September 3, 2014
Not only was Attorney General, Sam Olens, fined $10,000, but so was the state Ethics Commission Director fined $10,000.
Our Attorney General, Sam Olens, ran on a campaign of openness and transparency 4 years ago, and is now fined by a judge for a lack of transparency. This, along with at least 2 RICO lawsuits filed against him alleging criminal acts while in office, may explain why we all have so much trouble getting public officials to comply with sunshine laws. If Olens sets the example for the rest of the state, what can we expect? He is running for re-election this November.
By the way, the State Ethics Commission is now called The Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission.
Here are details from the AJC, Fox 5 Atlanta, and the Daily Report.
Daily Report
Judge levies $20K in Sanctions Against AG’s Office, Ethics Agency Head
Greg Land, Daily Report
September 3, 2014
A Fulton County judge has ordered the office of Attorney General Sam Olens and the head of the state ethics commission to pay $10,000 each as a sanction for discovery violations related to a whistleblower trial of the ethics agency’s former executive director.
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville ruled Wednesday that Holly LaBerge, the head of the ethics agency, and the state Law Department were complicit in failing to turn over a memo that appeared to show staff members from the office of Gov. Nathan Deal threatened LaBerge to make an investigation into the governor’s finances go away. Attorneys for the former head of the ethics agency, Stacey Kalberman, had sought any evidence of such communications before she took the case to trial.
Glanville said the total $20,000 award represents “the reasonable litigation expenses associated with the instant motion,” and ordered the money to be paid by Sept. 22.
Read more: http://www.dailyreportonline.com
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Fox 5 Atlanta
You can see the story here:
http://www.myfoxatlanta.com/story/26441048/20000-in-sanctions-issued-in-georgia-ethics-case
Fulton County Superior Court Judge Ural Glanville sanctioned the State Law Department and the state Ethics Commission director for “flagrant disregard for the basic rules governing litigation” calling the failure to comply with discovery rules an “injustice.”
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The Atlanta Journal
Judge orders ethics chief, AG’s office to pay $20K in sanctions
A Fulton County Superior Court judge on Wednesday sanctioned the Attorney General’s Office and state ethics commission director and ordered each to pay $10,000 in fines for failing to turn over key documents in a whistleblower lawsuit involving the commission and Gov. Nathan Deal’s office, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.
Read article here:
http://www.ajc.com/news/news/judge-orders-ethics-chief-ags-office-to-pay-20k-in/nhFQn/
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Now, if only we could get local officials fined for lack of transparency…..
Be informed and stay informed before you vote in the upcoming elections.
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Finally, a judge is doing his job!!!!!!!!!!! C
AJC is trying to elect Jason Carter Governor and I don’t take their articles at face value.
Wendell Dawson
So, by reporting the fact that Sam Olens’ office hid documents and was fined for doing so, the AJC is promoting Jason Carter?
Hi Wendell: You may not like the AJC, but the facts are very clear. The judge sanctioned the Attorney General for withholding evidence in a whistleblower lawsuit. How can citizens NOT be concerned when the FBI has subpoenaed records from our state Ethics Commission (that’s a fact), a jury found that the former head of the Ethics Commission was forced out of her job because she was investigating the governor (that’s a fact), and there are two, soon to be three, RICO lawsuits filed against the Attorney General, alleging criminal acts committed while defending another state agency (that’s a fact)?
I am a conservative who voted for Sam Olens and Nathan Deal in the last election, but that does not make me blind to their ethical, and perhaps criminal behavior while in office.
We can hope!