James Edward Oglethorpe was born in London, England, on December 22, 1696. He was elected to Parliament, where he worked on prison reform and had the idea of a new colony where “worthy poor” Brits could be sent. In 1732, Oglethorpe was granted a charter to create a colony of Georgia in the new world.
On December 22, 1775, the Continental Congress created the Continental Navy.
Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony premiered on December 22, 1808 in Vienna, Austria.
Governor George Gilmer signed legislation that prohibited teaching slaves or free African-Americans to read or write on December 22, 1829. One year later to the day, he signed legislation claiming for the state all territory occupied by the Cherokee tribe.
On December 21, 1835, Oglethorpe University was incorporated near Macon, later moving to Atlanta.
On December 21, 1863, the Confederate government selected a site in Sumter County for construction of Camp Sumter, which would be better known by the name Andersonville Prison.
On December 20, 1864, Confederate forces in Savannah retreated ahead of Sherman’s army, crossing over into South Carolina, four years to the day after South Carolina’s secession.
General William Tecumseh Sherman received the surrender of Savannah, Georgia on December 21, 1864.
On December 22, 1864, General William T. Sherman wired to President Abraham Lincoln from Savannah, Georgia,
His Excellency President LINCOLN:
I beg to present you, as a Christmas gift, the city of Savannah, with 150 heavy guns and plenty of ammunition, and also about 25,000 bales of cotton.
W.T. Sherman,
Major General.
Eugene Talmadge, who was elected four times as Governor of Georgia, in 1932, 1934, 1940, and 1946, died on December 21, 1946, leading to the Three Governors Controversy.
The United States invaded Panama on December 20, 1989.
Georgia Politics, Campaigns, and Elections
Former President Jimmy Carter will not attend the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, according to WALB via WRDW.
A spokesperson with the Carter Center tells WALB, “President Carter has been in hospice for nearly two years. As such, he doesn’t plan to attend the inauguration.”
The former president and first lady did not attend Biden’s inauguration in 2021 either.
However, the Carter Center told USA TODAY that if it weren’t for President Carter’s health concerns he would be in attendance.
President Carter turned 100 on Oct. 1, and he has continued to reside at his home in Plains, Ga. while in hospice care for the last two years.
A three-judge panel of the Georgia Court of Appeals disqualified Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis from further persecution prosecution of the Trump defendants, according to the Savannah Morning News.
A Georgia appeals court has ruled to disqualify Fulton County D.A. Fani Willis from the election racketeering case against President-elect Donald Trump and eight co-defendants in a decision released Wednesday.
The move is the latest development in a battle over the future of the case after allegations of a romantic relationship between Willis and Nathan Wade, the private attorney she hired to oversee the case, were substantiated. Trump and his co-defendants in the case argued that Willis stood to benefit financially from hiring Wade and traveling with him, citing trips the couple took to places like Napa Valley, Aruba and the Bahamas.
Fulton County Superior Judge Scott McAfee had previously ruled that Willis showed a “tremendous lapse in judgment,” but could remain on the case if Wade withdrew. Wade resigned hours later.
But after an appeal from Trump, Rudy Giuliani, Mark Meadows and six others in the case, the Georgia Court of Appeals voted 2-1 to reverse the decision, with Judge Trenton Brown penning the majority opinion, joined by Judge Todd Markle, and Judge Benjamin Land dissenting.
“After carefully considering the trial court’s findings in its order, we conclude that it erred by failing to disqualify DA Willis and her office,” Brown wrote in his decision. “The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring.”
However, in his dissent, Land argued that the appeals court had overreached its authority in reversing the trial court’s decision, and that the appearance of a conflict of interest was not a sufficient reason to remove a prosecutor from the case.
“For at least the last 43 years, our appellate courts have held that an appearance of impropriety, without an actual conflict of interest or actual impropriety, provides no basis for the reversal of a trial court’s denial of a motion to disqualify,” Land wrote in his dissent.
Willis is expected to appeal the decision.
