ATLANTA -- A Republican state senator wants GOP Secretary of State Brian Kemp investigated for criminal wrongdoing. Kemp says it’s a campaign season stunt.
Yet it’s not the first of its kind this political season.
Four years ago, a customer at a northwest Atlanta Massage Envy store told police a masseuse sexually assaulted her. In Georgia, massage therapists are licensed and regulated by the Secretary of State’s office – the office run by Kemp, now running for Governor.
Now state Sen. Renee Unterman (R-Buford), a Casey Cagle backer, is requesting a federal criminal investigation into Kemp.
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In a letter to US Attorney BJay Pak, Unterman writes, “Kemp solicited contributions” from “the owner of two Massage Envy clinics currently under investigation for their massage therapists sexually assaulting women” and accuses Kemp of “non-action and suppression” of the assault allegations.
Kemp’s office quickly responded by calling Unterman’s request “baseless” and “politically motivated.”
If, in the context of the governor campaign, all this sounds a little familiar, it should. That’s because a few weeks ago, some supporters of Brian Kemp called for a criminal investigation into Casey Cagle.
A secret recording of Cagle in a private conversation with former candidate Clay Tippins prompted a letter from two Brian Kemp supporters – suggesting Cagle had broken the law when he appeared to talk about campaign contributions affecting his support for a bill in the legislature.
“It's not about public policy. It’s about politics,” Cagle said in the recording.
Kemp’s backers said it proved Cagle is corrupt. Now, Cagle’s backers are saying Kemp is corrupt. And both campaigns are denouncing the mud the other guy is throwing.
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