THIS IS AMERICA?  GEORGIA PREPARES FOR TRUMP.  THEIR LOCAL POLS WANT A PIECE OF THE ACTION.  FROM DAILY MAIL:

Days after former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty to his third set of criminal charges, police in Atlanta set up barriers Monday around the city's courthouse as the city braces for an indictment in yet another case related the 2020 election.

Officers closed roads, dogs patroled the area and food trucks stayed away from the normally busy court district.

Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is in the final stages of her investigation into Trump's efforts to reverse his defeat in the key swing state of Georgia.

If he is indicted, it will the fourth time he has been criminally charged since March. 
Last week, Fulton County Sheriff Patrick Labat set out what he called a 'protective plan.'

'Our goal is to have all the services we normally have open and operational but at the same time create a safe environment for those that we actually service,' he told a press conference.

The precautions reflect how a divided country is entering uncharted territory, with the potential for mass demonstrations or a repeat of the violence that broke out on January 6, 2021.

Trump, 77, remains the clear frontrunner for the Republican Party's 2024 nomination.
But his election timetable must now accommodate a slew of court hearings. 

Last week he appeared in federal court in Washington to plead not guilty to charges that he conspired to defraud the U.S. by preventing Congress from certifying Democratic President Joe Biden's victory, depriving U.S. voters of their right to a fair election. 

Earlier in the summer it was Miami. There he pleaded not guilty to charges related to his handling of government documents and an alleged cover-up.

And in April he surrendered to authorities in New York where he is accused of falsifying business records as part of a hush money payment to a porn star. He pleaded not guilty in that case.

Now Atlanta could be the next setting for his criminal battles.

On Monday, the front of the courthouse had been lined with rows of orange plastic barricades as well as steel fencing. 

Local media are reporting that an indictment is expected this week... 

...The state was a focus of Trump and his allies as they sought to cling to power in the wake of his 2020 election vote.

The then president was caught on tape urging Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to help him.

'The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry,' he said in audio obtained by the Washington Post. 'And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated.'

Raffensperger insisted that Trump's data was not correct but the president insisted: 'I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have.' 

COMMENT:  The issue is not whether you like Trump or think he's the worst man in the world.  The issue is the appearance of a conspiracy, however loose, to destroy him politically.  All the legal charges against him have reached fruition in a five-month period just before a presidential election campaign. And many of the charges are brought by a Justice Department controlled by his opponent. 

And some guy in Brooklyn is sitting there, looking at his TV screen and saying, "Whadaya kiddin' me?  You're tellin' me that this is all a coincidence?" That's the way a lot of real people see it, and that is not good for this country.  Also, there are nations around the world that depend on us, that have cast their fate with us.  How do you think we look to them right now?  The mess we're in domestically can have a profound effect on our foreign policy.  Countries. especially those who see an alternative like China, can decide to drift away from us, or become neutral.  It would be nice if some TV "journalists" would discuss these things.  But they're too busy anticipating the Trump trials, and praying that they're televised.

August 8, 2023