Governor Deal Subpoenaed in Case of Former Ethics Official

February 6th, 2014

Governor Nathan Deal, his chief of staff and his chief counsel have been subpoenaed in a lawsuit filed by a former state ethics commission official. Former ethics commission deputy Sherry Streicker claims her job was eliminated for looking into ethics complaints against Deal stemming from his 2010 campaign.

Governor Deal, his chief of staff and chief counsel are on a “may call” list of witnesses for the trial. The Georgia attorney general’s office and a spokesman for governor Deal declined to comment. Senator Charlie Bethel is one of Deal’s floor leaders in the Senate:

“I think it’s really further evidence of an attempt to politicize what’s really an employment dispute.”

But Democratic state Senator Nan Orrock disagrees.

“A high public official had ethics charges filed against him and then the staff that were processing those charges were forced out of their positions. There’s cause for concern. We need to have the highest transparency.”

Streicker’s attorney also turned down a request to comment on the subpoenas, but says testimony could start as early as next Tuesday.

The case is one of two lawsuits filed against the state by former ethics officials. In July, the ethics commission cleared Deal of any major wrongdoing. Instead, Deal had to pay $3,350 related to technical defects in campaign finance disclosure reports.