A nonprofit based by Georgia Democratic politician Stacey Abrams to guard voting rights paid greater than $20 million to a lawyer who’s an in depth good friend and helped arrange two of her non-public companies, in line with tax and state incorporation filings and different data obtained by RealClearInvestigations.
Abrams’ Honest Combat Motion redirected the tax-exempt donations and authorities grants to Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, her former marketing campaign chair between 2019 and 2023. Many of the funds lined authorized bills charged by the boutique legislation agency Lawrence-Hardy co-founded, for a failed race-bias lawsuit filed towards Abram’s Republican opponent, Gov. Brian Kemp, after she misplaced to him in Georgia’s 2018 gubernatorial election.
In its articles of incorporation, Honest Combat Motion Inc. states that “The Company won’t be operated for the pecuniary achieve or revenue of any particular person.” In addition they stated no revenues will probably be “distributed” to any particular person besides when “approved to pay cheap compensation for companies rendered.”
Allegra Lawrence-Hardy served as Stacey Abrams’ marketing campaign chair whereas incomes tens of millions main her good friend’s voting-rights case.
LawrenceBundyLLC
The nonprofit’s payout to her good friend’s legislation agency, which averaged greater than $4 million annually over these 5 years, raised eyebrows and conflict-of-interest considerations amongst ethics watchdogs briefed by RCI.
“Twenty million in charges is outrageous,” stated Paul Kamenar, counsel for the Nationwide Authorized and Coverage Middle. “It could be an IRS violation for waste of nonprofit belongings, in addition to self-dealing and different moral and authorized breaches.”
“At a minimal hiring her good friend as lead lawyer presents a obvious battle of curiosity, as a result of Abrams’ shut affiliation with each the Honest Combat case and her good friend offered a chance to complement her good friend by way of the nonprofit’s litigation.”
He and different authorized specialists say the prices to litigate the case had been extravagant in contrast with different voting-rights circumstances fought in federal courtroom. The state of Georgia paid lower than $6 million complete to its legislation companies defending the state within the case.
The unusually excessive authorized payments helped drive Honest Combat Motion greater than $2.5 million into debt final 12 months, forcing the group to put off the vast majority of its employees.
Faculty Associates
Abrams’ and Lawrence-Hardy’s friendship dates again to their days as college students at Spelman Faculty. They’ve additionally arrange companies collectively, state data reveal.
Though there is no such thing as a proof that Abrams benefited immediately from the charges paid to Lawrence-Hardy’s legislation agency, Abrams holds an possession curiosity in not less than two Atlanta-based corporations that had been integrated by Lawrence-Hardy. Lawrence-Hardy and Abrams have additionally shared the identical workplace suite in Atlanta for a number of years.
Neither Lawrence-Hardy nor Abrams responded to requests for remark.
In her 2022 e-book, “Stage Up: Rise Above The Hidden Forces Holding Your Enterprise Again,” Abrams acknowledged Lawrence-Hardy as somebody who has supported her enterprise ventures. “Sustaining the pursuit of a enterprise ambition calls for all method of funding – undoubtedly monetary capital, however much less typically lauded, copious quantities of endurance, forbearance and forgiveness,” Abrams wrote. “I admire these coming in abundance from these named and unnamed, together with … Allegra Lawrence-Hardy.”
Stacey Abrams, pictured in June 1992, met Lawrence-Hardy after they had been college students at Spelman Faculty.
AP/Nick Arroyo
The IRS declined to touch upon whether or not it’s investigating Honest Combat Motion. It has acquired a number of complaints up to now which define the blurry strains between Abrams’ connection to nonprofits that appeared to advance her political profession. In 2019, the company acquired a criticism concerning the nonprofit from the Basis for Accountability and Civic Belief (FACT) over allegations that Honest Combat was utilizing cash raised to advance voting rights to assist Abrams’ political ambitions, together with paying a few of her journey bills, operating $100,000 in Fb advertisements that includes Abrams, and supporting a “Stacey Abrams Fundraiser.” The IRS didn’t say if or how this case was resolved.
