WABE's Week In Review: Georgia is set to play a role in the Jan. 6 hearings in D.C.
The Congressional hearings in the Jan. 6 insurrection this week featured never-before-seen videos, serious allegations against former President Donald Trump and gripping testimony.
Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is reportedly set to testify at one of the hearings. Raffensperger was thrust into the national spotlight with former President Donald Trump’s repeated unfounded claims of voter fraud in the state and of course, that infamous phone call.
“I just want to find, uh, 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have,” said Trump to Raffensperger on a Jan. 2, 2021 phone call that included repeated efforts by the former president to give him victory in the state.
Raffensperger refused to illegally alter the outcome of the election, and Georgia’s electoral votes went to a Democratic candidate for president for the first time since 1992.
Bee versus Dee…
Raffensperger held off Republican challengers, including one backed by Trump, and will be on the ballot in November. But the Democratic side for the secretary of state race is in a runoff between Georgia state Rep. Bee Nguyen and former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler.
Get more from our Political Breakfast team on that runoff race as well as interviews with the candidates.
Millions spent on climate change misinformation…
Southern Company, the parent of Georgia Power, knew about the link between emissions and climate change decades ago but still spent tens of millions of dollars on climate misinformation. That’s according to a new report by the Energy and Policy Institute, a watchdog group looking at the fossil fuel and utility industries.
The company told WABE that it has reduced carbon emissions significantly over the years and has invested in a number of climate initiatives. You can get more from the company in our story, which is a collaboration with Grist.org.
Also in this episode…
–Susanna Capleouto looks at the call from some Republicans to change Georgia’s open primary after several thousand voters crossed over to vote on the GOP ticket.
–Molly Samuel reports on how the Muscogee Creek Nation played an important role in the federal government changing its stance on a controversial mine proposed near Georgia’s Okefenokee Swamp two centuries after they were forced to leave the area.
–Emily Wu Pearson has more on a program by the city of Atlanta to provide live translation services in scores of languages for city services.