Judge: Governor doesn’t have to testify in ethics case

A judge on Monday ruled that Gov. Nathan Deal cannot be compelled to testify in a whistleblower lawsuit brought by the former director of the state ethics commission.

Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville granted the state’s motion to quash the subpoena.

The trial in Stacey Kalberman’s lawsuit is to start Monday. She claims she was forced from her position after aggressively investigating Deal’s 2010 campaign.

Kalberman’s attorneys said Deal had “personal and firsthand” knowledge of information needed to build Kalberman’s case. The state said the governor had no such information.

Glanville ruled that it is unclear whether Deal could offer relevant testimony and that “nothing in the record, save plaintiff’s assertions, suggests that Governor Deal was involved in the decisions related to the plaintiff’s employment.”

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