Note: In an earlier version of this story we stated that the fine was against Attorney General Sam Olens, when in fact it was against the office of the Attorney General and not Sam Olens himself. We apologize for the error.
The latest twist in the story involving the state ethics office and Governor Nathan Deal saw the Georgia Department of Law and ethics chair Holly LaBerge each receive a $10,000 fine for failing to provide evidence to former ethics director Stacey Kalberman during LaBerge’s lawsuit against the state earlier this year.
The fine, levied by Fulton County Superior Judge Ural Glanville, is for LaBerge and the Department neglecting to turn over text messages between the ethics chair and aides of Governor Deal in 2012.
LaBerge’s lawyer was quick to strike back, saying that the decision to withold documents came directly from the office of the Attorney General and thus it should have been only them who were sanctioned.
Former State House Majority Whip and Congressional candidate Ed Lindsey, speaking on behalf of the Attorney General’s office regarding the charges, said that, “The department believes that the dedicated public servants in office worked diligently and ethically in this matter”. He went on to say that the department will review its legal options in deciding how to address the fine.
Already several prominent lawyers have come forth in saying that they disagree with the court’s fine, remarking that, “This was a decision by a career attorney in the department of law who was constitutionally and ethically bound to zealously represent his client.”
This fine is just the latest twist in the ethics headache that has plagued Nathan Deal’s re-election campaign, with each new story, even the ones such as this where he is not explicitly named, sowing seeds of doubt into the minds of Georgia voters.
