Gov. Nathan Deal has ordered the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to review the explosive report on DeKalb County corruption that urges Interim CEO Lee May to resign. It's unclear, though, whether the governor has the power to intervene if the GBI recommends he step in.
State law gives Deal the power to remove elected officials who face felony charges after a panel reviews their case. May doesn't face any criminal charges, but his situation may be more murky because Deal appointed him to the post on an interim basis two years ago. Some observers have suggested Deal could remove him -- since he tapped him in the first place.
The governor said in July 2013 that he appointed May because he wanted to "keep in the spirit" of local legislation that suggested that May would take office if the chief executive was removed. Deal ousted DeKalb's then-CEO, Burrell Ellis, after he was slapped with a 15-count indictment on charges that he illegally pressured contractors into giving him campaign contributions.
May soon found himself in his own hot water.
As questions about DeKalb corruption swirled, May hired former Attorney General Michael Bowers and special investigator Richard Hyde in March to conduct a far-reaching inquiry into DeKalb's spending and remove the "stench of corruption and distrust" from county government.
Their report, released Wednesday, came back to haunt him. Investigators accuse May of trying to block their probe when a trail of questionable conduct was linked to him. And their recommendation to May was that he immediately step down.
May said in a statement he welcomed the scrutiny.
Said May:
"As I have said all along, I welcome and support all investigations into DeKalb County Government, and this includes the Governor's announcement today. I have previously urged all county employees to cooperate in all investigations, and that statement still stands."
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