered the nominating speech for Jordan on the floor Friday.

“He is straightforward, honest and reliable. That is who Jim Jordan is,” McCarthy said.

McCarthy defended Jordan in the wake of criticism of Jordan’s dearth of legislation passed on the House floor.

“If we measure lawmakers by how many bills have their name on it, we are using the wrong measuring stick,” McCarthy said. “Some of (the) members I know with the most bills to their name are the most selfish. Jim Jordan on the other hand is one of the most selfless members I’ve known.”

Rep. Katherine Clark, who nominated Jeffries, of New York, called Jordan “a true threat to our democracy and our Constitution.”

“We need a speaker who will govern through consensus, not conflict. We need a speaker worthy of wielding that gavel, a leader who will defend democracy, not degrade it” said Clark, of Massachusetts. “More than ever we need proven, patriotic, people-first leadership, and that is why I am proud to nominate Hakeem Jeffries as speaker of the House.”

‘Clear and present danger’

Before the third ballot, Jeffries held a press conference where he warned of the dangers of electing Jordan as speaker of the House.

“Jim Jordan is a clear and present danger to our democracy,” Jeffries said, adding that Jordan has amplified falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election.

He said that Democrats “have repeatedly made clear we want to find a bipartisan path forward at every step of the way.”

But he stopped short of naming a Republican candidate that Democrats would support.

One of the Jordan GOP holdouts, Díaz-Balart, said he thinks it’s time for the Republican conference to find a new candidate for speaker.

“It’s pretty clear that he doesn’t have the votes,” Díaz-Balart said of Jordan.

He added that he believed Jordan will continue to lose Republican support if he continues to hold ballots. In the first ballot, Jordan lost 20 Republicans and in the second ballot he lost 22.

Thomas Massie of Kentucky, who has backed Jordan, said he expects the conference to discuss if a vote should be held whether Republicans still support Jordan as their nominee.

“It’s the will of the (Republican) conference,” Massie said.

No speaker for weeks

Eight Republicans and all Democrats voted to oust California Republican McCarthy on Oct. 3, halting the lower chamber for the last 17 days.

The GOP conference has struggled to unify after numerous closed-door meetings and internal ballots.

Scalise initially garnered the nomination for the gavel but bowed out of the race a day later, even before calling a floor vote. The Louisiana Republican was not able to gain support from hard-right members and therefore would not have been able to reach the number of votes needed to win.

Jacob Fischler contributed to this report.

Biden in address to nation calls for support for both Israel and Ukraine

By
Jacob Fischler
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President Joe Biden addresses the nation from the Oval Office of the White House on Oct. 19, 2023 in Washington, D.C. Biden discussed the U.S. response to the Hamas-Israel conflict, humanitarian assistance in Gaza, and the continued support for Ukraine during Russia’s ongoing invasion. (White House livestream image)

(GA Recorder) — President Joe Biden reasserted his support for Israel and Ukraine in their conflicts, saying in an Oval Office address Thursday evening that those countries’ wars against terrorist and tyrannical opponents were crucial to U.S. and world interests and asking Congress to fund a military aid package.

After nearly two weeks focusing almost entirely on Israel, Biden laid out a broader foreign policy vision to oppose figures such as Russian President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine last year, as well as terrorist groups such as Hamas that launched attacks against Israel this month that killed more than 1,300, including U.S. citizens.

Such adversaries must be stopped, he said.

“When terrorists don’t pay a price for their terror, when dictators don’t pay a price for their aggression, they cause more chaos and death and more destruction,” he said. “They keep going and the costs and the threats to America and the world keep rising.”

“We cannot and will not let terrorists like Hamas and tyrants like Putin win,” he added.

Failing to stop Putin would only embolden “would-be aggressors around the world,” he said.

Hamas’ attack, which killed “at least 32” U.S. citizens, “unleashed pure unadulterated evil in the world,” he said.

Biden said he would ask Congress on Friday to approve an aid package to Israel and Ukraine.

The White House request is expected to total upward of $100 billion, including around $60 billion for Ukraine, $10 billion for Israel, aid for Taiwan and funding to improve U.S.-Mexico border security, according to reports.

Ukraine has asked for help with weapons and air defense systems, he said.

The U.S. plays an indispensable role in world affairs, Biden said.

“American leadership is what holds the world together,” he said.