From the Capitol Beat News Service via the Valdosta Daily Times:
In a 2-1 decision, the appellate court declared that Willis’ sexual relationship with Nathan Wade, the special prosecutor she hired to lead the case, constituted an appearance of impropriety that could not be overcome even though Wade removed himself from the prosecution team.
A Fulton County grand jury indicted Trump – now the president elect – and 18 co-defendants in August of last year on charges of participating in a racketeering conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election in Georgia.
The defendants sought to have Willis removed from the case, citing her relationship with Wade as a conflict of interest.
Fulton Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee ruled last March that Willis could remain on the case but only if Wade removed himself. Wade resigned from the case several hours later.
On Thursday, the appellate court ruled that McAfee’s solution wasn’t enough to avoid an appearance of impropriety on Willis’ part.
“The remedy crafted by the trial court to prevent an ongoing appearance of impropriety did nothing to address the appearance of impropriety that existed at times when DA Willis was exercising her broad pretrial discretion about who to prosecute and what charges to bring,” Judge Trenton Brown wrote. “While we recognize that an appearance of impropriety generally is not enough to support disqualification, this is the rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.”
One of the three judges on the appellate panel – Benjamin Land – dissented from the ruling. He argued the appellate court should have given greater deference to McAfee’s trial court opinion.
“I am particularly troubled by the fact that the majority has taken what has long been a discretionary decision for the trial court to make and converted it to something else entirely,” Land wrote.
Although Thursday’s ruling did not dismiss the underlying indictment of Trump and his associates, it raises serious doubts over whether the last of several court cases still pending against the president elect can move forward.
However, the Thursday ruling may not be the last word on the matter now that the District Attorney’s Office has filed its own court document promising to appeal the decision to Georgia’s highest court.
Robert James, a former Dekalb County district attorney who served as a Democrat, said the case will effectively remain frozen on appeal until the state supreme court weighs in.
“Everything is going to be in stasis,” he said.
If the state supreme court ultimately upholds the appellate court’s ruling disqualifying Willis and her office, the future of the election interference prosecution would be in serious jeopardy. In that scenario, James said, the case would be transferred to the jurisdiction of the Prosecuting Attorney’s Council of Georgia. It would be up to that third-party organization to assign a new prosecutor to take over the case – who would have autonomy to review the entirety of the case.
“There’s no prosecutor’s office in the state of Georgia that’s going to get a case of this magnitude, of this import, and not say ‘listen, we’ve got to tear it down to the studs and look at everything and make a determination of what we should go forward on and what we shouldn’t go forward on,’” James said.
At a minimum, he said, that process would add a lengthy delay to the case. At a maximum, it could result in dismissals of charges or defendants.
Steve Sadow, Trump’s attorney in Georgia, said the Court of Appeals decision was “well-reasoned and just.”
In a statement, he said the Court of Appeals “highlighted that Willis’ misconduct created an ‘odor of mendacity’ and an appearance of impropriety that could only be cured by the disqualification of her and her entire office. As the Court rightfully noted, only the remedy of disqualification will suffice to restore public confidence. This decision puts an end to a politically motivated persecution of the next President of the United States.”
Ashleigh Merchant, the defense attorney who represents Trump co-defendant Michael Roman and who first brought the Willis-Wade relationship to light in a January court filing, praised the Court of Appeals decision.
“We are very pleased the (Court of Appeals) agreed with Mr. Roman and the other defendants that Ms. Willis should not have been allowed to prosecute this case,” she said via text message. “We regret that Ms. Willis did not do the right thing and voluntarily recuse herself when Mr. Roman raised the issue because failing to do so put Judge McAfee in an “untenable position.”
From Atlanta News First via WTVM:
The decision means it will be up to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia to find another prosecutor to take over the case and decide whether to pursue it — though that could be delayed because a few hours after the decision was filed, Willis’ office filed a notice of intent to ask the Georgia Supreme Court to review the decision.
“The Court of Appeals can handle it whatever way they want, as long as it’s within their rules, and that’s exactly what they did,” Josh Schiffer, an Atlanta attorney, said. “The Georgia Supreme Court now has an opportunity to set forth a policy that’s solid for the entire state. It’s an opportunity for clarity from the Georgia Supreme Court.”
