Yesterday’s exclusive interview by Fox5 Atlanta WAGA-TV reporter Dale Russell with state campaign finance panel Executive Secretary Holly LeBarge has resulted in yet another explosion in the ethics minefield that Gov. Nathan Deal – who is running for re-election—has been skillfully trying to weave through. LeBerge declares that two top Deal aides, his legal advisor and chief of staff, improperly interfered two years ago in a pending 2010 campaign violations case against the Deal gubernatorial campaign. She said the duo urged her to agree to settlement terms before a scheduled public hearing, and further claimed to have felt “threatened” by legal counsel Ryan Teague.
Deal and his lawyer Randy Evans again deny any improper interference with the case, which was eventually settled by the full state campaign finance commission and resulted in $3,350 in “technical” fines levied against the Deal campaign. (The governor had originally faced a proposed $70,000 in fines stemming from alleged campaign violations.)
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