Biden said he did not seek to have U.S. troops involved, but would deploy them to support NATO allies from Russian aggression. The Western alliance, which does not include Ukraine, requires its members to join a war if one of them is attacked.

Biden, top administration officials and congressional leaders have also warned Iran and other Middle East adversaries not to widen the war in that region. Biden has deployed military ships to the eastern Mediterranean Sea to be ready for any escalation.

The address was Biden’s second from the Oval Office. The first was in June, when he discussed an agreement to lift the debt limit.

Humanitarian aid

Biden focused on the military needs of Ukraine and Israel — and the rationale for providing military aid — but added that he was also working to provide humanitarian aid.

During a trip to Israel Wednesday, Biden secured an agreement with Israel and Egypt to allow United Nations humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip, where Israel has launched a counteroffensive after Hamas’ attack.

Biden said he spoke with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday and recommitted to him that the U.S. supports the Palestinian right to self-determination. The attack by Hamas, which is based in Gaza, didn’t change that, he said.

“We cannot give up on peace,” he said. “We cannot give up on a two-state solution. Israel and Palestinians equally deserve to live in safety, dignity and peace.”

Biden also condemned divisions along racial and religious lines in the U.S., noting the murder last week of 6-year-old Palestinian-American Wadea Al-Fayoume at his Chicago area home.

“Here at home, we have to be honest with ourselves,” he said. In recent years, the country has seen a rise in racism, antisemitism and Islamophobia, which have intensified since the Hamas attack, he said.

Senate resolution

The U.S. Senate, the only chamber of Congress currently able to consider legislation, appeared Thursday to be receptive to Biden’s request for an aid package, especially for Israel.

Earlier in the day, the Senate approved, 97-0, a resolution in support of Israel.

The resolution “reaffirms Israel’s right to self-defense,” and demands Hamas release hostages — a group of about 200 that is thought to include U.S. citizens. The measure also “warns against any other party hostile to Israel taking advantage of the current situation.”

The four-page resolution also noted that the U.S. has designated Hamas as a terrorist organization that receives funding from Iran. The group has killed 1,300 Israelis and injured and kidnapped others since Oct. 7, the resolution says.

Kentucky Republican Rand Paul, a vocal foreign policy isolationist, was the only member not to cosponsor the measure, but he did vote for it Thursday. Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Ben Cardin of Maryland and ranking Republican Jim Risch of Idaho were the resolution’s chief sponsors.

Schumer, the highest ranking Jewish official in the U.S., pledged in a floor speech ahead of the vote that the resolution, which does not carry the force of law, would be followed by substantial funding legislation.

“This resolution is not the end,” the New York Democrat said. “It is the beginning. The Senate will back up this resolution with real swift, decisive action and resources. Let the entire world see that today Democrats, Republicans alike stand in total unity. We support Israel’s absolute right to defend itself.”

A sBOOKy Halloween

By
Staff Report
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(Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

It’s almost Halloween, and they’re getting into the ‘spirit’ of things at the Cornelia Library.

“The staff were excited to decorate the library to make it more interesting for children and adults alike,” says library manager Josh Smith.

Most of the decorations came from staff members’ personal collections.

If you’re in Cornelia, stop by and take a look. Better yet, check out a book or two and enjoy a sBOOKy Halloween.

(Click photos to enlarge)

County Manager answers questions about property and failed lease agreement

By
Jerry Neace
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This is the house Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn proposed renting to the county parks and recreation director for $600 a month. Commissioners rejected that plan on a 3-2 vote. (Joy Purcell/Now Habersham.com)

When Habersham County commissioners rejected an agreement to rent a county-owned house to Parks and Recreation Department Director Brooke Whitmire, it raised many questions. The agreement would have gone unnoticed if Commissioner Jimmy Tench had not called for it to be publicly discussed during the October 16 county commission meeting.

Since that meeting, Now Habersham has learned more about the property at 4336 Toccoa Highway and the since rejected agreement.

Lease terms

The county purchased the property in March for a cash price of $140,000. The 2 bed, 1 bath house is 1,200-square-feet. It was built in the 1950s. The house sits on slightly less than an acre of land and has a detached two-story, two-car garage.

The property sits in front of the Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center and another parcel of county-owned land to its east.

“The property was purchased because it is adjacent to property the county owns, and it will be held for future expansion,” explains Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn.

