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Democrats Call for Investigation into Head of Ethics Commission and Governor Deal

September 19th, 2013

Georgia’s Senate Democrats are calling for the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the FBI to investigate accusations that the head of Georgia’s ethics commission improperly meddled with an ethics investigation involving Governor Nathan Deal.

Former and current commission staff members told the Atlanta Journal Constitution that ethics commission head Holly LeBerge ordered documents in an investigation stemming from Deal’s 2010 campaign removed from state files. They also said LeBerge met with top Deal aids during the probe. The article follows two pending lawsuits against the state. One by the former head of the ethics commission who had her salary cut and claims she was pushed out after looking into complaints against Deal. Steve Henson is Democratic Senate minority leader.

“These are serious concerns. I mean when you have the ethics commissioner because she wants to investigate the governor, or apparently for that reason and then another ethics commissioner and there are allegations of inappropriate actions it is disheartening to me and disheartening to my constituents.”

Henson says investigators should look not only into the allegations against LeBerge but also into those previously raised against the governor in relation to his 2010 campaign. Henson also renewed the call for an independent ethics commission.

“Predominant members of the ethics commission are Republican, the vast majority, and the key members are appointed by the Governor. I think it needs to be independent for those reasons.”

Meanwhile, the Governor blasted the AJC.

“They fail to recognize that all of these allegations, which are totally unsubstantiated and primarily are false, they fail to realize staff are not the ones who make the decisions at the ethics commission.”

Deal says the commission has the final say. The Governor also claimed not to know LeBerge and says his aides did meet with the commission but it was in regards to legislative ethics reform.

Instead, Deal says the allegations are related to the lawsuits pending against the state, because the staff members who spoke to the AJC were also deposed in court.

He had this response to the call by Democrats for a GBI and FBI investigation:

“The Senate Democrats fail to recognize the actions of the commission, they too are trying to take advantage and use this as a political tool.”

Deal says Georgia’s ethics commission is made up of both Democrats and Republicans. He says some members were not appointed by his administration. In terms of Democrats call for an independent ethics commission, Deal says if they feel the commission needs to be reconstituted that’s “what the legislative process is for.”

In July, Georgia’s ethics commission cleared Deal of any major wrongdoing. Instead, Deal had to pay $3,350 related to “technical defects” in campaign finance disclosure reports. And a state inspector general found no evidence that Deal sought to ouster two top ethics commission officials. The AJC says it stands by its story.