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Georgia attorney general sues GOP opponent in governor’s race over campaign financing
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Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, one of the leading Republican contenders for governor, has filed a lawsuit against Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, challenging the legality of his GOP rival’s campaign funding.
Carr asked a federal judge to permanently block Jones’ ability to spend money from his leadership committee, a fundraising tool that allows the state’s governor, lieutenant governor and legislative leaders to raise unlimited funds.
Both men are leading Republican candidates to succeed term-limited GOP Gov. Brian Kemp after next year’s election.
Carr argues that Jones’ leadership committee violates the attorney general’s First Amendment right to free speech and his 14th Amendment right to equal protection by setting up a campaign finance structure that boosts Jones and limits how much Carr can spend on his campaign. A 2021 state law that created leadership committees does not allow Carr or other declared candidates to have access to the fundraising vehicle.
Carr’s regular campaign committee is limited to raising $8,400 from each donor for his primary campaign and $4,200 for a potential primary runoff.
FORMER GEORGIA LT. GOV. GEOFF DUNCAN ABANDONS GOP TO JOIN DEMOCRATIC PARTY
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr, pictured here, sued Lt. Gov. Burt Jones over the legality of the lieutenant governor’s campaign funding. (Megan Varner/Getty Images)
Carr campaign spokeswoman Julia Mazzone said in a statement that Jones «is using his position to sidestep contribution limits, raise six-figure checks during legislative sessions and funnel unlimited money into a competitive primary through a structure only he can access.»
«Republicans cannot ignore the cloud of unethical, illegal and corrupt behavior that surrounds Burt Jones,» Mazzone said.
«Leadership committees were never intended to be unregulated campaign machines,» the statement added. «The court has ruled on this before, and the Constitution prohibits exactly what’s happening here. We’re taking action to uphold transparency and accountability standards.»
A Jones campaign spokesperson, meanwhile, has accused Carr of being hypocritical since his office previously defended the same law that he is now challenging in court. Carr has argued that the attorney general must defend challenged laws even if he personally disagrees with them.
«Georgia’s lackluster Attorney General defended this law two years ago,» Kendyl Parker, Jones’ spokeswoman said. «Now, he’s running for governor and wants to challenge the same law he once defended. If hypocrisy were an Olympic sport, he’d take gold.»
Carr launched his gubernatorial bid last year, saying he needed more time to raise money because he is not personally wealthy. His campaign has expressed concerns for months that Jones will use his leadership committee and family wealth to support his primary campaign.
REPUBLICAN DOOLEY JUMPS INTO GEORGIA’S SENATE RACE WHILE TOUTING SUPPORT FOR TRUMP AND TAKING AIM AT OSSOFF
Georgia AG Chris Carr asked a federal judge to permanently block Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ ability to spend money from the lieutenant governor’s leadership committee. (Nathan Posner/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
The Carr campaign has sought to have the state Ethics Commission probe the source of a $10 million loan Jones made to his leadership committee, although the commission declined to launch an investigation, noting that Carr failed to allege a legal violation.
The attorney general’s campaign pointed to U.S. District Judge Mark Cohen’s 2022 ruling that a leadership committee for Kemp could not use money for Kemp’s re-election campaign during that year’s Republican primary. Cohen found that the «unequal campaign finance scheme» violated GOP primary challenger and former U.S. Sen. David Perdue’s First Amendment right to free speech.
Cohen ruled that Kemp could continue raising money for the leadership committee but said the governor could not spend it against Perdue in the primary.
«Despite full knowledge of this history, Mr. Jones and his leadership committee, WBJ Leadership Committee, Inc., are ignoring this Court’s prior rulings and using a leadership committee—that has no contribution or coordinated spending limits—in a primary election against a candidate without one,» Carr’s lawsuit reads.
Carr is seeking additional restrictions on Jones’ leadership committee than in Cohen’s ruling. The attorney general is asking a judge to cut off both fundraising and spending from the lieutenant governor’s leadership committee until the primary race is over.
He is also requesting that a federal magistrate judge be appointed to oversee all spending by the leadership committee and that Jones’ regular campaign committee repay any money already spent by the leadership committee to support Jones’ gubernatorial run.
