Ethics commission dismisses complaint over Burt Jones’ $10M loan
The State Ethics Commission has rejected a complaint by Attorney General Chris Carr seeking an investigation into the source of a $10 million loan Lt. Gov. Burt Jones made to his own gubernatorial campaign.
In a one-page response issued Monday, commission Executive Secretary David Emadi wrote that the complaint from Jones’ GOP rival wouldn’t be investigate because it “fails to allege a violation” of Georgia campaign finance laws.
Carr filed the complaint days after Jones entered the contest to succeed Gov. Brian Kemp. He raised questions about the loan origin by pointing to Jones’ 2022 financial disclosure, which listed a net worth of $12 million but $700,000 in liquid assets.
But Emadi said the three-year-old personal financial disclosure “does not form a factual and legal basis” to investigate a loan reported more than three years later.
Jones, whose family runs a sprawling oil and insurance business, reported the loan this month as part of a disclosure that also showed roughly $14 million in his leadership committee, a fundraising tool that lets certain political leaders raise unlimited cash.
Carr also filed a separate request last week asking for an advisory opinion from the ethics commission on whether a candidate can issue a personal loan to a leadership committee to fund their campaigns. That request is still pending.
Carr’s campaign has hammered Jones over the loan for days, promoting it on social media as “unethical” and “mysterious.” On Monday, his spokeswoman Julia Mazzone urged the commission to reconsider.
“If the source of Burt’s mysterious loan was legitimate, he could easily say so. He hasn’t. We respectfully disagree with this decision and reserve the right to pursue the matter further,” Mazzone said.
Jones spokeswoman Kendyl Parker dismissed the filing as a political stunt.
“This was a pathetic cry for attention from an unserious candidate running a flailing campaign,” said Parker. “This is the first of many losses for the Carr campaign.”
About the Author
Greg Bluestein is the Atlanta Journal Constitution's chief political reporter. He is also an author, TV analyst and co-host of the Politically Georgia podcast.
