https://www.ajc.com/news/state--regional-govt--politics/broad-georgia-ethics-probe-targets-abrams-and-her-backers/NBT2JDLOZqDgUq1vTz4xOO/?utm_source=newspaper&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=8416631&ecmp=newspaper_email&

The head of Georgia’s ethics commission has filed a spate of subpoenas targeting groups led by Stacey Abrams and the chairwoman of the state Democratic Party, prompting criticism that he’s trying to exact political revenge against Republican Gov. Brian Kemp’s political opponents.


The subpoenas obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution were filed on April 26 by new ethics chief David Emadi and seek extensive financial, bank and payroll records from the Abrams’ campaign, which raised roughly $30 million in last year’s race against Kemp.

The ethics office also wants all correspondence between the Abrams campaign and a constellation of left-leaning groups that registered and mobilized voters, many with a focus on energizing minorities. They include the voting rights group Abrams helped launch and a nonprofit co-founded by state Sen. Nikema Williams, the new leader of the state Democratic Party.

In the documents, Emadi reveals that investigators intend to present evidence that the Abrams campaign accepted donations from four of the groups that exceeded maximum contribution limits for a statewide campaign.

Stacey Abrams announced on Tuesday that she would not run for Senate in 2020, denying Democrats their favored recruit for the race in Georgia. She did not say if she planned to run for president, which she has also been considering doing.

Ms. Abrams, 45, had been courted aggressively by national Democrats to enter the Senate race against David Perdue, one of President Trump’s closest allies in Congress. As a candidate for governor last year, she electrified Democratic voters in Georgia and became a hero to liberals nationally with an energetic campaign that ended in a narrow defeat.

“I am so grateful for all of the support and encouragement I have received from fellow Georgians, to leaders of Congress and beyond,” she said in a video announcing her decision. “However the fights to be waged require a deep commitment to the job, and I do not see the U.S. Senate as the best role for me in this battle for our nation’s future.”

She added that she would do everything in her power to ensure Georgia elected a Democrat to the seat in 2020.