Jason has the story over at PeachPundit, but here’s the basics:
Thurbert Baker reported on his Jan 1, 2009 – June 30, 2009 disclosure report that he had raised $704,331.00.
The problem is that apparently (and I have personally verified $3,000 of this from the first page of the itemized contribution report alone), $274,305 of that came AFTER June 30, specifically from July 1 – July 7.
Per Jim Galloway over at the AJC, more than half of the checks Baker received for the max donation occurred during this period (26 of 45, or $158,600 right there).
Is it illegal? I don’t think so, but I don’t know for sure – though I’m hoping Baker does, since he is the head lawyer in the State of Georgia and has been for quite a while.
That said, ‘cheat’, as defined by Webster.com, is ‘to influence or lead by deceit, trick, or artifice’. I think it is certainly deceptive and/ or trickery to claim money raised AFTER June 30 on a report that was supposed to end ON June 30, and therefore I am justified in the headline and in this closing statement:
Thurbert Baker was caught cheating on this report. What else will he cheat on?
Considering that Matt Towery’s online rag tried to carry the water for Roy on this matter this morning and it didn’t go anywhere, it doesn’t look like an issue. The quote from the guy who runs the Georgia ethics commission is below, and a link to the story.
Quote:
Rick Thompson, executive director of the State Ethics Commission, said there is nothing wrong with Baker’s approach.
“There is a specific cutoff you have to include – through June 30. But there is no prohibition against over-disclosing,” he said.
“The perception of padding? That’s a political stragey. The ethics commission is here to ensure transparency. The more information that’s out there, the better it is for everybody.”
Link:
http://www.insideradvantagegeorgia.com/restricted/2009/July%2009/7-8-09/Baker_Padding7819655.php
Thurbert Baker is a great guy with a squeaky clean record. The ethics committee gives a 5 working day automatic extension to the cutoff – June 30th. Do you want Roy again?