The Ruby Fulbright Aquatic Center is visible from the backyard. In the foreground sits the two-story, two-car garage. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)
A view of the back of the house where the deck has recently been replaced. (Joy NowHabersham.com)

The two-year rental agreement proposed for Whitmire placed the monthly rent at $600. During the two-year period, Whitmire was to contribute a minimum of $3,000 in property improvements, equating to an additional $125 per month spread over 24 months.

According to rent.com, fair market rent for the property would be in the range of $1,000 to $1,900 per month. The median rent in the area is $1,250.

The county never publicly advertised that the property was for rent.

A ‘fixer-upper’

Habersham County Manager Alicia Vaughn says she was acting at the request of the board of commissioners when she tried to rent the property.

“The BOC instructed me to lease the property. I worked first with the Soque Watershed Association and drafted a lease, but the association found a different location to lease that better fit their needs,” Vaughn tells Now Habersham.

She adds, “I met with a second group to get feedback on possible renovations and ideas for commercial use, but county maintenance staff advised renovations to make the space suitable for commercial use would be too costly. Our Parks and Rec Director was interested in the space because it is located next to our facilities, and I felt this would be a good rental solution.”

The property that was discussed for a lease agreement with the Parks and Rec Director Brooke Whitmire sits on Toccoa Highway in front of the Aquatic Center. The roof line to the Aquatic Center is visible in the background. (Jerry Neace/NowHabersham.com)

Though Whitmire would have only paid $600 a month for the property, Habersham County Commission Chair Ty Akins says the preliminary agreement with SRWA included no rent payment at all. In exchange for the free space, the agency would have made upgrades to the property.

Akins felt no rent was unfair, even for a non-profit.

While the property is not falling down, it does need some work. Akins refers to it as a “fixer-upper.” He indicates that was the reasoning behind offering Whitmire a well below market rate.

“It needed some work,” he says.

Consent agenda

Not only did the county not post the property for rent, but commissioners did not discuss the matter ahead of last Monday night’s meeting.

“The Chairman did not feel this was necessary and asked it be placed on the consent agenda,” explains Vaughn.

Consent agendas are used to streamline meetings by collecting routine, non-controversial items into a group and passing them with a single motion and vote. Akins says he placed the item on the consent agenda because he felt it would not be controversial and says he had no “ill intent.”

That’s not how it was perceived.

“I didn’t know anything about it,” says Commissioner Tench, “and when I saw it, I said there’s something wrong here. Why would you give the Rec. Dept. a house for somebody? I don’t understand that.”

At the meeting, Tench asked for the lease proposal to be removed from the consent agenda and placed under new business so it could be discussed. Commissioner Dustin Mealor made the motion to do that.

During the discussion, Vaughn defended the agreement, saying it was “completely appropriate” for the county to provide housing for an employee.

She pointed out that Whitmire lives in Banks County, and there are a lot of “after-hours events” at the county recreation department. She also acknowledged the lack of affordable housing in Habersham.

“I think it is absolutely beneficial for us to have Brooke right there next to the aquatic center,” said Vaughn.

Her arguments did not sway the board. After some back and forth, commissioners Tench, Mealor, and Bruce Harkness voted against the lease proposal. Akins and Commissioner Bruce Palmer voted for it.

Now what?

Since the lease was not approved, Vaughn says she is now waiting for instructions from the commissioners as to what the intended use for the property will be. She also says she does not know if the lease option will be revisited.

Tench and Harkness have both indicated they will not change their votes on the Whitmire lease, and Mealor tells Now Habersham, “I’m a no.”

Akins says he is reaching out to the commissioners to get a better idea of the direction they want to go with the property. Renting it is still a possibility, but he prefers to go with a non-profit until the commission moves forward with other opportunities in the future.

Asked if the county will advertise the property for rent in the future, Vaughn says, “It depends on the direction of the BOC and if it is legally required.”

U.S. House gripped by paralysis again after GOP punts proposal for speaker pro tem

By
Jennifer Shutt and Ariana Figueroa
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U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, speaks to members of the press at the U.S. Capitol on Oct. 19, 2023, in Washington, D.C. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (GA Recorder) — A resolution meant to temporarily allow U.S. House Speaker Pro Tempore Patrick McHenry of North Carolina to move critical legislation won’t be acted on, House Republicans said following a tense, closed-door meeting on Thursday.

