Prosecutor gets Georgia official's case
ATLANTA -- A special prosecutor has been assigned to look into whether Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones should face criminal charges over efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election in the state.
The Prosecuting Attorneys' Council of Georgia announced Thursday that its executive director, Pete Skandalakis, will handle the matter after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis was barred from prosecuting Jones as part of her election interference case against former President Donald Trump and others.
Jones was one of 16 state Republicans who signed a certificate stating that Trump won Georgia and declaring themselves the state's "duly elected and qualified" electors even though Democrat Joe Biden was declared the winner in the state. As a state senator in the wake of the election, he also sought a special session of Georgia's Legislature aimed at overturning Biden's narrow win in the state.
As Willis was investigating possible illegal election meddling by Trump and others, Jones argued that Willis should not be able to pursue charges against him because she had hosted a fundraiser for his Democratic opponent in the lieutenant governor's race. Superior Court Judge Robert McBurney ruled in July 2022 that Willis' actions created an "actual and untenable" conflict of interest.
McBurney's ruling left it up to the Prosecuting Attorneys' Council, a nonpartisan state agency that supports district attorneys, to appoint a prosecutor to decide whether Jones should be charged.
Right after Trump and the others were indicted, Skandalakis said he would begin looking for an appropriate prosecutor. But he instead decided to appoint himself.
In a statement Thursday, Jones welcomed the news of Skandalakis' appointment.
"I'm happy to see this process move forward and look forward to the opportunity to get this charade behind me," Jones said.
1 person killed, 5 injured in D.C. gunfire
WASHINGTON -- A man was killed and five others -- including two children -- were injured in a barrage of gunfire Wednesday in the nation's capital.
The shooting happened just after 6 p.m. in the Carver Langston neighborhood of Washington, Metropolitan Police Department Chief Pamela Smith said.
Investigators believe the suspects exited a vehicle and then began shooting into a crowd of people on the street. Multiple people were shot.
One of the victims, an adult man, was killed. Two men, a woman and a 9-year-old were taken by ambulance to local hospitals. A 12-year-old later arrived at a hospital with a gunshot wound and is also believed to be a victim in the shooting, Smith said.
Brawl breaks out in New Orleans court
NEW ORLEANS -- A fight broke out in a New Orleans courtroom Thursday after a man pleaded guilty to murdering his three children in an arson house fire last year.
New Orleans news outlets report that Joseph Washington pleaded guilty to first-degree murder when he was attacked by a woman related to the children.
Other relatives joined in the attack before deputies restored order. One arrest was reported.
Washington's plea came after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty in the case.
Washington set fire to his ex-wife's house in October in what Police Chief Anne Kirkpatrick called a "horrific" act of domestic violence. Police said the fire killed a 3-year-old boy, a 5-year-old girl and an 8-year-old boy.
Police said the children's mother called 911 saying the children's father planned to burn the house down. The mother was not at home at the time. Moments later, the fire was reported.
US senator, wife to face separate trials
NEW YORK -- U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez and his wife will be tried separately on claims that they participated in a bribery scheme, a federal judge ruled Thursday after Nadine Menendez's lawyers argued that she requires treatment for a serious medical condition.
The New Jersey Democrat's trial will remain scheduled for May 6 in Manhattan federal court, while Nadine Menendez's trial was tentatively pushed back to July 8.
"This trial is going forward without Mrs. Menendez" in order to "give some stability and certainty to all parties," Judge Sidney Stein said. "The government is going to have to try this case two times."
A lawyer for the senator urged the judge not to hold up his client's day in court over the issue, saying the claims are a "specter" hanging over the the former chair of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations that "effectively removes his ability to run" for reelection this year.
"We are asserting our speedy trial rights," Adam Fee said.
Prosecutors, meanwhile, contended that the entire trial should just be delayed, arguing in a letter to the judge that severing Nadine Menendez's trial from her husband's would result in "serious inefficiencies and unfairness" that would require dozens of witnesses to be recalled.
Stein also Thursday denied motions to dismiss the case outright and transfer the trial to New Jersey.