The Georgia Hour, episode 74: Tangled Ties & Questionable Spending: GA GOP’s McKoon Under Scrutiny

Jacque­line McK­oon, chair of the Butts Coun­ty Cham­ber of Com­merce, and her hus­band, GA GOP Chair­man Josh McK­oon, are rais­ing eye­brows with ques­tion­able finan­cial deal­ings. Resid­ing in Ful­ton Coun­ty, Josh faces alle­ga­tions of GA GOP cred­it card mis­use, includ­ing charges at Paint­ed Nest, a Flovil­la home decor store in Butts County—home to Lt. Gov. Burt Jones. Ques­tions swirl: Did Jacque­line use a GA GOP card for per­son­al decor pur­chas­es? In a typ­i­cal inves­ti­ga­tion, such actions might prompt a leave of absence, but no action has been con­firmed.

Adding to the con­tro­ver­sy, Roset­ta Stone Com­mu­ni­ca­tions, LLC, led by John Garst—Josh’s karaoke part­ner and a for­mer Domin­ion Vot­ing Sys­tems lobbyist—received $2.3 mil­lion from the GA GOP, despite the party’s report­ed zero bud­get. Garst’s inclu­sion on the “Trump Slate” at last year’s GA GOP con­ven­tion, lat­er down­grad­ed to guest sta­tus, rais­es fur­ther ques­tions about his influ­ence. Josh, now advo­cat­ing for paper bal­lots, host­ed a high-dol­lar fundrais­er with Burt Jones, fol­lowed by an FEA Vic­to­ry Din­ner, amid lin­ger­ing cam­paign debts. Ties to Ful­ton County’s GOP, includ­ing trea­sur­er Jeff D. and the Ful­ton Coun­ty Trust Fund, deep­en the web of con­nec­tions, fuel­ing calls for trans­paren­cy and account­abil­i­ty

• Jaque­line McK­oon is the chair of the Cham­ber of Com­merce of Butts coun­ty. And Josh lives in Ful­ton Coun­ty. Flovil­la is a city in Butts Coun­ty, the coun­ty is the home of Lt Gov Burt Jones. There is a charge to the GA GOP to the Paint­ed Nest, every­thing you need for home decor. Does Jacque­line have her own GA GOP cred­it card? Did she pick up her decor for the office? In the real world some­one would be put on leave dur­ing an inves­ti­ga­tion. 
• A Busi­ness con­sul­tant con­trib­u­tor to the Butts Coun­ty Cham­ber of Com­merce is Roset­ta Stone Com­mu­ni­ca­tions, LLC whose pres­i­dent is John Garst. John is Josh’s karaoke part­ner. Bill has writ­ten exten­sive­ly about the Ful­ton Coun­ty GOP. 
• Last year at the GA GOP state con­ven­tion John Garst was on the nation­al del­e­gate list. How did a for­mer domin­ion vot­ing sys­tems lob­by­ist get placed on the “Trump Slate” of del­e­gates at GA GOP State con­ven­tion. Now Josh McK­oon says he sup­ports paper bal­lots. Once John was removed from the del­e­gate list he was added as a guest to the con­ven­tion. 
• Roset­ta Stone Com­mu­ni­ca­tion received $2.3 mil­lion from GA GOP. 
• There is zero bud­get at the GA GOP. 
• Josh had out­stand­ing debt from his Friends of Josh cam­paign and he had a fundrais­er din­ner in sup­port for Josh with spe­cial guest Lt Gov Burt Jones. $1000 — $5000 per per­son. There is a FEA Vic­to­ry Din­ner at Hal’s just 2 days lat­er for $3300.
• Josh McK­oon knows every­thing about Ful­ton Coun­ty that knows every­thing about the Ful­ton Coun­ty Trust fund, Trey Kel­ly, John Gerst, Roset­ta Stone. And Jeff D, Josh’s pick for trea­sur­er is from Ful­ton Coun­ty.