More than three years after an ethics invesigation was launched and a month after the state settled several lawsuits, Gov. Nathan Deal's ethics case has stormed back into the headlines. A memo from the head of the state ethics commission surfaced that alleged aides to the governor pressured her to settle complaints. Check out this interactive timeline to explore the case's history.
Here's a rundown of this week's developments:
Monday - July 14
The head of the state ethics commission said she was threatened and pressured by Gov. Nathan Deal’s office in 2012 to “make the complaints” against the governor “go away,” according to a memo obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Tuesday - July 15
This morning, Gov. Nathan Deal went into emergency communication mode.
Minutes before his Democratic opponent, Jason Carter of Atlanta, appeared before reporters and demanded a state-level investigation by Attorney General Sam Olens or his designee, the Republican incumbent gave us an exclusive interview in which he declared that he, too, has been kept in the dark.
Attorney General Sam Olens on Tuesday rejected the notion that his office hid a memo that showed Gov. Nathan Deal’s top aides pressured the head of the state ethics commission to settle cases against the governor’s campaign.
Wednesday - July 16
The renaming of the agency wasn’t accidental. It was cultural.
And it lies at the root of the sudden problem for Gov. Nathan Deal, posed by a 2012 memo that until Monday had been conveniently hidden from sight within the “transparency” commission and elsewhere.
Thursday - July 17
Deal: Staff’s contact with ethics chief was harmless
Gov. Nathan Deal likened his staff’s messages to the head of the state ethics commission to harmless contact between a defendant and a prosecutor before a trial, his most detailed explanation of the circumstances surrounding a memo that surfaced this week.
Friday - July 18
First poll since ethics bombshell gives Jason Carter edge over Nathan Deal
The crosstabs give Deal a nine-point advantage with male voters, but find women support Carter by a nearly 2-to-1 margin.
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