Deal Paid Over 80K in Legal Fees From Campaign Account

For a man who spends a lot of time to beating on Roy Barnes for being a lawyer and for taking money from other lawyers, Nathan Deal is not shy about using his campaign funds to hire attorneys. In fact, Deal is a one-man stimulus plan for the legal profession in this state.

Back in April, Shannon McCaffrey reported that Nathan Deal used 19K from his campaign account to pay legal fees. Turns out, that was just the tip of the iceberg.  Based on a review of his disclosure reports, from 7/31/2009-9/22/2010, Nathan Deal spent $81,225.47 from his campaign account on legal/attorney fees. This includes $20,924.40 in August and September of 2010. (The breakdown of payments is below the fold.)

We know from McCaffrey’s earlier report that the 19K she highlighted was spent for Deal’s defense during an investigation into whether he violated congressional ethics rules. What issues related to his campaign for Governor could possibly have generated an additional $60K+ in legal fees for a man who (while he would like us to forget it) is himself a lawyer? At this rate, Georgia may literally not be able to afford to have Nathan Deal as Governor.

By comparison, Barnes’ disclosures show only two expenditures for legal costs, two $40.00 charges for legal ads,  totally $80.00. So, what, exactly, was Deal paying for? Voters deserve an answer.