CBS News
Prosecutors in country of Georgia investigate alleged election “falsification”
Georgia has launched a probe into the alleged “falsification” of its parliamentary elections, prosecutors said Wednesday, after the pro-Western opposition said the vote was “stolen” and Western countries criticized irregularities.
Pro-Western opposition parties refused to recognise the results of Saturday’s vote, which they claim was rigged in favor of the ruling Georgian Dream party.
U.S. President Joe Biden added his voice to international criticism of the election on Tuesday, saying he was “deeply alarmed” by democratic “backsliding” in the Caucasus country and that the vote was marred by “voter intimidation and coercion”.
“Georgian citizens have a right to peacefully express their views regarding the conduct of these elections, which independent international and domestic observers have not said were free and fair,” Mr. Biden said. “We call for all parties to strictly respect the rule of law and fundamental freedoms, which remain the foundation for Georgia’s Euro-Atlantic future.”
Mirian Meladze/Anadolu via Getty Images
A statement by Georgia‘s prosecution service said it had “launched an investigation into the alleged falsification of the parliamentary elections.” The statement said President Salome Zurabishvili, who “is believed to possess evidence regarding possible falsification… has been summoned to the investigative agency for an interview” on Thursday.
Zurabishvili – at loggerheads with the ruling party – has declared the election results “illegitimate,” alleging election interference by a “Russian special operation,” a claim that was rejected by the Kremlin.
Opposition parties have said they would not enter the new “illegitimate” parliament and demanded “fresh” elections run by an “international election administration.”
Tens of thousands rallied in Tbilisi on Monday in protest, while the United States and European Union have condemned electoral “irregularities.”
A group of Georgia’s leading election monitors said they had uncovered evidence of complex, large-scale fraud. Near-complete election results showed the ruling Georgian Dream party won 53.9 percent, compared with 37.7 percent for an opposition coalition.
Billionaire Elon Musk has been ordered to attend a Philadelphia court hearing on Thursday after he was sued by District Attorney Larry Krasner over his $1 million giveaway to voters.
The hearing is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. in a courtroom at City Hall in Center City, according to a court document.
Last week, Krasner sued Musk and alleged that Musk and his super PAC are trying to influence voters in next week’s presidential election between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris.
“The Philadelphia District Attorney is charged with protecting the public from public nuisances and unfair trade practices, including illegal lotteries. The DA is also charged with protecting the public from interference with the integrity of elections,” Krasner said in a statement announcing the complaint last week.
Musk, who founded Tesla and SpaceX, has thrown his full support behind Trump in his run for a second term in the White House. Nearly two weeks ago, he vowed to hand out $1 million a day until Election Day on Nov. 5 to voters who signed his PAC’s petition supporting the First Amendment and Second Amendment of the Constitution.
Some experts have questioned the legality of Musk’s actions to give voters $1 million.
“The actions that we’re seeing … it violates federal law pretty clearly. Actually, I don’t think it’s a particularly close call,” Adav Noti, executive director of the Campaign Legal Center, told CBS News last week.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro also questioned Musk’s giveaway.
“I think there are real questions with how he is spending money in this race, how the dark money is flowing, not just into Pennsylvania, but apparently now into the pockets of Pennsylvanians. That is deeply concerning,” he said on NBC’s “Meet the Press” last week.
Musk has been very active in supporting Trump in Pennsylvania, one of the key battleground states in the election. He was in the Philadelphia area for a town hall on Oct. 17 calling on Pennsylvanians to get registered to vote.
At the town hall in Ridley High School in Delaware County, Musk called Pennsylvania “linchpin” for the 2024 election.
“I’m here for a very important reason, which is – I can’t emphasize this enough – Pennsylvania, I think, is the linchpin in this election,” Musk said at the time. “This election, I think, is going to decide the fate of America, and along with the fate of America, the fate of Western civilization.”
Joe Exotic, made famous in the Netflix series “Tiger King” and currently serving time in federal prison, says he is engaged to a fellow inmate in Texas and hopes to get married.
Exotic, whose real name is Joseph Maldonado, is currently incarcerated at Federal Medical Center Fort Worth. He submitted a marriage application to the federal prison to wed fellow inmate Jorge Marquez Flores, he announced in a news release Wednesday.
Maldonado was convicted in 2019 on 21 counts, including 19 counts of wildlife crimes and two counts of hiring hitmen to kill animal activist Carole Baskin. He is serving a 21-year sentence.
His fiancé, 33-year-old Jorge Marquez Flores, originally from Mexico, is serving time for immigration-related issues, according to Maldonado’s news release.
According to Maldonado, both men are optimistic the prison will approve their application and have “high hopes” that Maldonado’s appeal will succeed. He hopes the two would be released from prison in mid-2025.
In his news release, Maldonado also requested a presidential pardon for both he and Flores, as well as asylum for Flores.
“I wish someone that is President or wins the Presidency would do the right thing and pardon me so I could move past this nightmare that my own country has caused for the last 7 years of my life,” Maldonado wrote in the news release. “All I did was build a zoo and some people were very jealous. Then I was put into prison by my own country.”
Watch CBS News
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.