Coming Sunday
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution examines the saga of Georgia’s beleaguered ethics commission and the role of Gov. Nathan Deal. The AJC looks at the roots of the commission’s problems, which began some five years ago.
Gov. Nathan Deal, two top aides and his private attorney have been subpoenaed and may testify in a whistle-blower lawsuit involving the state ethics commission, according to records obtained by the The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Deal, chief of staff Chris Riley, chief counsel Ryan Teague and the governor’s private campaign attorney are on the “may call” list of witnesses for Sherilyn Streicker, the former top deputy of the commission. Streicker has sued her former employer, claiming she was fired for aggressively pursuing an ethics complaint against Deal’s 2010 campaign.
The lawsuit and a similar suit filed by Streicker’s former boss launched a year of turmoil at the commission that has led to FBI investigations, federal grand jury subpoenas, allegations of altered records and internal investigations. The commission is responsible for overseeing how public officials raise and spend money and how that information is disclosed.
The trial in Streicker’s suit is set to begin Friday in Fulton County Superior Court and is set to last five days.
“I have been served, but I do not know why or for what purpose or that I will even be called,” Randy Evans, Deal’s campaign attorney, told the AJC.
A spokesman for the governor referred questions to Attorney General Sam Olens, who is defending the ethics commission in the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for Olens declined to comment, as did Streicker’s attorney, Brian Sutherland.
Streicker’s former boss, former ethics commission director Stacey Kalberman, is claiming in her own whistle-blower suit that she was forced from her job for the same reason Streicker says she lost her job. A judge is expected to rule Thursday morning whether Kalberman’s case goes to trial next week.
The “may call” list includes potential witnesses who could be called to testify in a trial. It does not mean the governor or his staff will definitely take the witness stand. Streicker’s list of potential witnesses includes current and former members and staff of the commission, officially known as the Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission. The state’s list is similar but does not include Deal or his aides.
Streicker’s job was eliminated in June 2011, and Kalberman’s salary was cut from $120,000 to $85,000. Kalberman eventually resigned after a public spat with Patrick Millsaps, who at the time was the commission’s chairman.
The cases have prompted a series of revelations that have led to FBI interest and federal grand jury subpoenas.
Kalberman and Streicker met with federal prosecutors and the FBI concerning their probe. They were prepared to serve subpoenas in the case before the commission voted in 2011, citing budget troubles, to cut Kalberman’s salary by nearly 30 percent and eliminate Streicker’s job.
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.
Before Kalberman was forced out, Teague, the governor’s chief counsel, called Holly LaBerge, then a top deputy at the Public Defenders Standards Council, to see whether she was interested in filling Kalberman’s job, the AJC reported in October. LaBerge took over the commission’s top job in September 2011.
In July 2012, the commission voted to dismiss the most serious charges against Deal and levy $3,350 in fees for technical defects in his campaign finance report. The commission’s staff attorney, who was fired last week, had recommended $70,000 in fines.
That attorney, Elisabeth Murray-Obertein, said in sworn statements in the cases that LaBerge met often with Riley, the governor’s chief of staff, and Teague. She and former agency computer specialist John Hair also said in sworn statements that LaBerge bragged that she made Deal’s problems “go away” by limiting the penalties from the complaints. LaBerge has denied that claim in her own sworn statement.
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