«The loan and its amount are significant because Mr. Jones is also able to raise unlimited funds into the leadership committee, then repay the loan from funds raised that then can be applied directly to his campaign account, effectively removing the contribution limits from those dollars,» the lawsuit says.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones’ campaign criticized Georgia AG Chris Carr as a hypocrite since his office defended the same law in 2022 that he is now challenging in court. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images)
Carr asks that the court block Jones from giving any cash to dark money groups or making any loans to his regular campaign committee during the primary. He also wants the magistrate judge to probe where Jones’ $10 million loan came from, citing a 2022 financial disclosure showing that Jones did not have enough liquid assets for a loan of that quantity.
The attorney general’s campaign continues to express concern that Jones could raise unlimited money to repay his loan and then give the repaid money to his candidate committee for the primary, arguing that this would wreck campaign contribution restrictions.
«Mr. Jones is raising and spending unlimited amounts of money in the primary—and Mr. Carr is limited in what he can raise by Georgia’s existing campaign contribution limits,» the lawsuit reads. «This Court should level this uneven playing field by preventing Mr. Jones from using his leadership committee during the primary election.»
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Carr’s campaign has also called on the Ethics Commission for an advisory legal opinion on whether Jones’ fundraising activity is legal.
The Republican primary will be held in May, and the general election next year in the purple state is expected to be one of the most expensive governor’s races in the country.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
georgia,us,politics,republicans elections,elections,elections state and local
INTERNACIONAL
US assets in Middle East positioned for ‘highly kinetic’ war, ex-Pentagon official warns
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The U.S. is in position for a «highly kinetic» campaign against Iran after launching one of its largest recent military buildups in the Middle East, a former senior Pentagon official has claimed.
Dana Stroul, now research director at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy, made the assessment Sunday as Washington and Tehran prepare for a second round of indirect nuclear talks in Oman.
«The US military is ready for a sustained, highly kinetic campaign should President Trump order it, and also prepared to defend allies and partners in the Middle East from Iran’s missiles,» Stroul told Fox News Digital.
«The US military can rapidly reposition assets from all over the world and deploy overwhelmingly lethal force in a short period of time to one theater,» she said before highlighting how there is «no ally or enemy capable of what we have seen from the US in this current buildup.»
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S IRAN BUILDUP MIRRORS 2003 IRAQ WAR SCALE AS TENSIONS ESCALATE
The world’s largest warship, U.S. aircraft carrier USS Gerald R. Ford, on its way out of the Oslofjord at Nesodden and Bygdoy, Norway, September 17, 2025. (NTB/Lise Aserud via Reuters)
Describing how the current posture differs from the June 2025 strikes on Iranian-linked nuclear targets, Stroul said the U.S. has expanded its offensive and defensive capabilities.
«Two US aircraft carriers and their accompanying vessels and air wings were stationed in the Middle East last summer during the 12-day war and the US operation Midnight Hammer,» she explained.
«The addition of the Ford is really important, it expands US offensive capabilities if we go to war with Iran,» she said.
While in June 2025, the US carried out limited but highly targeted strikes against Iranian nuclear infrastructure to degrade key facilities without triggering a regional war, now, Stroul said the force posture is broader and more sustained.
The US has also «increased the number of guided-missile destroyers, fighter aircraft, refuelers, and air defense systems» in the region, she explained.
TRUMP SAYS IRAN HAS 15 DAYS TO REACH A DEAL OR FACE ‘UNFORTUNATE’ OUTCOME
An F/A-18F Super Hornet, assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 41, prepares to make an arrested landing on the flight deck of the USS Abraham Lincoln in the Pacific Ocean on Aug. 10, 2024. (U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Daniel Kimmelman/Reuters)
The deployment of aircraft carriers such as the USS Gerald R. Ford and USS Abraham Lincoln has assumed heightened strategic importance.
The USS Gerald R. Ford was recently tracked transiting the Strait of Gibraltar eastward, while the USS Abraham Lincoln is operating in the Arabian Sea.
«They will both be in the Middle East CENTCOM theater,» Stroul explained before clarifying that there could be «one in the eastern Mediterranean and the other in the Arabian Gulf.»
«There would probably be a combination of reasons for that based on availability, readiness, proximity to the Middle East.
«The Ford was heading home and directed to turn around,» she added.
