Abrams hits Kemp over subpoena fight in Trump probe
Abrams hits Kemp over subpoena fight in Trump probe
August 19, 2022
Also in today’s edition of Swing State Georgia:
Warnock hits the roads of Georgia.
New Abrams ad focuses on abortion.
COVID and drug overdoses make for a bad combination.
Georgia’s marquee Democratic candidates don’t often invoke the ongoing special grand jury investigation into Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn the state’s 2020 election.
Until now.
Stacey Abrams has quickly moved to capitalize on the revelation that Gov. Brian Kemp is no longer cooperating with investigators and instead seeking to quash the subpoena seeking his testimony about Trump’s actions.
Abrams forged a new line of attack against Kemp - now that the Georgia Governor is fighting his subpoena - saying it shows Kemp is a “Trump conservative,” despite the fact that the governor refused the former president’s pressure campaign to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results.
“Brian Kemp is a dangerous extremist who has tried to hide himself behind one good action … He’s trying to play both moderate and MAGA but he is just extreme. He wants credit for standing up to Trump, but he’s refusing to testify to tell the truth.”
Abrams then released this video which asks, “Why isn’t Brian Kemp testifying in court?”
Kemp’s attorney accused prosecutors of a “politically motivated” investigation and expressed concern about potential leaks of his testimony in emails included in recent court filings.
The Governor’s lawyers want his testimony delayed until after the November election or canceled altogether.
Our AJC colleague Tamar Hallerman reports that Judge Robert McBurney will hear Gov. Kemp’s challenge to his special grand jury subpoena next Wednesday, Aug. 25.
That court session next week will guarantee even more attention on why the Governor changed his mind about testifying in the Georgia investigation into Trump.
Abrams tried her best to tie Kemp to other Republicans who have gone to court in a bid to get out of their subpoenas.
“If you look at the emails that have been released and, having dealt with the Kemp administration, I would put my faith more in the Fulton County DA’s office,” Abrams said on CNN Thursday night.
“I know that this has been a meticulous and very thoughtful investigation and that he is not the only Republican who has tried to skirt his responsibility to provide information.”
Swing State's paid subscribers receive text alerts from our reporting team. See below for how to sign up.LISTEN UP. The Friday edition of the Politically Georgia podcast is up now. We talk about the explosive documents that reveal the tensions between Gov. Brian Kemp’s lawyer and Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis.
Plus, we look at the “parallel universes” of the rival U.S. Senate campaigns, pick our winners and losers of the week and answer questions from the Politically Georgia mail bag.
Listen here and be sure to subscribe for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or Stitcher
MESSAGE. With all of the talk about the Trump investigation in recent days, suddenly the conversation is not about economic issues, inflation, or Gov. Kemp’s record.
Our pal Jamie Dupree looks at how Trump’s return to the national political scene in recent weeks is pushing Georgia Republicans off message - with the focus returning mainly to Trump himself.
Twenty-eight years ago, Republicans prepped for the 1994 midterm elections by presenting a detailed agenda, as Georgia Congressman Newt Gingrich championed his “Contract With America.”
This time, Republicans have nothing like that to offer voters, even as Democrats talk endlessly about policy specifics they have approved in recent weeks.
Remember – in 2020 – the national Republican Party didn’t even have a platform when Trump ran for a second term.
ON THE TRAIL. U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock logged some serious miles in the first two days of his “Working for Georgians” campaign bus tour this week.
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