Attorney: Sen. Don Balfour Won't Resign

The attorney representing Georgia Sen. Don Balfour (R-Snellville) says he won't be resigning after his suspension last week and being indicted in September, reported the Gwinnett Daily Post. 

On Sept. 24, a Fulton County Grand Jury charged Balfour on 18 counts of misusing his legislative expense account for mileage and the like. His official charges are: sixteen counts of making a false certificate, one count of theft by taking and one count of false statement and writing, according to a news release from Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens.

Balfour's attorney, Ken Hodges, said he is confident his client will be found not guilty, the Gwinnett Daily Post continues.

“The allegations were known last year when Senator Balfour was overwhelmingly re-elected and we expect the jury will reach same conclusion of Senate Ethics Committee, chaired by former Superior Court Judge John Crosby,” Hodges told the GDP. “That conclusion was that the errors were inadvertent and there was no intent to file the expenditures erroneously.

When a review panel unanimously approved his suspension Nov. 13, officials from Common Cause Georgia to ask Balfour to resign. His attorney explained that Balfour still could regain his post next year due to a safeguard in the state Constitution, though.