Culture of Secrecy, Cover Ups Again Clouds Perdue Administration
AJC: “Georgia juvenile justice probed;” “Papers allegedly were falsified” by Perdue Administration
According to Saturday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, federal and state authorities are investigating whether Governor Sonny Perdue’s Department of Juvenile Justice falsified documents to help Georgia meet U.S. Department of Justice standards for child safety. The article reported that the DJJ’s former Director of Legal Services, Nina Edidin, turned into a whistleblower and reported the alleged wrongdoing to the Attorney General’s office, which asked the GBI to investigate. According to GBI documents examined by the AJC, Ms. Edidin had gone to the Attorney General after Albert Murray, Perdue’s DJJ Commissioner, failed to act in response to her concerns. Ms Edidin also apparently told the GBI that she was forced to resign after contacting the Attorney General. The supervisor of the FBI’s Atlanta public corruption squad confirmed that it is now involved in the probe. [J. Miller, “Georgia juvenile justice probed,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/12/2005]
“Governor Perdue’s ‘government without guile’ never came to be. Instead, a culture of secrecy, cover ups and heavy handedness permeates Perdue’s Administration,” said Bobby Kahn, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “From juvenile justice to health care to ethics to the budget to predatory lending, Gov. Perdue proves again and again that he and his administration cannot be trusted.”
Gov. Perdue’s Corrections Commissioner shook down vendors for over $100,000, Perdue not only fails to ask for his resignation, he defends his actions
In October, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the GBI has investigated Governor Perdue’s Corrections Commissioner for soliciting donations from private interests into a non-governmental fund. Specifically, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that, “[M]any of the companies asked to donate the needed $100,000 do business with [Corrections Commissioner James] Donald's department. Complaints prompted a GBI investigation. A 1,086-page GBI report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicates that the companies felt pressured to contribute in order to hang on to their multimillion-dollar state contracts. Even those raising money on Donald's behalf told the GBI they would have felt obligated to contribute. The GBI report reveals that numerous Department of Corrections officials warned Donald against raising so much money from department contractors. Gov. Sonny Perdue's top attorney cautioned against it, too.” [Campos, “Prisons chief ignored ethics warnings; Money for conference solicited from vendors,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/9/2005]
AJC reported that Eli Lilly “offered money for access” to the state Medicaid policy, which “contradicts past statements” by Gov. Perdue’s aides
Last month, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that documents from the Department of Community Health directly contradict statements made by the Governor’s office about an offer from pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to fund the creation of Perdue’s Medicaid reform proposal. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, “Eli Lilly and Co. proposed giving up to $5 million to Georgia's Medicaid program in return for the state lifting restrictions that would boost sales of four of the pharmaceutical company's drugs. The offer, described in documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the Open Records Act, contradicts past statements by aides to Gov. Sonny Perdue that Lilly's proposal to donate money to Medicaid had no strings attached. ‘There is no quid pro quo,’ Perdue's health adviser, Abel Ortiz, said in August.” [A. Miller, “Firm Tempts Medicaid,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/20/2005]
Perdue spokesman said the DCH Chair’s company was working for DCH for free, but a signed contract suggests otherwise
The Department of Community Health brought in consultants from DCH Chairman Jeff Anderson’s firm, Capgemini, without a competitive bidding process. On May 18, 2005, Gov. Perdue’s Communications Director Dan McLagan wrote an “Equal Time” piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in which he said, “With no time to mount an open-bid process, the department brought in a crack team from a sister company to Anderson's employer, Capgemini, to work for free to solve the problem.” However, a signed contract on February 11, 2005, outlined a paid subcontractor relationship between ACS (the company with the contract at the time) and CapGemini, and numerous internal communications also show that they were not brought in for free. [McLagan, “Volunteer public servants don't deserve scorn,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/18/2005; ACS/CapGemini Subcontractor Agreement, 2/11/2005; Email communication between ACS, CapGemini, and DCH between February 2005 – April 2005]
Perdue and his staff lied about inserting an ethics provision to specifically help Perdue in an ethics case
Gov. Perdue got caught lying 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. Perdue’s aides first denied any knowledge of the provision, but later we learned that the request did come from the Governor’s Office. [Larrabee, “Critics: Loophole could fuel campaigns,” Savannah Morning News, 3/31/2005; Crawford, “Political Notes – The end is near: Flying high?” Capitol Impact, 3/30/2005; Tharpe and Badertscher, “LEGISLATURE '05: Key issues remain on Day 39,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/31/2005; Baxter and Galloway, “Political Insider: The Case of the Vanishing Clause: Ignorance might not have been the whole story,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/4/2005]