The court had set a Dec. 5 date for oral arguments in the case, which would have revolved around Willis’ romantic relationship with the special prosecutor she had hired to investigate Trump. However, two weeks before the scheduled hearing, the court abruptly canceled it with no explanation.
Schiffer said the ultimate outcome of this case will impact all defendants in Georgia, not just Trump and his allies who are charged in the indictment.
“This is the case that will be cited if you feel that you are being prosecuted unfairly by a prosecutor because of a conflict,” Schiffer said. “Prior to this in Georgia, if you believed as a criminal defendant that your prosecutor had some sort of conflict, it was almost impossible to get any kind of a remedy from the court system.”
Willis suffered numerous recent setbacks in late 2024 in her attempt to prosecute Trump. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Scott McAfee dismissed two charges Willis had filed against Trump. Then the Georgia Prosecuting Attorney’s Council declined to charge Lt. Gov. Burt Jones in a probe into alleged 2020 election interference in the state.
Pete Skandalakis, executive director of the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia, said Jones was acting in his capacity as an alternate elector who wished to certify Georgia’s 2020 election in favor of Trump.
Chris Timmons, an Atlanta-based trial attorney, said he had never seen an appellate court disqualify a district attorney’s office in his 17 previous years serving as a state prosecutor.
“Uncharted waters — this is stuff that we don’t see every day,” said Timmons. “I think it’s really unusual to see the Court of Appeals disqualify the DA’s office. That just doesn’t happen. I mean, usually, the DA’s office disqualifies themselves.”
Willis is attempting to revive her prosecution by bringing the appeals court’s disqualification to the Georgia Supreme Court. The court, which is controlled by justices appointed by Republican governors, would have to first decide whether to take up the appeal.
“The chances are not great that the case proceeds, but there’s still a chance,” said Timmons.
If the court lets Thursday’s ruling stand, the case would be handed over to the Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council of Georgia (PAC), a nonpartisan state agency.
Pete Skandalakis, PAC’s executive director, said he was aware of the appeals court’s decision but declined further comment as Willis continues appealing.
“At this point, all avenues of appeal have not been exhausted,” Skandalakis said in a statement.
PAC could send the case to another district attorney’s office, which would then decide whether to proceed, appoint a special prosecutor or handle the case itself.
The latter option is how PAC proceeded when it took over whether to charge Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones (R) in the election interference case. A judge prevented Willis from charging Jones after she attended a fundraiser for one of his political opponents.
More than two years later, the council declined to bring any charges against Jones, saying his actions were “reasonable and not criminal in nature.”
“My review of the evidence finds this matter does not warrant further consideration,” Skandalakis said at the time.
The appeals court’s decision is a massive blow to Willis, a Democrat and one of the most recognizable prosecutors in the country who cruised to a second term last month against a relatively inexperienced Republican opponent. It also could be the death knell for the fourth and final case that resulted in criminal charges against Trump after he left office in January 2021.
The underlying case technically remains alive. The appeals court declined a separate request from several other defendants to dismiss the indictment entirely. Even if Willis’ office is removed, another prosecutors’ office could be assigned to take over, though many allies of the DA fear the case would effectively die if that were to occur.
Trump celebrated the ruling on Thursday, telling Fox News Digital that “everybody should receive an apology, including those wonderful patriots who have been caught up in this for years.” His lead Atlanta attorney, Steve Sadow, said in a statement that the decision “puts an end to a politically motivated persecution of the next President of the United States.”
Pete Skandalakis, the executive director of the PAC, said he was still reviewing Thursday’s opinion but that it could be a while before his organization touches the case, if at all. It could take weeks or months for expected appeals to play out.
“If the case comes to us, then we begin the process of trying to find a conflict prosecutor,” he said.
