{"id":2391082,"date":"2025-01-16T10:23:00","date_gmt":"2025-01-16T15:23:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/group-stacey-abrams-created-to-help-herself-faces-record-fine\/"},"modified":"2025-01-16T10:27:08","modified_gmt":"2025-01-16T15:27:08","slug":"group-stacey-abrams-created-to-help-herself-faces-record-fine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/group-stacey-abrams-created-to-help-herself-faces-record-fine\/","title":{"rendered":"Group Stacey Abrams Created To Help Herself Faces Record Fine"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">20<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fgroup-stacey-abrams-created-to-help-herself-faces-record-fine%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2391082&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The New Georgia Project, a voter rights institution \u2063founded by \u2062Stacey Abrams, has\u200d received a historic $300,000 \u200cfine from the Georgia State\u200b Ethics Commission for \u2062serious campaign \u2062finance\u200b violations. The organization admitted to raising and spending \u2064over $4.2 million for Abrams&#8217; unsuccessful gubernatorial campaign in 2018 without proper registration as a political committee, violating state \u2062election laws. This includes failing to disclose\u200d critically important contributions and \u2064expenditures related \u2063to \u200cboth the gubernatorial race and \u2062a subsequent public transportation referendum.<\/p>\n<p>david Emadi, the executive secretary of the Ethics Commission, described the fine as the largest \u200bin Georgia&#8217;s\u200c history and emphasized the severity of\u2064 the infractions, which involved 16 violations of\u200c law, including the use of unregulated funds. Georgia election integrity advocates view the penalty as a necessary step towards ensuring accountability\u2064 in the state&#8217;s elections.<\/p>\n<p>Critics have pointed to Abrams&#8217; past accusations of voter suppression against \u2064conservative leaders\u200c as hypocritical, \u200bhighlighting the discrepancies between her claims and \u2062the legal issues faced by her organization. Despite the ongoing controversy, Abrams has not publicly commented on \u2064the situation.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p>A dubious voter rights group founded by race-baiting political opportunist <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/staceyabrams?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Stacey Abrams<\/a> has been hit with the heftiest ethics fine in Georgia history for campaign finance violations that election law experts are describing as &ldquo;disgusting,&rdquo; &ldquo;shameful,&rdquo; and hypocritical.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The <a href=\"https:\/\/ethics.ga.gov\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Georgia State Ethics Commission<\/a> on Wednesday unanimously approved a consent order fining the <a href=\"https:\/\/newgeorgiaproject.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">New Georgia Project<\/a> and its political action arm a whopping $300,000 after the get-out-the-vote group admitted raising millions for Abrams&rsquo; failed gubernatorial campaign &mdash; without registering as an independent political committee. That&rsquo;s illegal under Georgia campaign finance law. And so is failing to disclose contributions and expenditures.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>In total, the New Georgia Project and its super PAC partner admitted to 16 violations of the law, spending &ldquo;unregulated and unknown monies&rdquo; during the 2018 election cycle and on a 2019 failed public transportation referendum campaign. Ethics officials report that the entities raised and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/politics\/politics-news\/nonprofit-founded-stacey-abrams-pay-record-georgia-fine-violating-stat-rcna187885\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">failed to disclose<\/a> north of $4.2 million, spending all but about $1 million of that to benefit the far-left candidate&rsquo;s unsuccessful run for governor and the campaigns of fellow Democrats. The New Georgia Project failed to report $646,000 in contributions and $173,000 in expenditures tied to the referendum campaign, according to David Emadi, executive secretary of the Ethics Commission.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Emadi told commission members the fine represents the largest campaign finance penalty in the history of the Georgia Ethics Commission, and it appears to be the largest nationally. He said it is &ldquo;significant but appropriate given the scope&rdquo; of the laws violated.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This clearly represents the largest, most significant instance of an organization illegally influencing our elections in Georgia at a statewide level that we&rsquo;ve ever uncovered,&rdquo; Emadi <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=E_L6RnjHjCI\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">said<\/a> during the commission&rsquo;s two-hour meeting.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Georgia election integrity watchdog <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/VoterGa\/status\/1879567091260424367\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Garland Favorito<\/a> said the record fine is a significant step toward accountability and transparency in Georgia&rsquo;s elections.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;We hope all branches of government, including the judiciary, will follow suit to protect Georgia voters for future elections,&rdquo; Favorito, co-founder of <a href=\"https:\/\/voterga.org\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">VoterGA,<\/a> told The Federalist.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Total Fraud&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>For Abrams, who has long pushed <a href=\"https:\/\/sos.ga.gov\/news\/raffensperger-defeats-stacey-abrams-stolen-election-claims-court\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">false accusations<\/a> (disinformation, in the parlance of the left) that elections officials are suppressing the votes of black Americans and other minorities, unprecedented campaign ethics violations against the advocacy group she launched is not a good look.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It ultimately shows what a hypocrite she is,&rdquo; election law expert Hans von Spakovsky of the Heritage Foundation told The Federalist Wednesday evening in a phone interview.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Von Spakovsky, a former member of the Federal Election Commission, said Abrams&rsquo; race-laden allegations against Georgia election integrity reforms and conservative political leaders have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/election-integrity\/report\/the-latest-election-data-show-once-again-voter-suppression-claim-just\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">debunked<\/a> time and time again via rising voter turnout numbers.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;This proves what a total fraud she was and is,&rdquo; he said. &ldquo;Now we know at the time she was making those outrageous claims, her organization was breaking the law in the campaign finance and election areas to try to get her elected.