Fani Willis Takes on Trump: How bluster became a criminal conspiracy to disenfranchise Black voters

The fourth shoe dropped this week, when Fulton County DA Fani Willis announced Donald Trump’s latest indictment, charging the former president, along with 18 others, for engaging in a sprawling criminal conspiracy to disenfranchise Georgia voters. Trump has been responding by lashing out against Willis and voters in Atlanta, Philadelphia, and Milwaukee.

Guest: Rick Hasan, professor of law at UCLA and director of the Safeguarding Democracy Project.

Local News Roundup: Officials look for answers after Charlotte Preparatory fire; Vi Lyles announces reelection campaign; SCOTUS hands down decisions impacting NC cases

There are millions of dollars of damage at Charlotte Preparatory School after a fire ripped through the building this week. Reports say there were no sprinklers in the section of the building where the fire broke out.

Touting her record on jobs and affordable housing, Mayor Vi Lyles has announced she’s running for another term. The Democrat has held the position since 2017.

The U.S. Supreme Court struck a blow to North Carolina Republicans, rejecting their argument for the independent state legislature theory that would have restricted the power states courts have over elections.

And the North Carolina legislature has revamped its abortion bill that was already vetoed by Gov. Roy Cooper. We explore the changes and what they mean for access to health care in the state.

Those stories and more on this week’s Charlotte Talks local news roundup.

GUESTS:

Joe Bruno, WSOC-TV reporter

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Rollcall podcast “Equal Time”

Ann Doss Helms, WFAE education reporter

Nick Ochsner, WBTV reporter

Wisconsin’s High-Stakes Supreme Court Race

In Wisconsin, the state Supreme Court election is breaking records when it comes to campaign spending on a judicial race. With abortion rights for Wisconsinites, their state’s electoral geography, and potentially the fate of the 2024 presidential election on the line, that big ticket spending makes sense. But will it make a difference in who gets the seat?

Guest: Mark Joseph Stern, senior staff writer for Slate.

A majority of Americans will have election deniers on the ballot. What could this mean for the future?

Donald Trump’s name is not on the ballot this November, but his ideology certainly is.

As the former president continues to spread misinformation about the legitimacy of the 2020 presidential election, FiveThirtyEight reports that 60% of U.S. voters are to have someone who either casts doubt or completely denies the results from 2020 on the ballot in 2022.

This all comes while restrictive legislation is being pushed across the country in the name of election security and the Supreme Court is considering cases that impact voting and our democratic process.

Mike Collins and our panel of guests look at the short and long-term impact these election deniers may have in Congress and what it says about our republic.

GUESTS

Susan Roberts, political science professor at Davidson College

Nathaniel Rakich, senior elections analyst at FiveThirtyEight

Mary C. Curtis, columnist for Rollcall.com, host of the Roll Call podcast “Equal Time”

Mary C. Curtis: Previewing President Trump’s Last Month In Office

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Donald Trump is expected to spend his last Christmas as president at Mar-a-Lago this week. The final weeks of the Trump administration are upon us and though he hasn’t been very visible, the president isn’t leaving the White House quietly.

Our political contributor, Mary C. Curtis is previewing the president’s unpredictable last month in office.

You can catch Mary C. Curtis on Sunday nights at 6:30 PM on WCCB Charlotte’s CW discussing the biggest issues in local and national politics and also giving us a look at what’s ahead for the week.

You can also check out Mary’s podcast ‘Equal Time.’