WHITE HOUSE BRIEFS

WASHINGTON – A federal judge said the Justice Department unlawfully rescheduled the execution of the only woman on federal death row, potentially setting up the Trump administration to schedule the execution after president-elect Joe Biden takes office.

U.S. District Court Judge Randolph Moss also vacated an order from the director of the Bureau of Prisons that had set Lisa Montgomery’s execution date for Jan. 12. Montgomery had previously been scheduled to be put to death at the Federal Correctional Complex in Terre Haute, Indiana, this month, but Moss delayed the execution after her attorneys contracted the new coronavirus visiting their client and asked him to extend the amount of time to file a clemency petition.

Moss prohibited the Bureau of Prisons from carrying out Lisa Montgomery’s execution before the end of the year and officials rescheduled her execution date for Jan. 12. But Moss ruled onWednesday thatthe agency was also prohibited from rescheduling the date while a stay was in place.

“The Court, accordingly, concludes that the Director’s order setting a new execution date while the Court’s stay was, in effect, was ‘not in accordance with law,’” Moss wrote.

A spokesperson for the Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Under the order, the Bureau of Prisons cannot reschedule Montgomery’s execution until at least Jan. 1. Generally, under Justice Department guidelines, a death-row inmate must be notified at least 20 days before the execution. Because of the judge’s order, if the Justice Department chooses to reschedule the date in January, it could mean that the execution would be scheduled after Biden’s inauguration on Jan. 20.

A spokesperson for Biden has told the Associated Press the president-elect “opposes the death penalty now and in the future” and would work as president to end its use in office. But Biden’s representatives have not said whether executions would be paused immediately once Biden takes office.

Montgomery was convicted of of strangulating to death 23-year-old Bobbie Jo Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, in the northwest Missouri town of Skidmore in December 2004. She used a rope to strangle Stinnett, who was eight months pregnant, and She then used a kitchen knife to cut the baby girl from the womb, authorities said. Prosecutors said Montgomery removed the baby from Stinnett’s body, took the child with her, and attempted to pass the girl off as her own. Montgomery’s legal team has argued that their client suffers from serious mental illnesses.

“Given the severity of Mrs. Montgomery’s mental illness, the sexual and physical torture she endured throughout her life, and the connection between her trauma and the facts of her crime, we appeal to President Trump to grant her mercy, and commute her sentence to life imprisonment,” one of Montgomery’s lawyers, Sandra Babcock, said in a statement.

Two other federal inmates are scheduled to be executed in January but have tested positive for coronavirus, and their attorneys are also seeking delays to their executions.

Dems raise over $200M in Georgia Senate race

ATLANTA – The Democrats running for Georgia’s two U.S. Senate seats each raised more than $100 million over two months, a massive haul that eclipsed campaign contributions to their Republican opponents and reflects the high stakes of the twin contests.

Jon Ossoff, who is taking on Sen. David Perdue, took in more than $106 million from Oct. 15 through Dec. 16, according to his latest campaign finance report. Rev. Raphael Warnock, trying to unseat Sen. Kelly Loeffler, was close behind with a little over $103 million.

Perdue reported $68 million over the same two-month span, with Loeffler taking in just under $64 million. Three of the campaigns reported their financial data on Thursday. Loeffler submitted hers a day earlier.

The two races will determine which party controls the U.S. Senate – and likely how ambitious President-elect Joe Biden can be with his agenda. If Republicans win one race, they will maintain a narrow majority, and the chamber will serve as a bulwark against Democratic legislation. But if Democrats carry both, the balance will be 50-50 – with Vice President-elect Kamala Harris delivering tie-breaking votes. That will likely enable Biden to enact a more ambitious agenda, assuming he can keep fellow Democrats on board.

Georgia’s two runoff races kicked off in November after Perdue and Loeffler failed to get more than 50 percent of the vote on Election Day. Early voting has already started for the Jan. 5 election.

“We’re humbled by the grassroots support and generosity that continues to power Reverend Warnock’s campaign to represent all Georgians in the U.S. Senate,” Jerid Kurtz, Warnock’s campaign manager, said in a statement.

Ossoff’s campaign said it was proud of its voter turnout work. Loeffler’s campaign did not release a statement. A text message to a spokesman for Perdue on Christmas Day was not immediately returned.

The fundraising figures far surpass the record-shattering $57 million that Democrat Jaime Harrison raised in one quarter in his bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina in November. Harrison lost that race.

And they are in addition to tens of millions of more dollars being spent on the January runoffs by outside groups. Previous campaign finance disclosures for the Georgia races suggest Republican outside groups have a fundraising advantage.

The money has fueled a barrage of advertising and door-to-door canvassing.

Ossoff and Warnock have already spent more than $179 million, according to their latest disclosures. As of Dec. 16, they had about $40 million on hand for the campaigns’ homestretch.

Perdue and Loeffler have spent more than $106 million. They reported about $37 million on hand at the close of the reporting period.

From wire reports