But it appeared that the House will vote a third time on whether Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan will serve as speaker. On Thursday night, House Democrats said in their whip notice that a floor vote on a speaker was expected as soon as 10 a.m. Eastern on Friday, after Jordan spent hours meeting with holdout members of his party.

Jordan, a founder of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus who has sustained two failed attempts at election on the floor as speaker, said he is still in the running for the gavel, even though 22 Republicans voted against him for speaker on the most recent ballot.

“Particularly, I want to talk with the 20 individuals who voted against me, so that we can move forward and begin to work,” he said after the closed-door meeting with the GOP conference.

Several Republicans who voted against Jordan, including Iowa’s Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Georgia’s Drew Ferguson and Nebraska’s Don Bacon, have received death threats and other threatening messages, hardening their resolve not to let him become speaker.

Virginia Rep. Jen Kiggans, who voted against Jordan on the second ballot, told reporters that empowering McHenry for a few months is the “right thing to do.”

“We have real work that all Americans want us to do,” Kiggans said. “That’s what I want to do. That’s why I ran for Congress. So I support that resolution.”

Kiggans told reporters that Jordan plans to talk with all of the Republicans who oppose him to try to find a way to earn their votes. But she said it’s unlikely he sways the number he needs to his side.

“I don’t think he’s going to get there,” Kiggans said.

McHenry told reporters before the meeting that he would listen to what House Republicans want.

“I have not asked for additional powers. It’s my duty to get the next speaker elected, that’s my focus,” McHenry said.

The speaker pro tem option

Florida Rep. Mario Díaz-Balart, who opposed Jordan on both ballots, praised McHenry’s abilities to lead.

“McHenry is an amazing legislator. He is a principled, tough, smart legislator and he has shown that for years and years and years of being in the fight,” Díaz-Balart said. “And so I have full confidence in McHenry for so many reasons to do so many different things.”

But other House Republicans opposed the idea of giving McHenry the ability to run the floor, saying the party needs to unite around an actual speaker.

Florida Rep. Kat Cammack told reporters that Republicans’ meeting became “heated” at times.

“You have the people who started the fire, now demanding that other people put out the fire,” Cammack said. “And so I think people are just really trying to figure out how they can unite around a body that has really done the self-inflicting wound that is causing all this consternation.”

Cammack said she didn’t believe empowering McHenry to run the House floor through early January was a good idea, noting he has also expressed concerns about the idea.

“I’m deeply appreciative of Patrick McHenry and his willingness to be that constitutional conservative in this moment where he’s saying ‘No, I’m not going to assume any additional authorities that haven’t been expressly granted to me,’” Cammack said.

House Freedom Caucus Chair Scott Perry of Pennsylvania told reporters he’s “not a fan” of giving McHenry any official authority.

“I think it’s very dangerous,” Perry said. “We should elect a speaker, not have one crowned by some kind of rule that’s meant, I think, for if the speaker is unfortunately incapacitated by some terrorist attack. That’s not the case here.”

Perry said he would be open to “any election whoever the candidates are” for speaker, but noted that Jordan has gotten about 200 votes on the floor and that McHenry holds the role of speaker pro tem because former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, who was ousted by the GOP conference, put his name on a list.

“It doesn’t seem to necessarily reflect the majority, but if we have a vote and it reflects the majority then that’s what it does,” Perry said.

Electing McHenry as speaker pro tem, Perry said, is one of the “alternative proposals” but he said he didn’t think anyone had “coalesced around” that idea.

Constitutional implications

Texas Rep. Chip Roy told reporters Republicans had a debate on Thursday within their meeting about the “constitutional implications” of electing McHenry as speaker pro tem.

“I think a speaker pro tem has historically only been there in the context of already having a duly elected speaker,” Roy said. “And I think that’s what we are called to do by the Constitution. So we should go do it.”

Florida Rep. Byron Donalds told reporters that there needs to be “unanimous support” among Republicans before a resolution to empower McHenry as a temporary speaker could go to the floor for a vote.

Donalds said the No. 1 issue for the House GOP should be electing a speaker.

“To my colleagues who wanted to support it, I don’t understand why they wanted to support it. Because time is of the essence,” Donalds said. “There’s a lot of things that we have to do.”

North Carolina Rep. Richard Hudson told reporters he believes empowering McHenry as speaker pro tem could still be an option.

Kentucky Rep. Andy Barr told reporters that Jordan needs to be the one to decide if he withdraws from the speaker’s race.