Together with the Georgia Senate, the IRS is actively investigating one other nonprofit began by Abrams, the New Georgia Undertaking, which did not report tens of millions of {dollars} in contributions and spending tied to Abrams’ first gubernatorial bid in 2018. Abrams additionally misplaced to Kemp in a 2022 rematch.
The profitable Honest Combat deal for her good friend provides to moral considerations over Abrams, who has a checkered monetary background and but has amassed tens of millions of {dollars} in wealth working largely within the public and nonprofit sectors, as RCI has reported beforehand. Abrams has presidential ambitions and goals to grow to be the primary black feminine U.S. president by 2040.
Political Allies
Lawrence-Hardy chaired her marketing campaign in each the 2018 and 2022 gubernatorial elections, which suggests she was litigating the voting-rights case whereas operating her second marketing campaign. Kristen Wilder, Lawrence-Hardy’s longtime chief of employees, beforehand labored because the senior political supervisor at Honest Combat Motion. Wilder additionally labored on Abrams’ gubernatorial marketing campaign.
Abrams headed Honest Combat in 2018 when it employed Lawrence-Hardy’s agency as lead counsel within the case, Honest Combat Motion v. Raffensperger. The go well with claimed that the Georgia secretary of state’s workplace denied minorities the best to vote. The litigation promoted Abrams’ allegations that she was “robbed” of victory by Kemp, whom she claimed had “disenfranchised” blacks by way of discriminatory voting guidelines. In the course of the trial, Lawrence-Hardy argued, “It is a modern-day Jim Crow.” The lawsuit would assist flip Abrams right into a nationwide political determine and celeb, an emblem of resistance to President Trump and a pacesetter of the rising Black Lives Matter motion.
However in September 2022, a federal courtroom disagreed, dismissing the case and ordering Honest Combat to pay greater than $231,000 in courtroom prices and authorized charges.
U.S. District Choose Steve C. Jones, an Obama appointee, discovered that no proof of voter disenfranchisement had occurred.
College of Georgia
The lawsuit was all the time a protracted shot. To succeed, Honest Combat needed to show intentional discrimination within the state’s election legal guidelines and practices. In his ruling, U.S. District Choose Steve C. Jones – an Obama appointee – dominated that Honest Combat failed to offer “direct proof of a voter who was unable to vote” due to the state’s allegedly racist election legal guidelines.
Nonetheless, tax data present that Lawrence-Hardy’s agency earned a gentle stream of charges. In 2019, her Atlanta-based agency, Lawrence & Bundy LLC, billed Honest Combat $3.1 million, in line with IRS filings. In 2020, when the nonprofit’s revenues peaked at $51 million, the agency billed the nonprofit its largest payment quantity – $6.4 million – for “authorized companies.” In 2022, her agency was paid a further $5 million, after receiving $4.4 million in charges from Honest Combat in 2021, regardless of the case shrinking as Choose Jones dismissed giant sections of the lawsuit. In keeping with a 2023 IRS return filed by Honest Combat Motion, the most recent out there doc, Lawrence & Bundy LLC acquired greater than $1.3 million in authorized charges that 12 months, regardless of the election lawsuit being dismissed the earlier 12 months. Lawrence-Hardy is a founding associate of Lawrence & Bundy LLC.
All informed over these 5 years, Lawrence-Hardy and her agency acquired $20.2 million largely for his or her work on a single, shedding election-integrity lawsuit towards the state of Georgia, which critics known as “frivolous” and designed to attempt to clarify away Abrams’ back-to-back gubernatorial election losses in 2018 and 2022.
Abrams was not solely concerned in retaining Lawrence-Hardy but additionally helped fundraise for the case till December 2021, when she stepped down from Honest Combat’s board to announce her second bid for governor. As Honest Combat’s CEO, Abrams was paid an annual wage of $80,000.