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Abrams could not be reached for comment Wednesday evening.<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Focus on Registering&rsquo;<\/h2>\n<p>Abrams, according to the ethics commission, founded the New Georgia Project in 2013 as part of a division of her corporation, Third Sector Development. She served as CEO of the entity from August 1998 until March 2019, according to an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shoulderupacquisition.com\/corporate-governance\/board-of-directors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">online resume<\/a> of her leftist credentials.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Abrams launched the New Georgia Project to &ldquo;focus on registering more Black and other non-white Georgians to vote, earning her national recognition for her work for growing the state&rsquo;s electorate and boosting engagement among disaffected voters,&rdquo; <a href=\"https:\/\/georgiarecorder.com\/2025\/01\/15\/group-founded-by-stacey-abrams-fined-300000-by-ethics-commission-over-2018-campaign-spending\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">according<\/a> to the Georgia Recorder.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>According to the settlement, the New Georgia Project was boosting engagement &mdash; votes &mdash; for Abrams.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Emadi laid out the mountain of evidence that indicated electioneering by the ostensibly grassroots advocacy groups. He showed campaign mailers and social media ads funded by the New Georgia Project urging Georgians in black and Hispanic communities to get out and vote for Abrams. He noted a &ldquo;pretty robust&rdquo; door-knocking campaign &ldquo;clearly advocating for Ms. Abrams&rsquo; election. Thousands of doors, thousands of voters, he said. By the end of October 2018, the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\">group operated field offices statewide<\/a>,&rdquo; Emadi said.<\/p>\n<p>It appears Abrams was no longer affiliated with New Georgia by the time her gubernatorial campaign launched, but she certainly did benefit from its advocacy. She <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/election-results\/2018\/georgia\/governor\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">narrowly lost<\/a> to Republican Brian Kemp in the nationally watched 2018 election. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/2022-election\/results\/georgia\/statewide-offices\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">incumbent won<\/a> by a solid 7 1\/2 percentage points in the 2022 rematch with Abrams.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<h2>&lsquo;Shameful&rsquo; Spending Secrets<\/h2>\n<p>David Fox, attorney for the New Georgia Project, told commission members that his clients are &ldquo;eager to put this matter behind them.&rdquo; While organization officials disagree with some of the agency&rsquo;s findings, they &ldquo;believe this is a reasonable resolution for this longstanding dispute that will enable everyone to move forward,&rdquo; Fox told commission members via video conference.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The legal battle has been going on for more than five years because, commission officials say, the liberal activists have moved to stop the investigation every step of the way. They tried and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/poll-black-voters-approval-of-joe-biden-takes-28-point-plunge-in-georgia\/\" title=\"Poll: Black Voters\u2019 Approval of Joe Biden Takes 28-Point Plunge in Georgia\">failed multiple times<\/a> to kill subpoenas over the years. They&rsquo;ve taken the commission to state and federal court, and have accused the Republican members of conducting a <a href=\"https:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/US\/wireStory\/pro-stacey-abrams-groups-fined-300000-after-admitting-117706208\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">politically driven witch hunt<\/a> into a harmless nonprofit created to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/how-biden-is-trying-to-turn-election-offices-into-partisan-get-out-the-vote-operations\/\" title=\"How Biden Is Trying To Turn Election Offices Into Partisan Get Out The Vote Operations\">boost voter turnout<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Records ultimately obtained found the New Georgia Project and its super PAC were breaking the law to benefit the candidate who created the group.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Commission Vice Chair Rick Thompson applauded the work of the investigators and the attorney general&rsquo;s office but said the penalties should be even stiffer for such &ldquo;shameful&rdquo; abuses of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/march-for-our-lives-issue-biden-1-billion-list-of-gun-control-policy-demands\/\" title=\"March For Our Lives Issue Biden  Billion List Of Gun Control Policy Demands\">campaign finance laws<\/a>. They should be criminal offenses, he said, but that&rsquo;s not the way the law is written.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think actions like this should be criminal because of the significant impact secret money can have on elections,&rdquo; he told his colleagues. &ldquo;Organizations attempting to keep their election spending secret is shameful and does a disservice to our elections and voters. To continually stall and not cooperate with our investigation is extremely disheartening.&rdquo;&nbsp;<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p>      Matt Kittle is a senior elections correspondent for The Federalist. An award-winning investigative reporter and 30-year veteran of print, broadcast, and online journalism, Kittle previously served as the executive director of Empower Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Stacey Abrams&#8217; voter rights group faces Georgia&#8217;s largest ethics fine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":656,"featured_media":2391083,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-16-at-12.09.59-AM.png","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[546],"tags":[33926,48603,32714,48602,34385],"class_list":["post-2391082","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-federalist","tag-campaign-finance","tag-ethical-issues","tag-legal-challenges","tag-political-group","tag-stacey-abrams"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/thefederalist.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/Screenshot-2025-01-16-at-12.09.59-AM.png","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391082","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/656"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2391082"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391082\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2391086,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2391082\/revisions\/2391086"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2391083"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2391082"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2391082"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2391082"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}