Tyrone Brooks Can Stay In Office, Says Review Commission
Lisa George / WABE
The indictment against State Representative Tyrone Brooks does not relate to his duties as a state representative.
That’s the recommendation made today by a three-person review commission appointed by Governor Nathan Deal. The Commission was made up of State Attorney General Sam Olens, a Republican, and two Democrats: House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams and Senate Minority Leader Steve Henson.
After a hearing that lasted less than fifteen minutes, the commission made its recommendation to the Governor today. The commission could have recommended Brooks not serve as a member of the Georgia House while under federal indictment for the alleged misappropriation of funds for a non-profit and the Georgia Association of Black Elected Officials (GABEO). Under the Georgia Constitution, the Governor is required to abide my the commission’s recommendation.
The criteria for removal, also according to the Constitution, are “…that the indictment relates to and adversely affects the administration of the office of the indicted public officials and that the rights and interests of the public are adversely affected thereby….”
Brooks was indicted in May for alleged tax fraud, mail fraud, and for underreporting his income on his tax returns. The federal indictment alleges that Brooks used close to a million dollars of money donated to GABEO and Universal Humanities, a nonprofit he created, for his personal use.
A copy of the review commission’s report is available online.
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