Cozy Workplace House
Lawrence & Bundy LLC, whose web site lists 15 attorneyswas based by Lawrence-Hardy in 2016. Its Atlanta workplaces are situated at 1180 W. Peachtree St. NW, Suite 1650. That is the placement the place Honest Combat despatched the $20.2 million, in line with IRS paperwork. It’s the identical deal with for 2 companies which are not less than partially owned by Abrams.
In keeping with Georgia state incorporation data, one of many entities, Davis Corridor LLC, was registered in February 2011 by Lawrence & Bundy LLC; whereas the opposite, Corridor Davis LLC, was registered in January 2021 by the identical agent – Lawrence & Bundy LLC. Each entities are listed by Abrams in her 2022 Georgia state monetary disclosure assertion as enterprise entities through which she holds an possession curiosity of 5% or extra. It isn’t clear what the companies do. Abrams and Lawrence & Bundy declined to say.
Abrams’ consulting agency, Sage Works LLC, is one among a number of linked to her that shared the identical deal with as her good friend’s legislation agency.
AP
A 3rd enterprise owned by Abrams, Sage Works LLC, lists the identical enterprise deal with as the opposite corporations – 1180 W. Peachtree St. NW, Suite 1650, which is the deal with for Lawrence & Bundy LLC.
Abrams based Sage Works LLC as a consulting agency “offering recommendation to governmental and nonprofit purchasers on operations,” in line with her disclosures. Data present she was paid $62,000 in taxpayer cash as a advisor on an Atlanta city redevelopment undertaking, which raised crimson flags as a result of she was a state lawmaker on the time.
“These companies increase extra suspicion that Abrams used her nonprofit (Honest Combat) to complement her mates and herself,” Kamenar stated, “which is a transparent battle of curiosity.”
Lawrence-Hardy is an lively member of the Georgia bar in “good standing” with no disciplinary historical past. She is at present listed as co-managing associate at a bigger Atlanta-based agency, Krevolin Horst LLCthe place she makes a speciality of “high-profile/excessive stakes litigation.” She continues to be featured all through the Lawrence & Bundy web site.
Honest Combat stated it employed Lawrence-Hardy due to her experience in election legislation, each on the state and federal ranges, alongside along with her expertise litigating prior Democratic candidate recounts.
Lawrence-Hardy maintained that the lawsuit was all the time concerning the voters, not the cash. Voting rights is a trigger expensive to her, in line with her web site bio, although she didn’t select to take the case professional bono as she has different circumstances.
It stays unclear why the lawsuit incurred such a excessive value.
Abrams testified earlier than the Senate Judiciary Committee on behalf of Honest Combat Motion about alleged voter disenfranchisement in Georgia.
Pool CQ Roll Name
On the time, Lawrence-Hardy stated the case required giant sources. She led a crew of virtually three dozen legal professionals, together with some from outdoors her agency. In the course of the trial, she stated she deposed a “staggering quantity” of witnesses within the case: “We had greater than 3,000 voters or would-be voters submit declarations, 50 witnesses and a whole lot who gave depositions.”
But regardless of a number of years of billing Honest Combat, Lawrence-Hardy discovered no proof of voter discrimination, in line with the courtroom. Nonetheless, Lawrence-Hardy on her web site lists the case amongst her greatest skilled accomplishments, arguing she initially “defeated defendants’ movement for abstract judgment.”
The IRS filings don’t break down the authorized bills charged within the case. Neither Lawrence-Hardy nor Honest Combat would share billing data to perceive the precise nature of the work performed through the drawn-out authorized battle. In addition they wouldn’t reveal the hourly charge charged by Lawrence-Hardy’s agency. Authorized charges are usually billed on an hourly foundation and seem in a line-by-line accounting on statements to purchasers.
Now working within the crimson, Honest Combat is not joyful that the Trump administration is reducing federal spending for left-leaning non-governmental organizations. Earlier this 12 months, the embattled group protested Trump’s freezing of tens of tens of millions of {dollars} in federal election-security grants.
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