Perdue Caught Lying About Ethics Bill

[RubyDuby in GA]

Email from the Georgia Democratic Party - if you live in GA, copy and paste this into an email and send to every single person you know living in this state.


Lies To Press About Attempts to Whitewash Ethics Violation

 
(Atlanta) Gov. Sonny Perdue got caught lying this week by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, ironically about his conduct in relation to his own ethics legislation. A provision “mysteriously” appeared in the bill that would have helped the Governor escape punishment for a serious ethics violation he committed in 2002, and that is now under investigation by the State Ethics Commission.  While helping Perdue’s legal defense, the provision would also have opened a gigantic loophole in Georgia’s campaign finance law by allowing unlimited secret donations to be laundered into campaigns through corporations.
 
When members of the media asked Perdue’s press office multiple times whether the Governor had any role in adding the provision to the bill, his press staff flatly denied that Perdue knew anything about it.  Republican lawmakers, however, contradicted the Governor this week when the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s “Political Insider” reported that, “In the final version of the ethics bill, the language was taken out. And since then, we've talked to Republican lawmakers familiar with the negotiations — who said the phrasing did indeed have its origins on the second floor of the state Capitol.”
 
Gov. Perdue is currently under investigation by the State Ethics Commission for illegally using an airplane owned by his privately held corporation.  Perdue failed to report the use of the plane as an in-kind contribution to the campaign from the corporation, and even if he had, the amount of the contribution would have far exceeded the legal limits for corporate contributions to the campaign.  Just before the start of the session, Perdue managed to get his ethics hearing postponed until after the legislature left town; conveniently knowing he could insert this provision to provide himself cover from his ethics violations.  Perdue now faces a substantial fine from the Commission for his wrongdoing. 
 
Below are the multiple instances of Perdue’s press operation willfully lying to the media about his involvement in the shenanigans surrounding the “mystery” provision.  Not only did they claim that the Governor was not the source of the provision, they claimed that he was so unaware of it that he would have to study it before taking a position on whether it should be in the bill.
 
§         A spokeswoman for Perdue pointed out that the provision highlighted by Kahn was added to the ethics bill by the House and brushed off the idea that the governor was involved.  "As usual, we have no idea what Bobby is talking about," Heather Hedrick said. She added that the allegation "sounds like more of Bobby's continued pursuit of a conspiracy theory and, quite frankly, reminds us why we're happy he's in charge of the Democratic party."  Hedrick said Perdue was unaware of the new provision before Wednesday and would have to study it before taking a position on the change.
 
§         “‘As usual, we have no idea what Bobby's talking about,’ said Perdue spokesperson Heather Hedrick. ‘That provision was not in the governor's original bill -- it must have been added by the House. It reminds us of why we're glad Bobby's in charge of the Democratic Party.’”
 
§         “Perdue spokeswoman Heather Hedrick said the governor had nothing to do with the language to which Kahn alluded. That provision, she said, was inserted by the House.”
 
“It’s just fitting that Gov. Perdue would get caught lying about ethics,” said Bobby Kahn, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “He can’t seem to be trusted on anything.”

[dbeach]

1. repuke govs are also way up here in NE..

including RI,CT and MA..