It is unclear whether there are other prosecutors around the state who would raise their hand to pick up the election case given the resources and time needed to bring such a complex case to trial. Not only that, but the notoriety and threats that Willis has received over the last several years — she travels with around-the-clock security and as recently as October testified at the sentencing of an Alabama man who had threatened her and her family — will likely be further disincentive for many.
The ruling is undoubtedly the most high-profile for Georgia’s typically under-the-radar appeals court, which is among the busiest of its kind in the country.
The average case there takes roughly eight-and-a-half months from when it is docketed — or officially accepted — to when it is decided, according to legal observers who closely follow the court. So it was notable that the judges decided it in about six months.
The decision comes a few weeks after the court abruptly canceled Dec. 5 oral arguments without any explanation, taking many of the attorneys involved by surprise. Now it’s clear the judges had made up their minds based solely on legal briefs — and well ahead of their mid-March deadline.
Land, Markle and Brown were randomly selected to hear the case via the court’s computer system.
The appeals court is still weighing a separate cross-appeal in the election interference case. The court has until July to decide whether to reinstate, as prosecutors have asked, six criminal charges McAfee dropped from the indictment because they lacked sufficient detail.
Gov. Brian Kemp, a Republican
“I’m not surprised. Like I’ve said before, this whole thing seems very political to me. And for (Willis) to continue to do that, it seems political. But as you know I was subpoenaed in that case, so I have to be careful about what I’m saying”
“But I wonder: As much time and as many resources as they’ve been putting into this case after all these years, what’s not getting done in that office? What cases aren’t being prosecuted? Who’s walking on our streets right now who are out on bail who are not receiving the justice they deserve and their victims deserve?”
Attorney General Chris Carr, a Republican
“I think there’s a lot that’s gone on in this country for the last several years, where it’s happening on both sides of the aisle,” he said on the AJC’s “Politically Georgia.” “One of the things we need to do in politics is stay in our lane … I would just suggest it is not going to serve our nation well if we go after our political enemies if we don’t like what they’ve done, in office or not.”
Former state Sen. Jen Jordan, a Democrat who ran for state attorney general
“The reality of the situation is that Fulton County’s prosecution of former president Trump effectively ended as soon as he won reelection. We, as a country, might be in a very different place today if the criminal trial of Trump had not been derailed by the issue of disqualification in the first place.”
State Republican Party chair Josh McKoon
Today’s decision was “a total vindication of our strategy” to push back against Willis’ “frightening abuse of her prosecutorial powers,” he said in a statement.
“We will fight to see the final dismissal of this case and that those responsible for this farce are fully held to account so that no one is ever put through this disgusting perversion of our criminal justice system again.”
Governor Brian Kemp announced that the Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division will allow some new agricultural irrigation permits, according to a Press Release.
Governor Brian P. Kemp today announced that the Georgia Environmental Protection Division (EPD) has modified the 2012 suspension of agricultural water withdrawal permits in portions of the Lower Flint and Chattahoochee River Basins, allowing for the issuance of the first new agricultural water withdrawal permits in this area in over a decade. Starting April 1, 2025, EPD will accept applications for groundwater withdrawal permits that will include drought-related measures to continue ensuring the long-term well-being of water resources essential to Georgia farmers.
“As Georgia farmers continue to recover from the devastating impacts of Hurricane Helene, I could not be more proud to deliver this good news,” said Governor Brian Kemp. “I am grateful to the EPD for their diligent and hard work in ensuring that our state is on a path that protects both Georgia farmers and our water resources.”
Since the 2012 suspension was enacted, EPD has gathered the technical data necessary to make modifications responsibly and with long-term impacts in mind. In 2023, EPD began exploring limited modifications, including permitting for frost protection in portions of the suspension area. These efforts laid the groundwork for the new adjustments announced today and demonstrate EPD’s commitment to balancing water resource management with the needs of Georgia’s farmers.
“A lot of work has been done since 2012, especially over the last couple years” said EPD Director Jeff Cown. “EPD is confident with these updated recommendations, as our metering program has gathered extensive data strengthening our technical understanding of surface water and groundwater in the Lower Flint. The Regional Water and Habitat Conservation Plans support existing water users, including farmers, and set the stage to make room for new ones. We look forward to working with all water users as they obtain these newly, developed permits.”
