Where, Oh Where Has the Georgia Republican Party Gone?

State of Georgia has no records-Take a hint

Over the past few weeks, I have laid numerous facts on the table regarding the Title 21 Georgia Republican Party (GRP) and its twin corporate cousin, Title 14 Georgia Republican Party, Inc. (GRP, Inc.) In my first article, Kemp's Ultimate Goals Now Coming Into View-Privatization of Georgia's election processes, I traced the organization of the government-created, Title 14 entity, “GRP, Inc.,” back to its 2014 founding by then elected Chairman of the Title 21 “GRP,” John Padgett. I noted several facts concerning Mr. Padgett’s new corporation, questioning the legality of those in control claiming to this day that the Title 14 entity, and the Title 21 entity, are one and the same. They are not. They can never be. We know that because we recognize that a corporation is a purely PRIVATE entity, authorized by no laws and bounded by no restrictions of Title 21 political parties. A Title 14 corporation thus has no lawful authority to play a role in elections as a Title 21 political party.

Noting contempt for “traditional party infrastructure,” expressed by Georgia Governor Brian Kemp earlier this year, claiming to his private “leadership committee” he could no longer rely on that vehicle to “win in the future,” in the referenced article I connected numerous dots demonstrating a pattern of political activity shadowing a future trending toward the corporatization of Georgia’s election processes. There is much more in that article which I believe is important. For that reason, if you have not read it I encourage you to do so.

In the second installment, Georgia Republican Delegates Heading for Disqualification in 2024-McKoon and others must resign, after receiving a “CALL FOR THE 2024 GEORGIA REPUBLICAN PRECINCT CAUCUS AND FOR COUNTY, CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT AND STATE CONVENTIONS,” I once again observed that a corporation organized under Title 14 has no authority to engage in political party operations authorized under Title 21. Thus, I concluded that a corporation has no foundation in law to make such a call or engage in election activities reserved solely for Title 21 entities. That would include organizing events ultimately designed to select delegates to a National Republican Convention, the corporate “Call” under consideration thereby endangering the prospect that Georgia’s chosen delegates would receive credentials and be seated. Because of the possibility of such an egregious turn of events, I called for the resignation of elected Chairman Josh McKoon along with all other signatories authorizing that unlawful statewide “Call.”

Most recently I published, Kemp, Raffensperger and Georgia Republican Party Executives, Just stupid?-Or is there method to their madness? So that no one might misunderstand the illegitimacy of using a Title 14 corporation to undertake Title 21 election activities, I explored several defining reasons why doing so would be unlawful. Because the executives in control of these separate and distinct “Georgia Republican Party” entities publicly ignore the unlawful nature of the “hybrid” organization they pretend to lead, I asked whether the officials involved, including the governor and secretary of state, are just stupid, or whether they are up to something. Unfortunately, in this case a question such as that has become warranted.

New information comes available

Last week, new information came forth concerning the 2014 incorporation of the private, corporate entity, “Georgia Republican Party, Inc.” That information arrived in the form of a Fulton County Superior Court Order Granting Summary Judgment in the case of John L. Padgett v. Georgia Republican Party, Inc. (CIVIL ACTION FILE NO: 2021CV354612). A link will be provided as one comes available. According to Judge Alford Dempsey’s order, Mr. Padgett did not sue the Title 21 Georgia Republican Party, only the Title 14 incorporated entity of the same name, which he created in 2014.

Page 1 of John Padget v. Georgia Republican Party, Inc.

Because Padgett’s suit only lists GRP, Inc. as a defendant, one question before us is to determine, well, whatever happened to the Georgia Republican Party (GRP)? Where did it go? Did it dissolve? Is it still around? Why would Mr. Padgett not sue GRP at the same time?

The saga of circumstances detailed in the Judge Dempsey’s order began on February 3, 2014, the judge recalling events portrayed in documents of a certain previous case, out of which Mr. Padgett’s monetary claims against GRP, Inc. arose. In that previous case, facts reveal Mr. Padgett’s personal assistant, a Ms. Qiana Keith, made certain allegations against him, complaining of racial discrimination. According to the recent order, Padgett had been elected Chairman of the Title 21 political party, GRP, the year prior, 2013. Judge Dempsey wrote, Padgett “incorporated the GAGOP (GRP, Inc.)” seven days after Ms. Keith’s racial allegations surfaced (February 3, 2014). In so doing, Padgett became the GRP, Inc. CEO and CFO.

Excerpt from page 1 of recent Summary Judgment

Curiously, on page 2 of the order, the judge writes facts not entirely complete:

I say Judge Dempsey’s facts are not entirely complete because, looking back at Ms. Keith’s 2014 case against Padgett, Ms. Keith sues not only GRP, Inc., the corporation, but also GRP as a completely separate entity, GRP being the political party with whom she had been employed.