Perdue and team “twist facts” in predatory lending legislation
Gov. Perdue was desperate to pass a bill to water down the state’s predatory lending laws in 2003. Gov. Perdue’s floor leader, Sen. Bill Stephens, took to the floor of the Senate and told of a forthcoming letter from Freddie Mac to the Governor’s Office – apparently the lender would leave the state in 2 days unless the law was changed. The Senate votes to change the law. Only one problem: no letter from Freddie Mac ever said that. In fact, the only letter received by the Governor’s Office from Freddie Mac came 5 days later CRITICIZING the changes pushed by the GOP. Excerpts from Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial “To the letter, Perdue team misled us on lending law,” follow:
- - “When Gov. Sonny Perdue summoned waffling state senators to his office in the midst of the heated predatory lending debate, he proved he can twist arms. Now, it appears that he and his team can twist facts, as well. The pivotal moment in the debate that undid the state's tough law against predatory lending was an announcement by Perdue floor leader Bill Stephens. Standing at the Senate podium, Stephens claimed that Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage agency, was about to fax a letter to the state threatening to stop doing business in Georgia if the state did not reform its predatory-lending law within 48 hours.”
- - “Oddly, though, the letter that Stephens claimed was coming immediately did not appear that day --- or the next. When a letter from Freddie Mac finally did appear, five days after the crucial Senate vote, Perdue and others quickly cited it as vindication of the pressure they had exerted on the Senate to act. But no fair reading of the actual letter supports such a claim. To the contrary, the letter, written by Freddie Mac senior vice president Mitchell Delk, criticizes the House bill for going too far and for unnecessarily weakening consumer protections.” [“To the letter, Perdue team misled us on lending law,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/19/2003]
Perdue misled media on the need for a Special Session
In April 2004, Gov. Perdue demanded an expensive special session, first claiming it was necessary, then admitting it wasn’t, and then signing on to a deal nearly identical to one he killed on the last day of the regular session. The Savannah Morning News exposed Gov. Perdue’s dissembling to the media and the voters. In Savannah, Perdue said that a special session was unavoidable; in Atlanta, he admitted he did not actually need to call one. They captured the flip-flop in their headline: “Was the special session avoidable? Perdue says no in Savannah; yes in Atlanta.” [Peterson, “Was the special session avoidable? Perdue says no in Savannah; yes in Atlanta.” Savannah Morning News, 4/9/04]
Perdue lied about his own budget
In two straight budgets, Gov. Perdue pushed for an accounting gimmick known as the “Paycheck Pushback” – a scheme that involves delaying the last state payroll by one day so that it shifts into the next fiscal year, thereby “balancing” the state’s budget. Last year, after the budget was signed and soon after he met with bond agencies, Perdue decided to cancel his plans to employ the paycheck pushback, forcing the state to scramble to cut $180 million of a budget we were already in. He then declared that he never intended to employ the accounting gimmick. The only thing that’s unclear is when Gov. Perdue lied. Did he lie when he presented his budget with the gimmick and when he signed it? Or did he lie about his intentions of employing the gimmick after he was rebuked by the bond agencies? The specific timing of the lie is unclear – the only thing that is certain is that he lied to the Legislature, State Employees, and the Citizens of Georgia. [Badertscher, “Georgia Governor Plots New Course in State of the State Address,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/28/2003; “Budget could up property taxes,” Chattanooga Times Free Press (AP), 4/9/2003; Salzer, “Perdue clings to tax increase,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/10/2003; Pettys (AP), “Paycheck delay used to balance budget,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, 1/20/2004; Pettys, “Perdue warns more belt tightening ahead for state,” Associated Press, 8/6/2004; Salzer, "Do more with less, Georgians advised," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/26/04]
According to Saturday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution, federal and state authorities are investigating whether Governor Sonny Perdue’s Department of Juvenile Justice falsified documents to help Georgia meet U.S. Department of Justice standards for child safety. The article reported that the DJJ’s former Director of Legal Services, Nina Edidin, turned into a whistleblower and reported the alleged wrongdoing to the Attorney General’s office, which asked the GBI to investigate. According to GBI documents examined by the AJC, Ms. Edidin had gone to the Attorney General after Albert Murray, Perdue’s DJJ Commissioner, failed to act in response to her concerns. Ms Edidin also apparently told the GBI that she was forced to resign after contacting the Attorney General. The supervisor of the FBI’s Atlanta public corruption squad confirmed that it is now involved in the probe. [J. Miller, “Georgia juvenile justice probed,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11/12/2005]
“Governor Perdue’s ‘government without guile’ never came to be. Instead, a culture of secrecy, cover ups and heavy handedness permeates Perdue’s Administration,” said Bobby Kahn, Chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. “From juvenile justice to health care to ethics to the budget to predatory lending, Gov. Perdue proves again and again that he and his administration cannot be trusted.”
