The beleaguered state ethics commission on Thursday will weigh whether an outsider should be brought in to oversee the agency’s operations in what experts say would be an unprecedented move.
The change, which would put the commission under the oversight of an independent receiver, would reflect plummeting confidence in the agency charged with policing campaign finance violations and lobbyist conduct.
Commissioner Heath Garrett said it’s part of an ongoing discussion over how to “keep the agency operating effectively and restore some confidence that has been lost.”
“One thing we can do, and we will talk about I hope, is an independent third-party person coming in to help,” said Garrett, the former chief of staff of U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.
The commission on Wednesday announced a hastily called meeting the following day with scant details on the agenda.
Rick Thompson, the former head of Georgia’s ethics commission, who also once worked for a similar panel in Missouri, said that “in almost 20 years of dealing with ethics agencies, I’ve never heard of any agency doing this.”
The Georgia commission is reeling after news that federal investigators are looking into the handling of a campaign finance probe involving Nathan Deal’s 2010 race for governor.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last week that the two top staff members on the commission have received federal subpoenas demanding documents related to the Deal probe. Three former staff members have also been subpoenaed for documents to produce records for a grand jury.
Deal was cleared of the most serious charges and paid $3,350 for technical violations on campaign and financial disclosures. But the investigation into the campaign complaint still lingers.
A former computer specialist for the commission, John Hair, told the AJC that he was told to destroy documents related to the Deal investigation by Commission Executive Secretary Holly LaBerge. And staff attorney Elisabeth Murray-Obertein said in sworn testimony that LaBerge bragged that the governor “owed” her after the commission dismissed the most serious charges against Deal. LaBerge, in sworn testimony, has denied that claim.
LaBerge, Murray-Obertein and Hair have all received subpoenas. So have the two former top ethics officials, Stacey Kalberman and Sherilyn Streicker, who have whistle-blower lawsuits pending against the state saying they were forced out for investigating Deal.
Garrett said the scope and funding of the move is still uncertain. There are also questions about whether bringing in an outside receiver would pass legal muster. Garrett said he expected a “robust discussion.” He said he personally hoped an outsider would be brought in to help existing staff members.
Commission Chairman Kevin Abernethy did not immediately return phone calls Wednesday but has said previously that the commission expects the employees to cooperate with federal investigators. Other commission members on Wednesday either failed to return phone calls or declined to comment. LaBerge said she could not comment on the pending vote.
Thompson, the former ethics official who now works as a paid consultant for Deal, said while an outsider could help boost confidence, it could also raise fresh conflict-of-interest concerns over whatever outside group steps in, as some law firms represent clients who could have pending cases.
The ethics commission, officially known as the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, oversees campaign finance and lobbying issues.
In a recent interview, Deal said he welcomes the investigation and that if authorities have additional questions, “I hope they will go ahead and ask them.” But the Republican governor said that he’s confident his office isn’t the target of the scrutiny, and that neither he nor his staffers have been subpoenaed.
If he were the target, he added, “I would think they would have asked us something by now.”
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