Time for Justice for the Fulton County Pollworkers
Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss were hauled involuntarily into this episodes of conservative craziness and deserve legal reckoning.
Headshot of Charles P. PierceBy Charles P. Pierce PUBLISHED: AUG 10, 2023
I can't tell you how much I hope this story from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution is accurate in its speculation about what may be coming next from various prosecutors.
All eyes are on Trump as Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis prepares to announce indictments stemming from her more than 2-year-old probe of interference in Georgia’s 2020 elections. One area of interest that could result in criminal charges relates to the harassment experienced by Freeman and her daughter, Shaye Moss, in late 2020 and early 2021. Both poll workers testified before the special grand jury in Fulton that spent nearly eight months helping Willis compile evidence and later recommended a series of indictments. Several jurors interviewed by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, who spoke on the condition that they not be identified, said they were deeply affected by the mother and daughter’s testimony and found no evidence of wrongdoing on their part.
The story also has as its central figure a guy named Stephen Lee, who showed up outside Ruby Freeman's house and told the local police that he had come there because he was "working with some folks who are trying to help Ruby out." Needless to say, Lee's sincerity in this matter turned out to be….questionable..
Lee, who resides outside of Chicago, visited Freeman’s house less than two weeks after Giuliani spoke at the hearing. After that effort proved to be unsuccessful, Lee allegedly reached out to Floyd, who briefly ran for a suburban Atlanta U.S. House seat before serving as director of Black Voices for Trump. Lee asked Floyd to arrange a meeting with Freeman, according to his summons from the special grand jury, which cites an interview Floyd did with Reuters. Floyd told the wire service that Lee had contacted him because he believed Freeman would be more likely to trust a Black stranger. Floyd in turn reached out to Kutti, a onetime publicist for R. Kelly and Kanye West, and she visited Freeman on Jan. 4, 2021. She told Freeman that “an armed squad of federal” officers would “approach” Freeman and her family within 48 hours and said she could help if Freeman confessed to committing election fraud.
Freeman declined to talk with Kutti at her door, but after calling the cops agreed to speak with Kutti at a Cobb County police station. During that conversation, which was partially captured by police body camera footage, Kutti said Freeman was “a loose end for a party that needs to tidy up.” She stated that she wanted to connect Freeman to Floyd, whom she described as a “high level” crisis manager “with authoritative powers to get you protection that you need.” Kutti then called Floyd on speakerphone, and the three spoke for about an hour. Freeman was pressured “to reveal information under the threat of incarceration if she did not comply,” according to her summons.
It's about time that the innocent victims who are hauled involuntarily into the episodes of conservative craziness find some legal reckoning for themselves. The grist in the mills bites back.
https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/politics/a44776808/ruby-freeman-shaye-moss-georgia-pollworkers-case/