Ethics Commission Schedules Probable Cause Hearing for Carolyn Cosby

Photo: Carolyn Cosby says an “unknown shooter” fired at her vehicle over the weekend. Credit: Carolyn Cosby

The Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission has schedule a probable cause hearing for Cherokee County Tea Party activist Carolyn Cosby.

The body formerly known as the state ethics commission will hold the hearing at 10 a.m. Feb. 25 at the James H. Floyd Building, located at 200 Piedmont Avenue SE, Room 512 West Tower in Atlanta.

The commission will review a complaint made by Canton resident Garret Jamieson, which allege Cosby failed to register two organizations — Canton T.E.A. Party and Georgians For Healthcare Freedom Ltd. — with the state as committees.

Jamieson’s complaint was attached to a 2012 complaint filed by ex-Cherokee County Commissioner Karen Bosch, as they both accused Cosby of not registering groups she organized as independent committees, political action committees or ballot committees.

Those complaints aren’t the only ones lodged against Cosby. Resident Jeff Wilbur has also accused Cosby of not reporting expenses related to signs she created and not registering Citizens Opposed to Spiraling Taxation as an independent committee during the May 20 Republican primary.

One day following the announcement of the hearing, Cosby on Thursday, Feb. 12 released a statement alleging “an unknown shooter fired upon her vehicle parked in her driveway” over the weekend.

Cosby noted the damage was discovered Sunday morning as her family was preparing to attend church. Cosby said this wasn’t the first time her family has been threatened and this alleged incident comes at a time when her opponents are “raising the ante.”

She references Wilbur, and accused him of submitted forged documents to the ethics commission.

“The shocking actions of the shooter and the forged documents are both designed to intimidate,” said Cosby. “This appears to be an intense and orchestrated campaign to drive me out of the political arena and discredit my reputation as a trusted voice in local and state politics.”

According to an incident report released by the Cherokee Sheriff’s Office, a deputy responded to Cosby’s home on Old Hornage Road around 1:35 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 8 and met with husband David Cosby. Cosby said the family’s 1990 Buick LeSabre was damaged while parked in the driveway.

The deputy in the report said it appeared a round object — such as a BB — hit the driver’s side rear panel between the gas cap and tail light.

“The object made a small dent and knocked off a small amount of paint around the dent,” he wrote. “Upon further inspection it appears the object would have been bigger than a BB. It could have been caused by a small .22 round.”

The report notes Cosby believed the damage possibly occurred between 1 p.m. Feb. 7 and 1:30 p.m. Feb. 8. Additionally, Cosby told officer he did not hear anything unusual during that time period.

Just after 3 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 11, David Cosby reached out to the sheriff’s office and said he possibly found “disturbed soil” on his property where someone “may have been standing when they shot his vehicle,” according to the sheriff’s office incident report.

Sheriff’s office spokesperson Lt. Jay Baker said a detective has been assigned to the case, and there are no suspects at this time.

Wilbur noted it is truly unfortunate when gunfire is involved, and said he hopes the incident was isolated and “possibly an accidental event.”

“Violence is never the answer to resolve political disputes or disputes of any nature,” he added.

However, Wilbur did take issue with Cosby’s assertion that he submitted forged material to the state ethics commission.

“Materials provided were publicly available, provided to the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission for evaluation and it is my understanding at this point the evaluation had been completed as of the last hearing held,” he said. “The candidate’s actions speak for themselves. One must believe that the system in place will work as designed and the proper actions will be taken against the violations identified.”

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