ATLANTA -- The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that executive branch officials under Gov. Nathan Deal’s authority took at least $25,000 in lobbyists’ gifts since the governor ordered them not to in January 2011, according to state records.
The findings arise from a unique partnership in which a reporter from The Atlanta Journal-Constitution worked with Emory University’s investigative journalism class to review compliance with the governor’s order.
Their joint investigation found that some senior officials appeared to have close relationships with lobbyists. In one email exchange, for example, a department commissioner told a lobbyist, “Keep this btwn you and me.”
This is an outrage! Politicians taking money from lobbyists, who ever heard of such a thing! In other news, water is still wet and fire is still hot.
Sycophants are adept at passing laws. Unfortunately, they don't have the guts to enforce them.
The governor's "order" was merely showmanship. He never expected his staff to actually obey the order. Deal accepted gifts when he was a legislator. It's what legislators and bureaucrats do.
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