The Farce of Georgia’s Ethics Commission
Ooph.
Georgia’s ethics commission has been a farce for some time now.
Under Gov. Nathan Deal, who resigned from Congress to both run for Gov. and escape an ethics investigation there, one Executive Secretary was fined $10,000 for unethical conduct.
https://www.wabe.org/judge-fines-state-ag-office-holly-laberge-10000-each-withholding-document/
She had withheld evidence in a case involving the wrongful termination of the previous Executive Secretary … of the Ethics Commission.
Lawsuits by ousted employees, of the Ethics Commission, resulted in the state paying millions of dollars in fines and settlements for its unethical treatment of employees … of its Ethics Commission.
All this unethical action occurred under the direct interference of Gov. Nathan Deal’s top aids. None of whom were held accountable.
As a reward for doing his bidding, Gov. Deal even wrote a letter sponsoring the unethical Executive Secretary, not the Ethical one he’d forced out, for membership in the Georgia Chamber’s leadership training initiative.
The message to average citizens is clear: honesty and integrity get you fired; lying, cheating and stealing get you membership in Leadership Georgia.
The unethical Ethics Commission Executive Secretary was reluctantly and belatedly fired.
https://www.11alive.com/article/news/local/ga-ethics-commission-head-holly-laberge-fired/253241739
On his way out the door Gov. Deal moved his lawyer’s son up to head the Commission.
Then the new Executive Secretary was fired for allegedly watching porn at work.
Paving the way new Gov. Brian Kemp to have another openly partisan Executive Secretary who is now investigating his political rival.
I’m all for scrutinizing the excessive amount of money in Georgia’s 2018 campaign by any and all campaigns and outside committees. And Georgia’s bipartisan, money-in-politics culture of corruption needs busting up.
But Georgia’s Ethics Commission has become like an Orwellian Ministry of Truth.
It’s the opposite of its own name.