More information about the modification to the suspension is available on the EPD website.
The EPD imposed the moratorium on new irrigation wells in 2012 in response to a two-year drought that dried up one stream and significantly decreased flows in others.
The agency eased the ban last year by lifting it during periods when frost threatened crops. But farmers complained that lifting the ban only for the limited time of the year when freezes are a concern didn’t go far enough.
Wednesday’s announcement cited extensive scientific research conducted since 2012 that has left the EPD confident the time is right to lift the moratorium completely.
Technological improvements during the last decade are allowing farmers to better track the amount of water they’re using to irrigate their crops. That ability to measure groundwater use was among the arguments lawyers for the state used to prevail in a long-running legal battle over water allocation against Florida and Alabama.
Governor Kemp issued Executive Order #12.16.24.01, appointing Amy E. Smith to the Superior Court for the Houston Judicial Circuit, filling a new seat created by House Bill 992.
Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tyler Harper encouraged Congress to pass legislation that includes disaster relief for Georgia farmers, according to WALB.
The spending bill includes nearly $100 billion in disaster relief, including relief for Georgia farmers. If not approved by a midnight deadline on Friday, the government will shut down.
“From soaring input costs to low commodity prices, the expiration of the Farm Bill, and devastating natural disasters, these past few years have been some of the hardest for our farm families in our nation’s history,” Harper said in a statement. “We have worked around the clock to do everything in our power to get our farm families back on their feet, and thanks to the diligent work of those members of Congress who are fighting on behalf of agriculture, including a number of those in our congressional delegation, it is my understanding that a deal on disaster assistance and economic relief has been reached and will be released later today.”
Harper said while the destruction from Hurricane Helene is still “too raw and real in Georgia,” some in Washington D.C. have been “using agriculture as a pawn and apparently, don’t seem to care about the farm families that deliver the food, fiber and shelter that this country relies on every day.”
“The continued success of our farm families, our nation’s national security, and our consumers, who will benefit from lower prices at the grocery store, all depend on Congress passing significant disaster relief and economic assistance,” Harper said. “It is time for Washington, D.C. to do its job, and it is imperative that our entire congressional delegation support these measures to ensure our farm families remain strong and consumers can continue to enjoy the safest, most abundant and most affordable food supply in the world. The eyes of Georgia and the nation are watching — and it cannot afford to wait any longer.”
Tom Smith, professor at Emory University’s Goizueta Business School, said not helping farmers could hurt consumers.
“I think that if farmers don’t get the relief that they need and you see farmers go out of business, you would see a decline in food supplies and then see an uptick in prices. And as we know, consumers are not very happy with the trend in food prices. And so if farmers don’t get some relief, you’ll end up seeing some other farmers go out of business,” said Smith.
New election rules passed by the General Assembly in 2024 will affect people who are homeless, according to the AJC.
Under a provision in Senate Bill 189, passed by state lawmakers this year, voters who are homeless and those without permanent addresses must receive election-related mail at their county’s election office. That includes things such as absentee ballots, precinct cards, registration cards and sample ballots.
Voters registered at the Central Outreach and Advocacy Center will soon have to travel 20 miles to Fulton County’s Election Hub to receive absentee ballots and other election-related mail notifying them of things such as polling location changes or challenges to their voter registration.
There are about 10,000 voters across the state who registered with a homeless services provider as their mailing address, according to an Atlanta Journal-Constitution analysis of the state’s voter roll. This number includes those registered at large shelters, churches and food banks, but there are hundreds more unhoused voters at smaller locations scattered throughout Georgia.
State Sen. Max Burns, who sponsored SB 189, told the AJC that under the new law, a homeless voter can still fill out their registration address at a street corner or other nonresidential address, but it would not be considered a residence “in the traditional sense.” In such cases, all election mail would be directed to their county election office, he said.
Burns, a Republican from Sylvania, said the intention of the provision was to “ensure that every voter who was homeless received their absentee ballot.”
