Media Advisories

 Statement on Latest Former OIG Developments

ATLANTA—The City of Atlanta issued the following statement. Please see the attachments.

The reason why the City increased standards for fair investigations in changes to City Charter  (25-O-1009) is to protect their integrity and prevent undue reputational harm based in rumor or unsubstantiated claims. We have now seen former members of the IG staff do exactly that. Release rumors and unsubstantiated claims in an attempt to tarnish reputations.

The reason the City asked for procedures around access to documents is to ensure those documents remain confidential. Now we have an individual who has downloaded thousands of documents who may be using them for a book for personal profit. This is in addition to the cavalier use of personal information —including social security numbers and banking information—of Atlanta citizens and City employees.

The reason we asked for a third party to sign off on subpoenas is to set in place checks and balances, and to ensure subpoenas were issued properly. Shannon Manigault issued more than 50 illegal subpoenas, fraudulently changing the standard form so affected persons would not receive notice. Then she ignored the admonishment of the Ethics Officer (who raised concerns with the Governing Board multiple times) and the counsel of the City Attorney. Now the City faces millions of dollars in lawsuits and liability.

The facts of this entire matter will speak for themselves in the days to come.

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