Questions abound

Republicans would likely need to define what roles Jordan would play as a speaker nominee and what responsibilities would fall under McHenry as an elected speaker pro tem, if the party moves forward with the proposal.

The role of a designated speaker pro tempore was established in House rules following 9/11 as a way to ensure the chamber could keep functioning in the event of a catastrophic event.

After McCarthy was elected speaker in January, he gave a list of designated speakers pro tem to the clerk of the House. McHenry was the first name on that list and took on the role after McCarthy was removed from office.

There has been debate since that happened about how much authority McHenry actually has as the designated speaker pro tem.

Some experts have argued that because the role was created as a way to ensure continuity of government, it’s likely that McHenry has more power than he’s been exercising. That could, but might not, include bringing up resolutions and bills for floor debate.

Others, including an expert in House procedure, have said that the role is extremely limited and purely exists to facilitate the election of the next speaker.

Electing a speaker pro tem on the floor, however, is very different and would definitively give McHenry the authority to run the chamber much like an actual speaker could.

But Republicans would need to determine who acts as their representative outside of the House chamber, including in negotiations with the Democratic-controlled Senate and Biden administration on must-pass legislation.

House Republicans’ ongoing stalemate over who should lead their party has delayed legislative work on several important issues, including funding the government ahead of a Nov. 17 deadline and reconciling differences between the two chambers on the annual defense policy bill.

The Biden administration is also expected to send Congress a supplemental spending request for Israel, Ukraine, Taiwan and the U.S. southwest border as soon as Friday.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, has said that chamber will move first to approve an emergency spending bill, but the House will be needed to send it to President Joe Biden for his signature.

Sixteen days without a speaker

The U.S. House has been without a speaker for 16 days after eight Republicans and Democrats voted to remove California’s McCarthy from the post. 

House GOP lawmakers have had heated internal deliberations since then about the best path forward for the party amid divided government.

Louisiana’s Steve Scalise won House Republicans’ first nomination vote for speaker, but he never brought his bid for the gavel to the House floor amid opposition from far-right conservative lawmakers.

Scalise, instead, withdrew from consideration after just one day as his party’s nominee.

Jordan then reentered the race, backed by many of his especially conservative allies, who refused to support Scalise when he was the nominee. Georgia’s Austin Scott entered as well, but mostly to force a debate within the conference.

After Jordan won the House Republican Conference nomination on Friday, more than 50 House Republicans said in a secret ballot that they wouldn’t back him for speaker during a floor vote.

Jordan and his allies have had some success winning holdouts to their side, but he lost the first ballot for speaker on the floor on Tuesday with 20 GOP lawmakers voting against him and then lost the second ballot vote on Wednesday with 22 Republicans opposing his bid.

Ashley Murray contributed to this article

Sidney Powell pleads guilty in Georgia election interference case

By
Stanley Dunlap
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Texas attorney Sidney Powell embarked on a public campaign in Georgia and other states, unleashing accusations that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from then-President Donald Trump. (Ross Williams/Georgia Recorder)

ATLANTA (GA Recorder) — Texas attorney Sidney Powell pleaded guilty to racketeering election interference charges in Fulton County Superior Court on Thursday, one day before jury selection was scheduled to begin for her trial.

As part of the plea deal, Powell was sentenced to six years of probation for conspiring to interfere with the performance of election duties for orchestrating a Coffee County elections system breach following the 2020 presidential election,

On Thursday, Powell became the second defendant to have the terms of a plea agreement accepted by Fulton Judge Scott McAfee in a sweeping case that alleges Donald Trump and 18 of his allies illegally colluded to overturn the 2020 presidential election in Georgia, Nevada,  Arizona, Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Washington, D.C.

Powell’s plea now means that her co-defendant Kenneth Chesebro is set to stand trial alone, with plans to convene a 450-person jury pool on Friday to fill out a lengthy jury questionnaire.

According to the plea agreement, Powell agreed to testify in other election interference trials about the hacking of voting machines and software that occurred in rural south Georgia shortly after the incumbent Republican president lost the state of Georgia by less than 12,000 votes to Democratic President Joe Biden.

In the weeks following Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss in Georgia, Powell peppered the courts with filings claiming election fraud, she dubbed the “Kraken” legal challenge at the time.