While the specific destinations of the carriers have not been publicly disclosed for operational security reasons, their presence alone signals escalatory leverage and deterrence.
WITKOFF WARNS IRAN IS ‘A WEEK AWAY’ FROM ‘BOMB-MAKING MATERIAL’ AS TRUMP WEIGHS ACTION
Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr Hamad Al Busaidi, US President Donald Trump’s Special Representative for the Middle East, Steve Witkoff and U.S. negotiator Jared Kushner meet ahead of the US-Iran talks, in Muscat, the capital of Oman, on February 06, 2026. (f Oman, on FebruarOman Foreign Ministry/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The military buildup comes as indirect diplomatic talks between Washington and Tehran continue, with Oman once again serving as a mediator Feb. 26.
Stroul argued that Iran’s leadership is trying to balance brinkmanship with negotiation.
«Iran’s leaders are playing a weak hand by combining saber-rattling about their own capabilities, staging preparations and exercises to signal readiness,» she claimed.
«They are attempting to slow this down by pursuing negotiations. No one should be under any illusions about the reality of US dominance — Iran is completely outmatched in conventional terms,» Stroul said.
BUILT FOR WEEKS OF WAR: INSIDE THE FIREPOWER THE US HAS POSITIONED IN THE MIDDLE EAST
Armed NOPO special police units are on the scene as Iranians take to the streets in the downtown Enghelab (Revolution) Square in Tehran, Iran on June 24, 2025, to celebrate the ceasefire after a 12-day war with Israel. (NEGAR/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images)
«Israel dominated Iranian airspace in one day last year, targeted many of Iran’s security leaders, took out half of its missile arsenal, and the US significantly set back its nuclear program,» Stroul said.
Iran’s long-cultivated network of proxies across the region — including Hezbollah, Shiite militias in Iraq, and elements in Syria — has also been weakened after sustained Israeli military pressure.
«Iran’s long-cultivated network of proxies across the region is degraded after more than two years of Israeli operations, and they declined to enter the war and support Iran’s defense last summer,» Stroul explained.
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«No matter what Iran’s leaders say, Iran is not able to rebuild a decades-long project in a few months.»
«That said, the US military is in a position to execute whatever orders President Trump gives,» she said. «It is not a question of military readiness, but a political decision.»
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La larga y sinuosa ruta de Christopher Beha desde un ateísmo bien fundamentado hasta una fe cristiana aún más cultivada comienza con una imagen poderosa: un ángel se le aparece. No es Clarence, el atolondrado amigo de Jimmy Stewart en ¡Qué bello es vivir!, sino una aparición exigente y persistente.
En su profunda reflexión sobre la fe y la filosofía, Why I Am Not an Atheist (Por qué no soy ateo), explica que el espíritu le dijo que confiara en Dios. “Esto no fue un sueño”, escribe sobre la primera visita, ocurrida a mediados de los años noventa, cuando tenía 15 años. “Estaba despierto —tan seguro de eso como de que ahora estoy despierto mientras escribo estas palabras— y una presencia aterradora se comunicaba conmigo”.
Las visitas continuaron durante años. Beha creció en una familia católica y amante de los libros en el Upper East Side de Nueva York, que lo envió a Princeton. Fue editor de Harper’s Magazine y es autor de cuatro libros anteriores, cuyos temas abarcan desde novelas sobre complicaciones emocionales hasta un repaso por los clásicos, mostrando así su versatilidad literaria.
Unos años después de que el imperioso querubín le indicara que debía acercarse a Dios, Beha comprendió que todo podía explicarse desde la ciencia. Había experimentado parálisis del sueño, un estado en el que permanecía despierto pero inmovilizado, acompañado de alucinaciones.
“Había sufrido un padecimiento físico bastante común y, en vez de buscar una causa racional, me refugié en la superstición”, escribe. “En realidad me había convencido de que Dios me enviaba un mensaje”.
Como alguien que también presenció algo inexplicable (una santa fallecida que abrió los ojos en una cripta en Italia), me resultaba más atractivo el Beha adolescente, colmado de asombro religioso. Pero al final del libro, regresa al ángel con una visión ampliada. Fue a la vez un milagro y algo real. “Sé lo que ‘causó’ esas visitas, desde un punto de vista material, pero también sé lo que provocaron después: un viaje de toda la vida en el que todavía sigo”.
