Deal says he did nothing wrong as complaint filed with Justice Department

A defiant Nathan Deal said Tuesday he has done nothing wrong and renewed his claim that accusations that he violated congressional ethics rules are part of a political conspiracy to derail his bid to be governor of Georgia.

Deal, a former Republican congressman from Hall County, took aim at a range of groups he claims are responsible for distorting the truth, including the media, the state Department of Revenue, the Washington-based government watchdog group that first filed a complaint against him, and the bipartisan Office of Congressional Ethics that on Monday released a report saying Deal might have committed six violations of House ethics rules.

Meanwhile, that watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, on Tuesday asked the Justice Department to bring a criminal investigation against Deal over the ethics report's allegation that Deal might have incorrectly reported the income he received from a salvage automobile business he co-owns.

"Sometimes in the world of politics, there's a price for doing what's right," Deal told reporters during a 30-minute news conference at the Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce in Gainesville. "I have seen those who would extract a price from me for doing what's right."

He said he has no intention to leave the race for governor. Deal is one of seven Republicans seeking the party's nomination.

The 138-page report from the Office of Congressional Ethics came seven months after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported in August that Deal on three occasions in 2008 and 2009 met with state leaders to question changes the Department of Revenue wanted to make in the way Georgia inspects salvaged vehicles. The AJC found that Deal's chief of staff at the time, Chris Riley, used congressional e-mail to contact state officials to discuss the plans and to set appointments for Deal. Riley also accompanied Deal to the meetings, some of which were held in Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle's office.

Deal and a business partner, Ken Cronan, for 20 years had an agreement with the state that earned the company $1.5 million from 2004 through 2008, according to state records. Deal and Cronan left the state business after changes were made late last year.

Much of what Deal said Tuesday he first told the AJC in August, including that he was not acting as a member of Congress when he met with Revenue Commissioner Bart Graham and that his chief of staff often schedules meetings for him. He said then, and Tuesday, that he has done nothing wrong and that his only interest in Graham's suggested changes was to the safety of Georgia drivers.

Yet the ethics office's report alleges that Deal violated House rules by failing to disclose all the required information about his involvement in Gainesville Salvage & Disposal, by personally intervening with state officials to protect his business and by violating limits on how much members of Congress can earn from outside sources.

Deal's tax returns from 2008 show he was paid $75,000 in wages by his salvage business, while congressional caps limit outside income to $25,830. Deal said the $75,000 was misreported on his tax returns as earned income when it should have been listed as dividend, or unearned, income. He said he has filed amended tax returns.

Deal's strongest words Tuesday might have been reserved for the Office of Congressional Ethics, which is overseen by a six-member board made up of three Democrats and three Republicans. It serves as a kind of grand jury on ethical complaints by U.S. House members. If it believes there is evidence of a violation, it can refer cases to the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, which is made up of sitting members of Congress. The committee can choose to make further inquiries and is responsible for punishing ethical scofflaws.

Deal resigned his seat in the U.S. House on March 21, moments after the vote to approve Democrats' plans for federal health care legislation. (Deal voted against the legislation.) The next day was the deadline for the Committee on Standards to announce whether it would seek to investigate Deal or dismiss the case. But because he resigned, the committee can take no action.