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New audio uncovered in Chip Rogers scandal

Chip Rogers worked a second full-time job while he collected $150,000 from Georgia Public Broadcasting and Georgia taxpayers like you.

We are outraged, but we’re not surprised.

Gov. Deal believes this is how government should be run.

In Gov. Deal’s Georgia, giving away $150,000 of your tax dollars to solve his political problem is peanuts compared to ignoring a $74 million tax debt from one of his business partners.

And collecting side income from a private business while serving Georgians?

Gov. Deal does that, too.

He’s the landlord to one of the state’s largest corporate tax debtors.

Gov. Deal and his business partner collect $20,000 in rent every month from Copart, Inc., the out-of-state company that owes Georgia nearly $74 million in back taxes and penalties.

Gov. Deal paid Chip Rogers $150,000 of your tax dollars to get him out of the State Senate.

That GPB “job” was just a cover story.

Last night, Fox 5 Atlanta’s I-Team broadcast newly discovered audio of Chip Rogers’ boss — no, not Teya Ryan at GPB, his real boss at the hotel owners lobbying group:

“I want to bring up the Director of our government affairs and the former Senate Majority Leader of the State of Georgia and he’s staffed our Washington, D.C. office and now heads all our activities on a full-time basis. I’m proud to introduce Chip Rogers.”

WATCH: GPB fired Rogers for “political activity” and “outside” job

That audio introduction was recorded and posted to the Internet last summer, in July 2013.

It was recorded just two months after Chip Rogers was officially reprimanded by GPB for his “participation in political activities while employed with this organization.”

GPB was powerless to fire Chip Rogers until the governor’s office called to let them off the hook.

Chip Rogers never kept his job for the lobbying group a secret. In fact, Fox 5 Atlanta reports that he posted his out-of-state travel schedule online.

But Gov. Deal claims he didn’t know.

Gov. Deal claims he created a new, separate and taxpayer-funded budget just for Chip Rogers and then introduced him to Teya Ryan because he was the best person for the job.

But, we know the truth — this is how Gov. Deal does business.

Call Gov. Nathan Deal at (404) 656-1776 and tell him we’re fed up. His style of political favor-trading is bad for Georgia. We deserve a full-time governor who works for Georgians — not for himself and his political cronies.

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