Cobb court clerk accused of ordering employee to delete government files

Axios

3 days ago

Cobb County Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor has been indicted in connection with allegations she told an employee to delete documents that were requested under the Georgia Open Records Act.
Driving the news: Taylor was indicted Thursday on two counts each of violation of oath of office and destruction of public records, Attorney General Chris Carr's office announced.
According to Carr, Taylor directed an employee to delete government emails and financial records in response to a request made in 2022.
What they're saying: Anything less than "honesty and transparency" erodes the trust Georgia residents have in elected officials and government, Carr said in a statement.
"Any attempts to conceal or destroy government records are serious allegations that cannot be ignored, and those responsible will be held accountable," he added.
Catch up quick: The Georgia Bureau of Investigation said it was asked on Nov. 16, 2022, to investigate accusations that Taylor destroyed documents after receiving a request for information related to passport fees collected by the Clerk of Superior Court office.
The AJC reported earlier that month that Taylor had been adding processing fees to her personal income, a move that's legal in Georgia and added $425,000 to her pay.
According to the AJC, a whistleblower from Taylor's office alleged they were told, in response to the newspaper's open records request, to delete files that were related to the fees.
Earlier this year, Taylor agreed to repay $84,000 in fees she kept during the first two years of her four-year tenure, the AJC reported.
The GBI wrapped up its investigation in March 2024, and the case file was turned over to the attorney general's office.
The fine print: The AG office's White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit presented the case to a Cobb County grand jury, which issued the indictment.
Context: On top of the passport fees controversy, the office run by Taylor experienced a rough transition to new case management software last year.
Issues stemming from that implementation led to Cobb County's chief judge in August 2024 issuing a judicial emergency in the Superior Court.
According to the notice of the emergency, the Clerk of Court's office had been plagued with extensive issues earlier that summer after converting to new case management system software.
The emergency, which granted relief from deadlines related to motions for new trials, answering civil cases and filing appeals, was eventually lifted in October.