CONNIE TAYLOR. Photo courtesy of Cobb County
COBB COUNTY, Ga. - Cobb County Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor has been suspended from office following her indictment on charges of destroying public records and violating her oath of office.
What we know:
Gov. Brian Kemp signed an executive order Friday removing Taylor from her role effective immediately. The suspension will remain in place "pending the final disposition of the case or until the expiration of her term of office, whichever occurs first," according to the order.
Taylor, who was indicted July 31, faces two counts of destruction of public records and two counts of oath violations.
RELATED: Cobb County clerk indicted on allegations of deleting passport service records
According to a copy of the indictment obtained by FOX 5, Taylor is accused of telling an employee to delete a folder on her computer titled "Passport," which contained accounting records related to passport services provided by Taylor's office.
Taylor is also accused of telling the same employee to delete an email from her to Taylor with the subject line "Expedited Passport Revenue Analysis 2021-2022" that officials say contained an attached report prepared by the employee.
She was booked earlier this month at the Cobb County Jail and released on her own recognizance.
The backstory:
The charges stem from a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe, which revealed that superior court clerks across Georgia can legally pocket hundreds of thousands of dollars in passport processing fees because of a loophole in state law. Records show Taylor collected more than $220,000 from those fees in 2021 alone.
Earlier this year, Taylor agreed to reimburse Cobb County more than $83,000 after being accused of keeping expedited shipping fees that clerks are not entitled to retain.
Concerns about her handling of public funds were raised as early as 2022. In a letter that year, attorney Stacey Evans alleged Taylor berated a court employee for questioning her about passport funds and insisted the fees were "her money."
PREVIOUS STORIES
- Cobb County Superior Court clerk to repay nearly $84K in passport fees
- Georgia lawmaker wants to change who gets passport fees
The Georgia Attorney General’s Office is now prosecuting the case after the Cobb County District Attorney’s Office recused itself.