Gov. Perdue’s Corrections Commissioner shook down vendors for over $100,000, Perdue not only fails to ask for his resignation, he defends his actions
In October, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the GBI has investigated Governor Perdue’s Corrections Commissioner for soliciting donations from private interests into a non-governmental fund. Specifically, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that, “[M]any of the companies asked to donate the needed $100,000 do business with [Corrections Commissioner James] Donald's department. Complaints prompted a GBI investigation. A 1,086-page GBI report obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution indicates that the companies felt pressured to contribute in order to hang on to their multimillion-dollar state contracts. Even those raising money on Donald's behalf told the GBI they would have felt obligated to contribute. The GBI report reveals that numerous Department of Corrections officials warned Donald against raising so much money from department contractors. Gov. Sonny Perdue's top attorney cautioned against it, too.” [Campos, “Prisons chief ignored ethics warnings; Money for conference solicited from vendors,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/9/2005]
AJC reported that Eli Lilly “offered money for access” to the state Medicaid policy, which “contradicts past statements” by Gov. Perdue’s aides
Last month, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that documents from the Department of Community Health directly contradict statements made by the Governor’s office about an offer from pharmaceutical giant Eli Lilly to fund the creation of Perdue’s Medicaid reform proposal. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported, “Eli Lilly and Co. proposed giving up to $5 million to Georgia's Medicaid program in return for the state lifting restrictions that would boost sales of four of the pharmaceutical company's drugs. The offer, described in documents obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution under the Open Records Act, contradicts past statements by aides to Gov. Sonny Perdue that Lilly's proposal to donate money to Medicaid had no strings attached. ‘There is no quid pro quo,’ Perdue's health adviser, Abel Ortiz, said in August.” [A. Miller, “Firm Tempts Medicaid,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 10/20/2005]
Perdue spokesman said the DCH Chair’s company was working for DCH for free, but a signed contract suggests otherwise
The Department of Community Health brought in consultants from DCH Chairman Jeff Anderson’s firm, Capgemini, without a competitive bidding process. On May 18, 2005, Gov. Perdue’s Communications Director Dan McLagan wrote an “Equal Time” piece for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in which he said, “With no time to mount an open-bid process, the department brought in a crack team from a sister company to Anderson's employer, Capgemini, to work for free to solve the problem.” However, a signed contract on February 11, 2005, outlined a paid subcontractor relationship between ACS (the company with the contract at the time) and CapGemini, and numerous internal communications also show that they were not brought in for free. [McLagan, “Volunteer public servants don't deserve scorn,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 5/18/2005; ACS/CapGemini Subcontractor Agreement, 2/11/2005; Email communication between ACS, CapGemini, and DCH between February 2005 – April 2005]
Perdue and his staff lied about inserting an ethics provision to specifically help Perdue in an ethics case
Gov. Perdue got caught lying 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. Perdue’s aides first denied any knowledge of the provision, but later we learned that the request did come from the Governor’s Office. [Larrabee, “Critics: Loophole could fuel campaigns,” Savannah Morning News, 3/31/2005; Crawford, “Political Notes – The end is near: Flying high?” Capitol Impact, 3/30/2005; Tharpe and Badertscher, “LEGISLATURE '05: Key issues remain on Day 39,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/31/2005; Baxter and Galloway, “Political Insider: The Case of the Vanishing Clause: Ignorance might not have been the whole story,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/4/2005]
Perdue and team “twist facts” in predatory lending legislation
