Legislative committee member proposes subcommittee to continue probe of Fulton County DA and campaign finance allegations

An unidentified member of a legislative committee proposed forming a subcommittee to accelerate investigations into alleged misconduct at the Fulton County District Attorney's office and related campaign finance violations, but the committee took no formal action because it lacked a quorum.

The committee member said the panel, which has operated for three years, was initially charged with examining conduct in the Fulton County District Attorney's office and determining whether additional legislation was needed to restore public confidence. "This committee has now been in operation for 3 years," the member said, and the group's charge later expanded "last year as we passed a new resolution that called upon us to also look into some of the activities of campaign finance violations." The member referenced testimony from the ethics commission and organizations associated with Stacey Abrams.

To speed work during the legislative session, the member said they would create a subcommittee and "name Senator Dolezal as chairman," asking Senators Jones, Hatchett and Kalser to serve alongside. The member said they would also serve on both the full committee and the subcommittee. The transcript shows the proposal was described as an appointment to be carried out administratively; the committee did not vote on the proposal because several members were absent. "We don't have a quorum here to take any actions," the member said.

The member identified witnesses the subcommittee chair planned to call, including Nathan Wade and another individual described as "DeSantis who works with Fani Willis." The member also said they hoped to invite Stacey Abrams or representatives associated with organizations discussed by the ethics commission and to hear from Pete Skandalakis, described in the transcript as a prosecuting attorneys' counsel/executive director who reviewed prosecutions brought by Fani Willis and decisions not to proceed in some cases. The member said they wanted Mr. Skandalakis to "explain to us that process" and to offer "viewpoints on what is or is not appropriate prosecutorial misconduct or what would justify removing a prosecutor from a case." No testimony occurred at this meeting.

The member said scheduling and staffing constraints related to members running for statewide office made it important to complete work before the end of the legislative session and proposed meeting weekly or every other week, noting Fridays are often convenient. They proposed Feb. 6 as the next meeting date and said the committee would begin by reviewing prior testimony.

Because the committee lacked a quorum, members deferred approval of minutes from the Dec. 17 meeting and adjourned without taking formal votes.

The committee member said they would advise Senator Dolezal to begin arranging testimony and coordinate scheduling; the meeting ended with brief closing remarks and adjournment.