Furthermore, on pages 3 and 4 of Ms. Keith’s suit, her lawyer precisely describes two of the three separate and distinct defendants in relation to the case:

Excerpt from the Original 2014 Keith Complaint Against John Padgett

Thus, on page 3, Ms. Keith’s attorney draws a distinction between GRP, “a registered political party as defined under Georgia law, O.C.G.A. §§ 21-2-2(25) and 21-2-110,” versus GRP, Inc., “a Georgia non-profit Corporation.” Her attorney then provides the addresses of both entities, GRP being “offices located at 3110 Maple Drive, Suite 150, Atlanta, Georgia 30305,” and GRP, Inc. being the office of its “registered agent, Anne Lewis, 1170 Peachtree Road, Suite 2200, Atlanta, Georgia, 30309.”

In due course, Ms. Keith’s attorney draws an additional distinction separating these entities from lawfully operating as one unit, alleging that, “Georgia Republican Party, Inc., is a successor-in-interest to the Georgia Republican Party.”

Okay, what does “successor-in-interest” mean?

A successor-in-interest is a “party other than the original” party. Thus the original Keith case was brought against an “original party,” GRP, but also against a party “other than the original,” GRP, Inc. Keith’s attorney could easily support that contention noting that, at the time these entities operated separately, maintaining different addresses to accept legal service, GRP, Inc. accepting service through a registered agent, Attorney Anne Lewis, at her law office, and GRP accepting service by anyone present at its Maple Street office.

Thus, adding to the facts written by Judge Dempsey in his recent order regarding John Padgett’s case against GRP, Inc., the Keith case involved both GRP (a political party), and GRP, Inc., (a separate and distinct corporation), those entities created under different titles of Georgia law, Ms. Keith alleging “both entities are responsible for the unlawful conduct” against her.

To be clear, I am not accusing Judge Dempsey of wrongly representing the facts in issuing his recent summary judgment against Mr. Padgett. Padgett did not sue GRP, only GRP, Inc. Thus, any discussion of a separate and distinct entity, GRP, would not be germane to this case. For our purposes, however, a full picture of facts regarding the original case are paramount to achieving an understanding of all that has transpired since.

Records of Georgia Republican Party disappear

No one can justifiably contend that the Georgia Republican Party, organized under Title 21, has never existed. Evidence of GRP’s existence, an undisagreeable fact regardless, is cited in Ms. Keith’s case against Mr. Padgett in all of his capacities. Although the fact of GRP’s existence is true, and everyone knows it is true, it appears that for some reason all references to the Georgia Republican Party have been wiped clean from public access by the State of Georgia. Yes, the State of Georgia appears to have “disappeared” the Georgia Republican Party from its public records. When asked under Open Records Requests to provide any registration statement for the Georgia Republican Party dating back to 1964, including registration statements by like-named organizations or corporations, also to include any filings or articles of incorporation, bylaws, and rules for the Georgia Republican Party and the Georgia Republican Party, Inc., the Secretary of State’s ORR records staff ultimately answered the following:

The ORR staff eventually offered no additional information. Subsequently, when asked about those same records the Georgia Archives likewise answered it is in possession of no such records:

Thus, according to those who by law would possess the records requested, and who would be committing a felony for not providing them as requested, no public records regarding the registration of the Georgia Republican Party, or its history, exist at this time.

FEC reports establish the time GRP Inc. took over for GRP

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) requires political parties to file regular financial reports. Some reports are filed monthly, some quarterly and some annually. A month-by-month comparison of Form 3x reports for the year 2015 reveals that in May of 2015, the Georgia Republican Party filed its 3X as usual. In July of that year, however, another Form 3X amended the May filing for the same FEC Committee ID #: C00150672, the name of the party for which that ID # applies being changed from Georgia Republican Party to Georgia Republican Party, Inc.

Justifying the change of identity filed with the FEC on July 17, the following month, on August 14, 2015, new Treasurer Mansell McCord filed a notice changing the name of the political party, apparently after the fact, informing the FEC the reason, “We have incorporated.”

Because corporations are established differently from state to state, the FEC would not be an agency to scrutinize whether a name change of an entity might be lawful. The FEC is primarily involved in archiving and investigating campaign finance information provided by candidates, PACS, and political parties around the country. To the FEC, this report simply regards a name change of a political party. But to us, for our purposes, this information is useful to determine the time frame during which the switch of identities, from a political party (GRP), to a corporation (GRP, Inc.) occurred.

We know that Georgia Republican Party Chairman John Padgett incorporated Georgia Republican Party, Inc. on February 07, 2014, the Certificate of Incorporation issued 3 days later, February 10.

Yet, the change-of-name notice to the FEC did not occur for another 18 months. Thus, obviously, the incorporation of Georgia Republican Party, Inc. DID NOT automatically “incorporate the Georgia Republican Party.” In fact, nothing would be further from the truth. That is because, as I have stated many times, creating a corporation by the name of “Georgia Republican Party, Inc.” has no effect on a political party of the same name under a different title of law. There is nothing in law connecting one to the other. To pretend it does is a scam, and very likely a move toward corporatizing our political party system.