Entre esos extremos se despliegan varios cientos de páginas que componen ese trayecto, casi todas centradas en los filósofos mayoritariamente ateos del canon occidental. No es una peregrinación tradicional, sino una odisea intelectual. Beha debate con los grandes maestros: Descartes, Kant, Locke, Mill, Hobbes, Camus, Nietzsche y muchos más, pero empieza cuestionando a los “nuevos ateos” como Sam Harris, Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens y similares, a quienes considera ya superados.
Hace algunos años, el periodista Michael Kinsley describió el libro de Hitchens God Is Not Great con una frase memorable: “Hitchens es un ateo de aldea a la antigua, parado en la plaza tratando de discutir con los buenos ciudadanos que van camino a la iglesia”.
Beha no es de los que lanzan piedras ni busca peleas. Tiene una devoción casi obsesiva por las grandes mentes. Es el tipo de persona que habrías querido como compañero de habitación antes de la era de la inteligencia artificial. O tal vez no. Ha leído todo y hasta escribió una memoria al respecto, The Whole Five Feet, en la que narra el año que dedicó a leer los 51 volúmenes de los Harvard Classics. Solo mirar esa lista agota a la mayoría.
Él escaló esa montaña para que otros no tuvieran que hacerlo. Pero, a veces, en su nuevo libro se pierde en las nubes. Un ejemplo, al tratar a Immanuel Kant, el filósofo alemán: “Kant aquí invoca dos binarios que ya hemos discutido. El primero es el que existe entre la verdad a priori y a posteriori; el segundo, entre análisis y síntesis”.
Beha es sincero, honesto y resulta agradable en la página. Su historia personal resulta más interesante que la intelectual. Empezó a dudar de su fe a los 18 años, tras casi perder a su hermano gemelo en un accidente de auto. Sufrió depresión y un cáncer que puso su vida en riesgo, abusó del alcohol y las drogas. Fue ateo durante mucho tiempo.
El libro es una larga réplica a “Why I Am Not a Christian”, el célebre ensayo del polímata británico Bertrand Russell, quien calificaba la creencia en Dios como “una concepción indigna de hombres libres”. Russell fue una de las figuras que empujaron a Beha a años de escepticismo comprometido.
No le resultaba suficiente el agnosticismo tibio de los espiritualmente errantes, una condición que el comediante católico Stephen Colbert comparó alguna vez con ser “un ateo sin agallas”. Beha se entregó por completo.
El argumento de Russell es conciso, refuta cada una de las razones principales a favor de la fe. El de Beha no lo es. Descompone la visión atea en dos categorías y dedica la mayor parte del libro a detallarlas e incluso simpatizar con ellas. Una es el “materialismo científico”, que sostiene que solo existe el mundo material. La otra es el “idealismo romántico”, que él define como la creación de la propia realidad.
Durante sus largos años en el desierto de la incredulidad, Beha intentó encajar en alguna de esas narrativas, buscando “hacer significativa una vida sin Dios”.
Al final, el ateísmo le resultó insuficiente, igual que a algunos revolucionarios franceses que transformaron brevemente la catedral de Notre-Dame en el árido Templo de la Razón. La religión de la no-religión puede parecerse a la cerveza sin alcohol: ¿para qué?
Beha no pretende convencer a quienes ya han renunciado a Dios. Solo quiere explicar qué lo llevó a regresar a la fe de sus padres, “escuchando la voz susurrante en el alma”. No hay una conversión fulminante, ninguna luz cegadora. Más bien, su vida, a menudo miserable, mejora con la mujer adecuada, una confesión católica, la asistencia regular a misa. Y esa mujer —“ella era la razón por la que creía en Dios”— ni siquiera es creyente. Es episcopaliana no practicante.
Si Beha no logra necesariamente ganar su debate con Russell, al menos hay que reconocerle que cumple la exigencia de los seres conscientes: reflexionar a fondo sobre el misterio de lo que somos en un universo incognoscible.
“No creo que alguna vez vea las cosas con claridad; no en esta vida mortal”, concluye. “Lo mejor que podemos esperar es estar mirando en la dirección correcta, orientados del modo adecuado”.
Fuente: The New York Times
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