But the CEO of the Democratic voting rights organization Fair Fight Action, Lauren Groh-Wargo, said lawmakers were motivated by politics rather than concerns over election mail.
Many voters who cast absentee ballots in 2o24 did not vote in 2024, according to the AJC.
Turnout plunged among Georgia voters who returned absentee ballots in 2020, with many of them sitting out this year’s election entirely without voting either by mail or in person.
While overall turnout in Georgia this year shattered records with nearly 5.3 million voters, absentee voters were more likely to stay home than voters who cast ballots early or on Election Day four years ago, according to turnout records analyzed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
More than 347,000 voters who cast absentee ballots in 2020 didn’t participate in last month’s election, a 27% decrease in their turnout. If those voters had shown up at the same rate this year as everyone else who voted in 2020, roughly 123,000 more ballots would have been cast.
After Donald Trump’s narrow loss to Joe Biden, Georgia Republicans passed a sweeping election law in 2021 that added new requirements for absentee voting and made it less convenient.
It’s also possible that Democrats were not as enthusiastic this year as they had been four years ago. In both years, two-thirds of absentee voters supported the Democratic candidate, but there were far fewer absentee voters in 2024. In 2020, 26% of all Georgia voters returned absentee ballots. This year, just 5% of voters cast absentee ballots.
Absentee votes for each candidate decreased by an identical rate compared with 2020. Whether it was the choice of candidates, the 2021 voting law, or a combination of the two is not entirely certain.
Widespread absentee voting in 2020 boosted turnout by making it easier to return a ballot, said Barbara Smith Warner, executive director for the National Vote at Home Institute, an organization that advocates for voting by mail.
Georgia is one of 28 states that allow any voter to cast an absentee ballot for any reason, and ID is required both for mail and in-person voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Eight states and the District of Columbia mail ballots to all eligible voters.
Betsy Kramer, a member of the Georgia Republican Party’s Election Confidence Task Force, said she opposes such ready access to absentee voting. She supports the limitations in SB 202 and wants legislators to go further by requiring voters to provide an excuse before they can vote by mail.
“Voting should be something that you have to think about and put some effort into. It shouldn’t be so easy,” said Kramer, one of Georgia’s 16 presidential electors who voted for Trump at the state Capitol on Tuesday. “To vote, you need to be an educated voter.”
Savannah-Chatham County Board of Education members voted to place a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) extension on the ballot, according to the Savannah Morning News.
Savannah-Chatham County Public School (SCCPSS) board members unanimously approved a resolution to hold an ESPLOST V referendum vote on March 18, 2025, the day after the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade.
School district leaders have spent the last few months crafting a blueprint for the future that seeks to renovate, renew and reimagine public school education through continuation of the 1% Education Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (ESPLOST) V and the Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT). The district’s final collection estimate ended up at $705 million.
Glynn County Commissioners voted to repeal a ban on citizens serving on multiple appointed boards, according to The Brunswick News.
The Glynn County Commission approved removing a prohibition on citizens serving on multiple boards at Thursday’s meeting.
The proposed amendment to the county ordinance also reduced the submission requirement for resumes or letters of interest from nine days down to seven days for people seeking appointments or nominations by county commissioners.
Commissioner Walter Rafolski said he and other commissioners believe some people serving on board that only meet two or three times a year have the expertise to serve on planning commissions and other advisory boards.
Brunswick City Commissioners voted to adopt a measure against blighted properties, according to The Brunswick News.
The City Commission approved a substantial addition to the city’s ordinances Wednesday with the addition of new rules for blighted properties, including a blight tax.
It’s intended to reduce instances of demolition by neglect, hazardous vacant properties and issues with squatters, Hunter said.
Vacant properties must now be registered with the city and the rules give the city’s code enforcement a quicker method to force property owners to secure their vacant or blighted properties, among other things.
The new additions include a blight tax — an increased property tax the city can levy. Should a property be determined to be blighted, an owner’s property tax bill could be multiplied by seven for all years the property violates the blight ordinances.
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