Democratic Party of Georgia

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SoS Kemp: It’s Only Federal Overreach When a Democrat is President

                                                                                     

 

SoS Kemp: It’s Only Federal Overreach When a Democrat is President

Atlanta, GA –

 

“Brian Kemp has consistently stonewalled efforts that would ensure the integrity of our elections system. Now, just a little over a year after he handed out our private information unprovoked, he’s being asked by a panel of the nation’s leading voter suppression experts to willingly hand out that information once again and more. This move by the Trump administration is a blatant, partisan trick to suppress votes. With hostile foreign governments subverting American elections, we do not need to make our elections even more vulnerable. Georgia Democrats call on Brian Kemp to reject the Trump Administration’s demands, just as he most certainly would with the previous administration.” – DuBose Porter, Chair

 

From The Hill:

The vice chairman of President Trump’s commission on election integrity sent a letter to all 50 states Wednesday requesting information on their voter rolls.

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach is seeking several pieces of information about voters, including their names, birthdays, the last four digits of their Social Security numbers and their voting history dating back to 2006.

The letter, sent to the secretaries of state of all 50 states and obtained by The Hill, directs states to turn over “publicly-available voter roll data  including, if publicly available under the laws of your state, the full first and last names of all registrants, middle names or initials if available, addresses, dates of birth, political party (if recorded in your state), last four digits of social security number if available, [and] voter history from 2006 onward.”

 

So, will Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp comply?

 

Last year, when the Department of Homeland Security and the Intelligence Community warned Secretaries of State of a series of high-profile elections system breaches and offered a series of proactive scans and evaluations, Kemp scoffed at the idea. Initially, Kemp accused the government of “federal overreach” and labeled the IC’s offer as an attempt to “subvert the Constitution to achieve the goal of federalizing elections under the guise of security.”

 

In November of 2015, Brian Kemp’s office released the Social Security numbers and private data of more than 6 million Georgia voters. Not only did Kemp’s breach endanger the economic security of millions of Georgians, his mistake cost taxpayers well into the seven figures.

 

Despite multiple warnings from the IC and security experts, and despite black and white evidence of Russian interference in our elections (and evidence of Donald Trump’s interference in the Russia investigation), Kemp remains in the minority of skeptics. According to the Washington Post, “Kemp said in a recent interview, adding that he remains unconvinced that Russia waged a campaign to disrupt the 2016 race. ‘I don’t necessarily believe that,’ he said.”

 

Further information, including a timeline of events, can be found here.

 

 

Georgia Democrats press Isakson, Perdue to condemn Trump intel disclosure

Atlanta Journal-Constitution // Greg Bluestein

May 16, 2017

Georgia Democrats pressed Sens. Johnny Isakson and David Perdue to condemn President Donald Trump for revealing highly classified intelligence to Russian officials, reminding them they co-sponsored legislation that would sanction anyone who exercised “extreme carelessness” in handling confidential information.

Democratic Party of Georgia head DuBose Porter said Tuesday that Trump has “undermined the trust of our allies and imperiled our national security” and referred to legislation both Republicans sponsored in July 2016 that would strip security clearances for those who mishandle sensitive info.

The measure, which never gained traction, was a political maneuver introduced in the heat of the campaign by Republicans frustrated that Democrat Hillary Clinton was not indicted for her handling of classified material on a personal email server while she was U.S. secretary of state.

Isakson did not immediately comment on reports that Trump boasted about classified material in a meeting last week with the Russian ambassador and foreign minister – his office said he wouldn’t weigh in until he “has learned all the facts.”

And Perdue, one of Trump’s highest-profile advocates in Georgia, called it a “shiny object of the day for the media and Washington.”

“I want to get back to talking about the debt, the upcoming budget, and this president re-engaging,” he said on Fox Business Network of Trump’s upcoming trip to the Middle East and the Vatican. “Isn’t it refreshing that we have a president re-engaging with U.S. allies around the world on his first international trip?”

Trump said on Twitter he had the “absolute right” to reveal the information, citing “humanitarian reasons” and an effort to goad Russia into stepping up its fight with the Islamic State. His allies have said the law gives the president has wide discretion to declassify information.

But analysts worried that the details could expose the source of the information, putting the nation’s intelligence sources and diplomatic ties at risk. The New York Times reported that Israel provided the intel that Trump shared with Russia.

In a statement, Porter asked whether Isakson and Perdue will hold Trump to the “same standard” they sought in the legislation.

“Their silence is jeopardizing our relationships with our allies and could put American lives at risk,” said Porter.

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Georgia Democrats press Isakson, Perdue to condemn Trump intel disclosure

DPG Chair Statement on Firing of FBI Director

Release:  Tuesday, May 9, 2017      

Atlanta, GA – Democratic Party of Georgia Chair DuBose Porter issued the following statement in response to the firing of FBI Director James Comey.

“Donald Trump’s authoritarian rule knows no bounds. First he fires Sally Yates and now Comey—the man responsible for investigating Trump’s ties to Russia. This is above politics, and there already exists a resounding bipartisan agreement on calls for an independent commission and the appointment of a special prosecutor. Our national security is as stake and these demands must be met immediately. We cannot trust Donald Trump to investigate himself. We just cannot trust Donald Trump.”

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