The Georgia state ethics commission is pursuing an “ongoing” investigation into failed Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams’s campaign as she tries to join her party’s presidential ticket.
The ethics commission is investigating whether Abrams’s campaign illegally coordinated with an outside group in violation of campaign finance laws.
“The investigation into the Abrams campaign remains ongoing,” David Emadi, the executive director of the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, told the Daily Caller. “Because it is an active investigation, we cannot comment any further pursuant to Rule 3.6 of the Rules of Professional Responsibility of the State Bar of Georgia.”
Two nonprofit organizations, the New Georgia Project and New Georgia Project Action Fund, acted as a political committee during the campaign and should have both registered with the state and reported how much they raised and spent, Emadi said, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The most recent development in the investigation came in February when Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick ruled in favor of Abrams, denying a request from the commission for the campaign to hand over additional records, according to the Associated Press. Abrams’s campaign, which has denied allegations of wrongdoing, said it had already turned over 4,000 documents at the time of the judge’s ruling.
“Please tell Brian Kemp’s donor David Emadi that we said hello and that we look forward to the end of his fishing expedition following his loss in court,” Abrams spokesman Seth Bringman told the Daily Caller.
Following her loss in 2018, Abrams refused to concede to her opponent, GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, arguing that a voter suppression campaign against black voters had given her opponent a boost.
Abrams has become a prominent name amid former Vice President Joe Biden’s search for a running mate. Biden has promised to pick a woman, and many have urged for his pick to be a black woman.
She has previously said that she’d be “happy” to join Biden’s presidential ticket.