Powell has written an apology to the secretary of state’s office and Georgia residents. She will also pay a $6,000 fine as well as $2,700 in restitution to the state. On Aug. 14, a grand jury formally charged Powell with seven felony charges in which the 19 defendants were each charged with violating Georgia’s RICO Act (Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act).

By successfully completing all terms of her probation, Powell’s conviction of six counts of misdemeanor conspiracy to commit intentional interference with election duties will be sealed from her criminal record.

On Wednesday, the New York Times reported that Chesebro acknowledged Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election were based on a political agenda, a revelation that could undercut Chesebro’s claims in the Fulton case that Trump lawyers were only focused on legal advice.

 

Voting breach takes front stage

Powell admitted Thursday that she hired forensic computer experts to compromise voting software and other confidential voter information from the Coffee County elections office in early 2021. She also agreed that prosecutors would have proven during trial that Powell, along with several co-conspirators, plotted with Coffee elections director Misty Hampton to illegally access election machines by tampering with electronic ballot markers, voting software and other equipment.

In the weeks before Powell pleaded guilty, her attorney Bill Raffferty repeatedly argued that she had no direct involvement in setting up the visits to the Coffee elections office.

One of Powell’s co-defendants, Scott Hall, a bail bondsman from Atlanta, entered a plea of guilty on Sept. 29 and received five years probation and $5,000 fine for misdemeanor charges related to illegally accessing voting equipment in Coffee.

Powell is also being investigated by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for her role in hacking into Coffee’s election system.

The breach was uncovered last year by the plaintiffs in a longstanding lawsuit challenging the security of the state’s electronic voting system. Earlier this month, the GBI discovered more than 15,000 emails and documents from Hampton’s desktop computer that the attorneys for the Coffee County Board of Elections had claimed were lost.

Hampton has pleaded not guilty to multiple charges in the Fulton racketeering case.

Police impersonator sought after stopping teens on GA 365

By
Joy Purcell
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The man in these GBI sketches is believed to be impersonating a police officer. If you know him or have information that can help locate him, please contact the Hall County Sheriff's Office at 770-536-8812. (Images by sketch artist Kelly Lawson)

Hall County sheriff’s investigators are searching for a man believed to be impersonating an officer.

The suspect stopped two teenage victims as they were traveling on Cornelia Highway/SR 365 on the night of September 30, 2023. The man was driving a black sedan with a blue light bar on the top of the vehicle.

During the traffic stop, the man approached the victims in their vehicle and told them he was going to write them a ticket for reckless driving. The driver gave the suspect her license and he took a photo of it. He left the scene without giving any documentation to the victims.

The sheriff’s office determined there were no legitimate traffic stops performed in that area at the time the incident occurred.

The teens identified the suspect as a white man between 40 and 50 years old. He was either bald or had very short, light-colored hair, a scruffy beard, and crooked yellow teeth.

Each victim met separately with GBI sketch artist Kelly Lawson and provided descriptions of the suspect. Law enforcement points out the images are strikingly similar with only minor differences.

Anyone who recognizes this man is asked to contact Hall County Dispatch at 770-536-8812 to make a report.

Your rights as a motorist during a traffic stop

Getting pulled over at night or in a deserted area can be scary, especially for women, teens, and those driving alone. If you see blue lights in your rearview mirror and don’t feel safe pulling over where you are, you do have the right to proceed to a safe location.

“A motorist is absolutely within his or her legal rights to proceed to a well-lit area off the road if the motorist feels unsafe,” says Lt. Todd Casper with the Hall County Sheriff’s Office Patrol Division.”In fact, an officer/deputy prefers a motorist pull to an area where traffic is not speeding by; it’s safer for the motorist and the deputy.”

While moving to a safe area there are several steps you should follow:

  • Slow down below the posted speed limit. If you are speeding and continue at a high rate of speed, an officer may think you’re trying to elude them.
  • Turn on your vehicle’s emergency flashers to signal to the officer that you are aware you’re being pulled over.
  • If you suspect the vehicle attempting to make the stop is not a legitimate law enforcement vehicle, call 911. Ask if a deputy/officer/trooper is attempting a traffic stop in your location. Keep in mind, law enforcement jurisdictions sometimes overlap and a local 911 operator may not be able to immediately determine what officer is working in that area at that time.

2 injured in multi-vehicle rear-end wreck in Clarkesville

By
Joy Purcell
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The driver of this construction truck faces multiple traffic violations following a wreck on Hwy. 441 in Clarkesville on Thursday, Oct. 19, 2023. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)

A four-vehicle wreck shut down Highway 441 in Clarkesville for about an hour Thursday afternoon. The lunchtime crash sent two people to the hospital.

