From today’s National Public Radio News:
Just two days before facing Democrat Stacey Abrams in a closely watched race to be Georgia’s next governor, the state’s sitting Secretary of State Brian Kemp — who is also the Republican candidate — says his office has opened an investigation and also asked the FBI “to investigate potential cyber crimes committed by the Democratic Party of Georgia.”
Kemp did not provide any evidence of any wrongdoing. In a highly unusual situation, Kemp is in the position of overseeing the election that will decide his state’s highest office and has faced criticism over how it has been handled.
Democrats responded to the announcement by calling it “a reckless and unethical ploy,” saying Kemp was trying to gain an edge in his neck-and-neck race with Abrams.
“He is trying to rile up his base by misleading voters yet again,” Abrams told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “The Democrats did nothing wrong.”
The accusation emerged on Sunday amid reports that Georgia’s election system, which Kemp oversees as secretary of state, is open to glaring vulnerabilities. It also came shortly after a federal judge ruled that Georgia must relax voting restrictions that could prevent more than 3,000 people from casting ballots in Tuesday’s poll.
Kemp provided few details about his accusation, other than to say, “We have asked the FBI – Federal Bureau of Investigation to investigate” the possible crimes. It’s unclear from that statement whether Kemp was using “We” to refer to his campaign or his state office.
Citing a potential for conflict of interest, Georgia Democrats, including former President Jimmy Carter, have unsuccessfully asked Kemp to step aside as secretary of state until after the election.
Read the complete article here.