The Georgia Senate Special Committee on Investigations has issued subpoenas to former gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and two associates in connection with alleged campaign finance violations during the 2018 election cycle. The subpoenas require Abrams, Lauren Groh-Wargo, chief executive officer of Fair Fight Action, and Nsé Ufot, former CEO of the New Georgia Project, to appear before the panel at the State Capitol in Atlanta at 10 a.m. on Friday.
The subpoenas relate to the New Georgia Project and its affiliated Action Fund, organizations founded to boost voter turnout among non-white communities. The Georgia Voting Project and New Georgia Project Action Fund were penalized for not registering as independent campaign committees and failing to report approximately $4.2 million in contributions and $3.2 million in expenditures, primarily benefiting Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign. In January, the Georgia Ethics Commission imposed a $300,000 fine, the largest in the commission’s history.
Fair Fight Action, another organization founded by Abrams in 2018, has also faced scrutiny over financial management. The group paid $9.4 million to a law firm led by Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Abrams’ close friend and former campaign chair, for a largely unsuccessful voting rights lawsuit. Total legal fees for Fair Fight Action cases against the state and election-related organizations exceeded $39 million between 2019 and 2021, leaving the organization with $2.5 million in debt and only $1.9 million in cash on hand by 2024, prompting layoffs of approximately 75 percent of its staff.
The Senate committee previously conducted a two-year investigation into Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis and has since expanded its inquiry to examine matters related to the New Georgia Project. Committee leaders have said the investigation aims to determine responsibility for the violations and to consider whether further reforms or enforcement measures are needed.
Committee Chair Bill Cowsert emphasized the importance of accountability and the integrity of Georgia’s political process, stating that the Ethics Commission uncovered “one of the most significant campaign finance violations in state history.” He added that the committee intends to assess who was responsible and whether additional safeguards are necessary to maintain public trust.