Just before 12:30 p.m., emergency personnel responded to the wreck in front of the Dairy Queen. According to the Georgia State Patrol crash report, three vehicles were stopped in the southbound lane as one attempted to turn into the restaurant.

Enrique Ramirez Bautista, 33, of Cornelia, was driving a Chevrolet Silverado construction truck south on Hwy. 441. He rear-ended a Ford F-150 pickup driven by Dylan Bryce Shook, 21, of Baldwin. The impact set off a chain reaction, causing the Ford F-150 to strike the Honda Pilot stopped in front of it. The Pilot then hit the Ford Crown Victoria that was attempting to turn.

The driver of this Ford F-150 was not injured in the wreck. (Rob Moore/Habersham County)

The wreck did not injure Bautista or Shook. The driver of the Honda, Courtney Shay Sisum, 32, of Mt. Airy, also was unhurt. A 1-year-old boy in her vehicle was treated at the scene for cuts to his gums caused by glass.

The Crown Vic driver, Matthew Everett Ramey, 52, of Mt. Airy, and his passenger, Deborah Renae Ramey, 50, also of Mt. Airy, both sustained possible minor injuries. Habersham EMS transported them by ambulance to Northeast Georgia Medical Center in Demorest for treatment.

A trooper with GSP Post 7 in Toccoa investigated the wreck. The trooper charged Bautista with multiple offenses, including following too closely, no driver’s license, no insurance, and distracted driving.

Deputies re-routed traffic onto Double Bridge Road while the trooper investigated and tow trucks cleared the wreckage. The highway reopened around 1:20 p.m.

Blind students inspire awareness during elementary school parade

By
Jerry Neace
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Monroe Bogue and Phoebe Groves use their white canes to navigate the school hallways in a parade on October 16, 2023.

Fairview Elementary School students got a lesson in acceptance just outside their classroom doors. They lined the halls Monday to cheer on blind schoolmates in a hallway parade.

Phoebe Groves and Monroe Bogue are among five Habersham County students currently learning how to use canes to gain independence. They demonstrated their skills as they navigated the halls with other students who were being recognized for perfect attendance.

Since the parade coincided with White Cane Awareness Day, teacher Robin Skelton saw a perfect opportunity to build awareness and empathy. It also gave Phoebe and Monroe a chance to be recognized for their achievements, mastering a skill some students referred to as “cane power.”

With each “tap, tap” on the asphalt tile floor, the students heard what advocates for the blind call “the sound of independence.”

Two different students with one primary goal

Now Habersham first introduced you to Phoebe last year. She has a degenerative eye condition that, in time, will leave her completely blind. But I don’t think that has slowed her down any. She remains an independent and outgoing now- third-grader who seeks out ways to compensate for her vision impairment. Her classes at Fairview have helped tremendously.

Phoebe got her white cane a few years ago. Since then, she’s learned to safely walk the school halls with confidence. She’s now in advanced training, learning to do things many people take for granted, such as taking trips in public, walking down sidewalks, and shopping at Walmart.

Doctors diagnosed Monroe with a benign brain tumor last year. Unable to remove it all during surgery, the tumor significantly affected his vision.

Unlike Phoebe, whom Dr. Skelton has described as a “little fireball,” Monroe is a shy second-grader just beginning his journey to greater independence. He received his white cane last month and is learning the techniques that will help him become less reliant on others.

 

 

A supportive school system

Skelton says both students are “brilliant and are overcoming the challenges they face” due to a supportive family and the knowledgeable and caring staff throughout the school system.

Dr. Robin Skelton with students Monroe Bogue and Phoebe Groves.

“I cannot imagine working in a school system that is more supportive of all students than Habersham County,” says Skelton, who teaches the visually impaired and serves as the school system’s assistive technology liaison.

Currently, there are 14 students enrolled in Habersham County schools who have some degree of visual impairment. Five are now training on white canes.

Skelton credits school system administrators, as well as school-level faculty and staff, for their tireless efforts in providing students with what they need to succeed.

“My students and I are very blessed to be surrounded by everyone in our system,” Skelton says. And judging from the support Phoebe and Monroe got as they happily paraded through the halls Monday, it certainly seems that they are.

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