Clearly, during the 18-month period between February of 2014 and August of 2015, two separate entities existed, the Georgia Republican Party and Georgia Republican Party, Inc. During that time, the party treasurer continued to file FEC financial reports in the name of “Georgia Republican Party” up through and including May of 2015, subsequently amending that report to reflect a new name in July, and only notifying the FEC of the name change in August. Is that all that needs to be done to change a Title 21 political party into a Title 14 corporation, simply submitting a name change? Of course not. There is no procedure in law that can affect a political party to become a corporation.

Now we know

But now we can surmise why John Padgett’s attorney did not sue the Georgia Republican Party, only the incorporated entity, Georgia Republican Party, Inc. All those events occurred under John Padgett’s chairmanship. And according to Padgett, the Title 21 political party no longer existed. Remember, he “incorporated it.” By that time, we can be sure operations of the party had all been shifted over to the corporation, bank accounts and offices closed, new accounts and offices opened. At some point, with obvious aid by individuals within Georgia Government, the records of the Georgia Republican Party, organized under Title 21, went missing. Thus, regarding the lawsuit, who would the county sheriff even serve? To what address would the server travel? Suing a non-existent entity, or at least one which has no records of existence would halt Padgett’s case against the corporation in any event. Even if he could find someone to represent the Georgia Republican Party, all of the party money had been transferred, possibly unlawfully, to the corporation. At some point, all evidence of GRP’s existence, past or present, became erased from public access. Furthermore, according to Judge Dempsey, Padgett had received certain immunity as the CEO of the corporation. To assert that he also headed a political party during this time could result in more legal actions, unprotected by the corporate veil. Thus, Padgett’s attorney only sued GRP, Inc.

Okay, but really, where did GRP go?

The question remains, if the Georgia Republican Party, Inc. is not the same entity as the Georgia Republican Party, and the records are in a rabbit hole near the South entrance to the Capitol, where did the party go? What happened to the Georgia Republican Party? The Secretary of State does not know. The Georgia Archives does not know. Did the Georgia Republican Party simply lapse into nothingness?

No. The Georgia Republican Party still exists. It still resides in the legal/political ether of the State of Georgia. Regardless whether the Secretary of State or Governor, or the officers of the corporation desire for it to die, it cannot die. The Georgia Republican Party cannot die because it was created by Georgia Law and can only be dissolved by Georgia Law. Unfortunate for anyone desiring to carry out that purpose, unlike corporations under Title 14, once registered, there are no provisions in Georgia Law to dissolve a political party. Therefore, although the Georgia Republican Party is, and has been, non-compliant since at least the 2016 election, apparently all it must do to become active again is file all past registrations and resume registering, as required by law, going forward.

OCGA 21-2-110 (a) and (f) Once registered, a political party may be non-compliant, but it cannot be dissolved

Georgia, a State Sponsor of Creeping Corporate Fascism

The State of Georgia appears knee-deep in a cooperative effort with Republican officials to rewrite the way elections are conducted. A political party cannot “incorporate.” I have demonstrated why that is over and over. Yet, not only does the Georgia’s Secretary of State office appear complicit in an unlawful effort to disappear the Georgia Republican Party from the face of the earth, but anyone else in position to affect these circumstances, such as Governor Brian Kemp, also appears complicit. In February, Kemp told us he no longer has regard for “traditional party infrastructure.” That would be a reference to the Georgia Republican Party. Kemp then chose not to attend the Columbus Georgia Republican Party Convention in June. That is because Kemp has created his own, non-traditional, private party infrastructure to “win in the future.” Kemp is establishing “Republican Coalition” corporations in numerous counties across the State. Thus, apparently, Kemp has elected office-holders of the Georgia Republican Party cooperating to corporatize the political party system in Georgia. No one is stopping this. Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger cannot find any files related to the Title 21 Georgia Republican Party previously in existence under the present form since at least 1964. Attorney General Chris Carr is so busy not doing his job in other areas in which Georgia’s election systems are being destroyed, that he has no time to focus on this area either. Anyone who seriously questions the state of elections in Georgia is being prosecuted by a rogue political operative in Fulton County while no one in position to stop her will claim authority.

The merger of corporate and government power is where the corporatization of our traditional party infrastructure naturally leads

The available evidence should lead any knowledgeable Georgian to recognize the danger that we are witnessing the building of a state-sanctioned, state-protected, and thereby a state-sponsored corporatocracy, eventually to become a corporate-fascist state. A situation in which corporations, rather than the people, control our governmental institutions, is a prerequisite for operating a repressive, however sustainable, totalitarian regime. The traditional party infrastructure in America and Georgia is not perfect. But in its imperfections human differences play out simulating justice, albeit imperfectly. Should we, the people of Georgia and the United States, lose the power to affect the governmental institutions endowed to us by God, the result will bring about the conditions in which the few enslave the many. We have been through that. We do not need to go through it again.

Many thanks to those at GoReclaimGa.org without whose hard work and dedication this Substack would not be possible.