Politico follows the money from Stacey Abrams' 'voting rights organization' and makes some interesting discoveries

Sarah D | 1:38 PM on October 24, 2022

With only a couple of weeks left before the midterm elections, the last thing Georgia Democratic gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams needs right now is something that makes her look bad. Unfortunately, for Stacey Abrams, she is Stacey Abrams, and there’s always bound to be something that makes her look bad.

And that’s where we’re at today, with a new scoop from Politico about a cause near and dear to Stacey Abrams’ heart, aka her ego … and her campaign chairwoman’s wallet.

My latest: Abrams’ campaign chair collected millions in legal fees from voting rights organization https://t.co/KSIbn9etTo via @politico

— Brittany Gibson (@brittanyagibson) October 24, 2022

“The voting rights organization founded by Stacey Abrams spent more than $25 million over two years on legal fees, mostly on a single case, with the largest amount going to the self-described boutique law firm of the candidate’s campaign chairwoman”https://t.co/jX37ixe8NX

— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 24, 2022

Who could’ve seen something like this coming? More from Politico:

Allegra Lawrence-Hardy, Abrams’ close friend who chaired her gubernatorial campaign both in 2018 and her current bid to unseat Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, is one of two named partners in Lawrence & Bundy, a small firm of fewer than two dozen attorneys.

The firm received $9.4 million from Abrams’ group, Fair Fight Action, in 2019 and 2020, the last years for which federal tax filings are available. Lawrence-Hardy declined to comment on how much her firm has collected from Fair Fight Action in 2021 and 2022 — years in which Fair Fight Action v. Raffensperger, for which Lawrence-Hardy was lead counsel, had most of its courtroom activity.

Fair Fight Action has maintained that the suit — which ended last month when a federal judge ruled against the group on all three remaining claims — served an important role in drawing attention to voting inequities. But some outside the group questioned both the level of expenditures devoted to a single, largely unsuccessful legal action and the fact that such a large payout went to the firm of Abrams’ close friend and campaign chair [Allegra Lawrence-Hardy]. Those concerns were heightened by the fact that Abrams’ national campaign against voter suppression galvanized the Democratic Party, many of whose top donors helped fill its coffers.

Pretty shocking.

-Stacey Abrams' voting rights org spent $25m in last 2 yrs

-Largely on one legal case

-To a small firm run by her close friend and campaign manager

-They lost

-The fees were way above typical

Very good investigation: https://t.co/2ovWpiEMfd

— Jesse Eisinger (@eisingerj) October 24, 2022

Well, “shocking” is certainly one word for it. It’s a word we would use if we were being facetious.

I’m shocked https://t.co/3Fgq7s267Q

— Sean Agnew (@seanagnew) October 24, 2022

There is literally nothing shocking about the idea that Stacey Abrams would capitalize on gullible supporters’ unfounded fears in pursuit of something corrupt. It’s literally how she became famous in the first place.