- The Washington Times - Wednesday, August 30, 2023

The Georgia state senator pushing to defund the Fulton County district attorney’s office following the indictment of former President Donald Trump is warning his colleague that if they don’t act, “our constituencies are going to be fighting it in the streets.”

Sen. Colton Moore, a backbencher in the Georgia Legislature, has gained notoriety by calling on his fellow lawmakers to pressure Republican Gov. Brian Kemp to call a special session to claw back taxpayer dollars going to Fani Willis, the district attorney behind the indictment against Mr. Trump and 18 others for trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election.

“I told one senator, I said listen we have to put our heads together and figure this out. We need to be taking action right now because if we don’t, our constituencies are going to be fighting it in the streets,” Mr. Moore said on Steve Bannon’s “War Room” show. “Do you want a civil war? I don’t want a civil war. I don’t want to have to draw my rifle.” 

He added, “I want to make this problem go away with my legislative means of doing so, and the first step to getting that done is defunding Fani Willis of any Georgia tax dollars.”

His push is running into opposition from Mr. Kemp and most Republicans in the Georgia Legislature who see the effort as going nowhere and more of a political stunt aimed at raising Mr. Moore’s political profile for a potential congressional run if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is tapped as Mr. Trump’s vice president or runs for statewide office.

“He is trying to make a name for himself and position himself for a higher office, but a lot of people do not take him seriously — even a lot of Trump people,” said David Johnson, a Georgia-based GOP strategist. “They see this as his opportunity for his 15 minutes of fame.”

Fellow Republican state Sen. Bo Hatchett released a letter this week saying Mr. Colton’s push is going nowhere.

Mr. Hatchett said the GOP lacks the supermajority needed to gut funding for Ms. Willis’ office, adding that Mr. Moore “inaccurately cites the Georgia Constitution, something even a quick Google search would reveal.”

“The truth is that Republicans agree with the basic desires that Colton Moore expresses about D.A. Willis, but we refuse to see a false reality to voters about what they can do about it,” Mr. Hatchett said in the letter. “I guess for some, the fundraising opportunity was just too attractive.”

Mr. Hatchett said the Legislature recently created a Prosecutorial Oversight Commission tasked with disciplining prosecutors and said Mr. Moore voted against the legislation, which was passed to go after rogue prosecutors.

Mr. Moore said more must be done to respond to the concerns of voters.

Meanwhile, Mr. Bannon, who served as chief strategist in the Trump White House, said Mr. Moore is the “tip of the spear in Georgia.”

• Seth McLaughlin can be reached at smclaughlin@washingtontimes.com.

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