Stacey Abrams' groups forced to pay largest campaign violation fine recorded in Georgia's history

Two groups founded by failed gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams (D) that sided with alleged domestic terrorists in 2023 have been slapped with what the Georgia State Ethics Commission indicated Wednesday was both the largest fine it has ever imposed and possibly also "the largest Ethics Fine ever imposed by any State Ethics Commission in the country related to an election and campaign finance case."

Abrams and her groups have been embroiled in scandals for over a decade. Atlanta Magazine reported in 2015, around the time Abrams' groups were apparently siphoning millions of dollars in donations and turning out pitiful results, that funders were keen to know where their money went. The late state Sen. Vincent Fort stated, "[Abrams] hasn't been open and transparent."

Influence Watch noted that in its first years, Abrams' nonprofit New Georgia Project — whose stated mission is "to build power with and increase the civic participation of ... black, Latinx, AAPI, and young Georgians ... and other historically marginalized communities" — not only failed to meet its quotas but was accused of submitting fraudulent voter registration applications and paying over $1.5 million to a D.C.-based voter registration firm instead of doing the work itself. Meanwhile, Abrams was accused of taking a massive salary while working for only 20 hours per week for the organization.

When it came time for Abrams to announce her ill-fated gubernatorial bid in 2017, her groups were apparently ready to engage in far more consequential wrongdoing on her behalf.

In 2019, a Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission attorney filed complaints alleging that the NGP engaged in substantial election spending in 2018 and 2019 without registering or filing the required disclosures. In the investigation that ensued, the commission subpoenaed the NGP's bank records and invoices.

'This represents the largest and most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our statewide elections.'

The commission alleged in 2022 that Abrams' New Georgia Project and the New Georgia Project Action Fund had failed to disclose over $3 million worth of electioneering expenses and over $4 million in political contributions between 2017 and 2019. Axios noted at the time that the commission argued the action fund and the nonprofit operated as a single entity but neglected to register as a super PAC or "independent committee" and failed to detail electioneering expenses.

Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock (Ga.) was CEO of the scandal-plagued outfit in 2017, 2018, and 2019.

The commission advanced the complaint in August 2022, having determined that the NGP and its corresponding action fund had violated campaign ethics laws at least eight times. It turns out that the group was apparently guilty of many more violations than first thought.

The Georgia State Ethics Commission noted Wednesday, several six- and seven-figure NGP financial discrepancies later, that "this represents the largest and most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our statewide elections in Georgia that we have ever discovered."

The current leaders of Abrams' group admitted in the consent decree, unanimously approved by the ethics board and released Wednesday, to 16 instances of illegal activity and agreed to pay a fine of $300,000 for violating state law.

David Fox, a lawyer for the NGP and action fund, told commissioners over video, "The matter relates to events from more than five years ago, and respondents are eager to put the matter behind them," reported the Associated Press.

Michael Brewer, a spokesman for Warnock's Senate office, suggested that the Democrat who was listed as CEO of the NGP during the time of its worst known abuses knew nothing of the violations.

David Emadi, executive director of the commission, said of Warnock's potential culpability, "I'm not prepared to say he had direct involvement in this."

Politico noted that a spokesman for Abrams did not respond to its request for comment.

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