Gov. Perdue was desperate to pass a bill to water down the state’s predatory lending laws in 2003. Gov. Perdue’s floor leader, Sen. Bill Stephens, took to the floor of the Senate and told of a forthcoming letter from Freddie Mac to the Governor’s Office – apparently the lender would leave the state in 2 days unless the law was changed. The Senate votes to change the law. Only one problem: no letter from Freddie Mac ever said that. In fact, the only letter received by the Governor’s Office from Freddie Mac came 5 days later CRITICIZING the changes pushed by the GOP. Excerpts from Atlanta Journal-Constitution editorial “To the letter, Perdue team misled us on lending law,” follow:
- - “When Gov. Sonny Perdue summoned waffling state senators to his office in the midst of the heated predatory lending debate, he proved he can twist arms. Now, it appears that he and his team can twist facts, as well. The pivotal moment in the debate that undid the state's tough law against predatory lending was an announcement by Perdue floor leader Bill Stephens. Standing at the Senate podium, Stephens claimed that Freddie Mac, the federally chartered mortgage agency, was about to fax a letter to the state threatening to stop doing business in Georgia if the state did not reform its predatory-lending law within 48 hours.”
- - “Oddly, though, the letter that Stephens claimed was coming immediately did not appear that day --- or the next. When a letter from Freddie Mac finally did appear, five days after the crucial Senate vote, Perdue and others quickly cited it as vindication of the pressure they had exerted on the Senate to act. But no fair reading of the actual letter supports such a claim. To the contrary, the letter, written by Freddie Mac senior vice president Mitchell Delk, criticizes the House bill for going too far and for unnecessarily weakening consumer protections.” [“To the letter, Perdue team misled us on lending law,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 3/19/2003]
Perdue misled media on the need for a Special Session
In April 2004, Gov. Perdue demanded an expensive special session, first claiming it was necessary, then admitting it wasn’t, and then signing on to a deal nearly identical to one he killed on the last day of the regular session. The Savannah Morning News exposed Gov. Perdue’s dissembling to the media and the voters. In Savannah, Perdue said that a special session was unavoidable; in Atlanta, he admitted he did not actually need to call one. They captured the flip-flop in their headline: “Was the special session avoidable? Perdue says no in Savannah; yes in Atlanta.” [Peterson, “Was the special session avoidable? Perdue says no in Savannah; yes in Atlanta.” Savannah Morning News, 4/9/04]
Perdue lied about his own budget
In two straight budgets, Gov. Perdue pushed for an accounting gimmick known as the “Paycheck Pushback” – a scheme that involves delaying the last state payroll by one day so that it shifts into the next fiscal year, thereby “balancing” the state’s budget. Last year, after the budget was signed and soon after he met with bond agencies, Perdue decided to cancel his plans to employ the paycheck pushback, forcing the state to scramble to cut $180 million of a budget we were already in. He then declared that he never intended to employ the accounting gimmick. The only thing that’s unclear is when Gov. Perdue lied. Did he lie when he presented his budget with the gimmick and when he signed it? Or did he lie about his intentions of employing the gimmick after he was rebuked by the bond agencies? The specific timing of the lie is unclear – the only thing that is certain is that he lied to the Legislature, State Employees, and the Citizens of Georgia. [Badertscher, “Georgia Governor Plots New Course in State of the State Address,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 1/28/2003; “Budget could up property taxes,” Chattanooga Times Free Press (AP), 4/9/2003; Salzer, “Perdue clings to tax increase,” Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 4/10/2003; Pettys (AP), “Paycheck delay used to balance budget,” Chattanooga Times Free Press, 1/20/2004; Pettys, “Perdue warns more belt tightening ahead for state,” Associated Press, 8/6/2004; Salzer, "Do more with less, Georgians advised," Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 9/26/04]
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