Ethics Commission won’t investigate Lt. Gov. Burt Jones' $10M campaign loan

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Georgia Lt. Gov. Burt Jones speaks before the arrival of Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump at the Johnny Mercer Theatre on Sept. 24, 2024, in Savannah, Georgia. (Photo by Brandon Bell/Getty Images)

ATLANTA - Georgia’s State Ethics Commission has declined to investigate whether Republican Lt. Gov. Burt Jones broke state law when he loaned $10 million to a campaign committee after showing far less cash on an earlier financial disclosure.

However, a request for a legal opinion on whether such loans are legal is still pending before the ethics body.

The backstory:

Bryan Tyson, a lawyer for Attorney General Chris Carr had made the complaint Thursday. Carr is running against Jones for the 2026 Republican nomination for governor. The GOP primary is next May, followed by the general election in November 2026. Gov. Brian Kemp legally can’t run again after two terms.

Carr’s campaign has been voicing concerns for months that Jones will use his leadership committee and his family wealth from a string of gas stations to outspend them in the primary. Campaign officials cite a 2022 federal judge’s ruling that a leadership committee for Kemp could not spend money against challenger David Perdue during the Republican primary that year because it would violate Perdue’s free speech rights.

What they're saying:

Ethics Commission Director David Emadi on Monday wrote back that the commission was rejecting the complaint and wouldn’t investigate because it didn’t allege a legal violation.

Jones’ 2022 financial disclosure showed Jones had a net worth of $12.4 million, but only $700,000 in cash and securities. Carr’s campaign questioned how Jones could have come up with $10 million in cash, suggesting Jones had falsely reported either his finances then or the source of the cash now, But Emadi wrote the 2022 report "does not form a factual and legal basis to investigate an alleged false or incorrect filing regarding a loan made in a campaign disclosure report more than three years later."

The other side:

Julia Mazzone, a Carr spokesperson, said Carr "respectfully" disagrees with the decision, calling the source of Jones’ case "mysterious." Jones spokesperson Kendyl Parker said the complaint was a "pathetic cry for attention" and called the decision "the first of many losses for the Carr campaign."

What's next:

Still pending is the Carr campaign’s request for an advisory opinion arguing that Jones was prohibited from making the loan to his leadership committee, a special fundraising vehicle that allows the governor, lieutenant governor and legislative leaders to raise unlimited funds. Tyson argued that under Georgia law, loans can be made only to a candidate committee, not to a freestanding political action committee or a leadership committee.