Georgia Senate Panel Subpoenas Stacey Abrams Over 2018 Election Violations
State senate panel demands testimony from former gubernatorial candidate and associates over $4.2 million in undisclosed campaign contributions.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA — A Georgia state senate committee has issued subpoenas for former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and her associates to testify about alleged election law violations from the 2018 election cycle.
The Senate Special Committee on Investigations requested Abrams to appear at the state Capitol Friday, though Abrams indicated she would testify “at a mutually agreeable date.” The subpoenas also target Lauren Groh-Wargo and Nsé Ufot, both associates of Abrams.
“It is not lost on me that I am being summoned days after the U.S. Supreme Court gutted protections for minority voting power and after I testified against the unconscionable voter suppression process unfolding across several Southern states,” Abrams said in a statement released Monday night. “Building voting power, especially among minority communities, is why I started leading voter registration campaigns in Georgia over 30 years ago, and why we remain so threatening to those currently in office.”
Ethics Commission Findings
The investigation focuses on the now-defunct New Georgia Project, a voter registration organization founded by Abrams to register voters from underrepresented groups. The group shut down in October after facing the largest ethics fine in state history.
The Georgia Ethics Commission determined that the New Georgia Project failed to register as a campaign committee and did not disclose approximately $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures. The commission imposed a $300,000 fine on the organization.
“The Ethics Commission uncovered what it described as one of the most significant campaign finance violations in state history,” said Athens Republican Sen. Bill Cowsert, who chairs the investigating committee.
Committee Chair Seeks Accountability
Cowsert, who is currently on Tuesday’s primary ballot as a candidate for state attorney general, said the committee aims to identify those responsible for the violations and evaluate whether additional reforms are needed.
“The integrity of our political process depends on the faithful enforcement of the law,” Cowsert said. “Our committee intends to determine who was responsible and whether additional reforms or enforcement mechanisms are necessary to protect the public trust and prevent this from ever happening again.”
Abrams has maintained she transferred ownership of the New Georgia Project before 2018, according to the Georgia Ethics Commission findings. She characterized the current hearing as a partisan effort designed to intimidate voting rights advocates.
The timing of the subpoenas follows recent Supreme Court decisions that have weakened voting rights protections and Abrams’ recent testimony against voter suppression measures in other Southern states. The hearings represent the latest development in ongoing scrutiny of campaign finance practices surrounding the 2018 Georgia elections.
