A former state ethics commission computer specialist claims in a new whistle-blower lawsuit that he was fired after he refused to alter and destroy documents related to an investigation into Gov. Nathan Deal’s campaign.
John Hair, former commission director Stacey Kalberman and former deputy director Sherilyn Streicker have all sued the state claiming they lost their jobs in connection with the Deal case.
Kalberman and Streicker had been investigating a series of accusations that Deal financially benefited from campaign expenditures, that he improperly used a campaign account to pay legal fees and that he improperly reported some expenditures on his disclosures.
Deal was cleared of major ethics charges in 2012 and agreed to pay $3,350 in fees for technical defects in his campaign finance reports.
The Kalberman and Streicker cases are set for trial this spring in Fulton County Superior Court.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported last year that Hair and former commission attorney Elisabeth Murray-Obertein claimed that Kalberman’s successor, Holly LaBerge, bragged that the governor “owed her” for scuttling the Deal case and that she ordered documents destroyed or removed from the case file.
LaBerge has said neither accusation is true.
Commission Chairman Kevin Abernethy on Tuesday referred questions to Attorney General Sam Olens’ office. A spokeswoman for Olens declined comment. Hair’s attorney, Kim Worth, also declined to comment. Worth also represents Kalberman.
Hair joined the commission after LaBerge. In his suit, Hair says he was ordered to place documents pertaining to the Deal investigation onto a flash drive and that a commission printer would be used to send them to LaBerge’s personal email account. The goal, according to the suit, was to keep the emails out of the public eye and away from the media.
Later, after receiving training about how to follow the Open Records Act, Hair says he questioned what he had been asked to do. After refusing another similar order, Hair claims LaBerge cursed at him and almost immediately took steps to fire him, including accusing him of viewing pornographic materials on a state computer during work.
Hair denied the charge and contacted the commission’s human resources director. His computer was inspected and no evidence was found to back up the allegations, according to the suit. Less than two weeks later, Hair says he was placed on a “performance improvement plan,” a mechanism designed to address an employee’s shortcomings. He says the plan was riddled with false complaints about his work.
Hair says he was fired April 1 without ever meeting with LaBerge to address the improvement plan.
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