Investigation Into Stacey Abrams’s 2018 Campaign ‘Ongoing,’ Ethics Commission Says

While former Democratic Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams publicly pitches herself as a potential running mate for former Vice President Joe Biden, the state ethics commission still has an “active investigation” into her 2018 campaign, the Daily Caller News Foundation has learned.

“The investigation into the Abrams campaign remains ongoing,” David H. Emadi, the executive director of the Georgia Government Transparency & Campaign Finance Commission, told the DCNF in an email.

“Because it is an active investigation, we cannot comment any further pursuant to Rule 3.6 of the Rules of Professional Responsibility of the State Bar of Georgia,” he added.

The commission is investigating allegations that Abrams’s campaign illegally coordinated with outside groups in violation of campaign finance laws. Emadi said in December 2019 that a nonprofit tied to Abrams acted as a de facto political committee during the campaign.

A spokesman for Abrams didn’t return a request for comment. She has previously denied any wrongdoing.

The most recent development in the investigation came two months ago in February, when a judge denied the commission’s pursuit of correspondence between Abrams’s campaign and the outside groups in question. Emadi said at the time that he was considering appellate options.

Abrams has aggressively promoted the case for herself as Biden’s running mate.

“I would be an excellent running mate,” she said in an interview earlier this month. “If I am selected, I am prepared and excited to serve,” she added.

Abrams, who has never held office higher than state senator, has received a boost from sympathetic media.

CBS News host Gayle King told Abrams in an interview Tuesday that she is “extremely qualified” to be vice president. MSNBC host Rev. Al Sharpton is expected to throw his support behind Abrams in the coming weeks, the New York Times reported on Friday.

Left-wing podcast host Steve Phillips argued in an April 14 New York Times op-ed that Abrams is the clear choice to be Biden’s running mate.

“Ultimately, Mr. Biden will make a pick based on comfort, fit and fitness for the office, and there is no shortage of talented women he can choose. If he wants to base his decision on the available evidence and proven success in areas where he has failed, then choosing Stacey Abrams is the smartest move,” Phillips wrote.