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I will remind you, and justify for you once again, my contention that Georgia Republican Chairman JOSH McKOON IS AN ACTOR. He is playing a part in a plot unfolding before your eyes. Josh McKoon does not care that he might fool you with untruths because, frankly, fooling people to believe what is not true is an actor’s thrill.
In a way, think of the McKoon show as a sort of “Seinfeld.” On the Seinfeld show, the character of comedian Jerry Seinfeld was played by the real Jerry Seinfeld. But you didn’t get to know the real Jerry Seinfeld, only the character Jerry Seinfeld. In our case, the character of politician Josh McKoon is played by the real Josh McKoon. But you don’t get to know the real Josh McKoon, only the character Josh McKoon. When you hear the character Josh McKoon speak, that is not the real Josh McKoon you hear. That is actor Josh McKoon, playing Josh McKoon the politician. That character is not the person. We don’t know the real Josh McKoon, other than he is someone who enjoys pulling the wool over your eyes, basking in the limelight of his party position and pretending to be someone he is not.
The establishment at which Josh McKoon held the trial to oust elected 1st Vice-Chairman Brian Pritchard, and for which Josh McKoon has formerly served under the title of “Grand Worthy President,” is an ACTOR’S club. At that club, the members put on shows to their mutual delight. Below you will see Josh McKoon, his arm around karaoke partner and BFF, John Garst, reportedly after a performance. Mr. Garst is a former Dominion lobbyist, now president of Rosetta Stone Communications, a polling company contracting to perform ongoing services for McKoon, and the Georgia Republican Party. Why would the Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party seemingly be best friends with a former Dominion lobbyist? McKoon is an actor, ladies and gentlemen, portraying a politician concerned with election integrity.
For two years, Josh McKoon has been ACTING as if he supports President Trump. Out of a reported $23 million the RNC poured into the Georgia Republican Party, and with the most marketable presidential candidate the Georgia Republican Party will likely ever see, what did McKoon do to help Donald Trump win in 2024? According to McKoon, he put a number of attorneys on retainer, behind the scenes, in anticipation of election litigation. I don’t necessarily want to downplay that, however, no one outside of the tight McKoon circle knows who all those attorneys would have been. Other than the attorneys, and although Josh McKoon is quick to take credit as “head coach” of the Trump victory, the chairman can tell you very little the state party did to help the president during the 2024 presidential election in Georgia, which Trump won by an eyelash. Trump should have won Georgia by much more, and with a modicum of support from McKoon and the Georgia Republican Party, he could have.
A distinct lack of resources may be one reason for the GRP’s failures and inaction. McKoon admits he was only able to raise $3 million for the entire 2024 Georgia election effort. That is likely because few Georgia Republicans contribute to the state party these days due a lack of transparency and questionable party expenditures.
At the 2024 state convention, Chairman McKoon obviously pleased himself, while insulting President Trump and all Trump supporters, by placing his BFF karaoke stage partner, Garst, along with McKoon’s own personal “attack dog,” on his proposed slate of delegates to attend the Republican National Convention.
Subsequently, the convention justifiably bumped both McKoon’s cronies off of the slate of RNC delegates to attend last year’s national convention. However, as reported, McKoon included Garst and his “service canine” as alternate delegates to the convention. The former Dominion lobbyist can be seen below with McKoon and Republican Party General Counsel Alex Kaufman in a widely circulated boat ride photo, Lake Michigan and Milwaukee in the background.
Consider for a moment GRP General Counsel Alex Kaufman. Perhaps you recall, somehow Kaufman was invited to listen in on the famous call between President Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger shortly after the 2020 election. Kaufman heard the entire call. Yet, if Kaufman were representing Trump, as some have reported, where was Kaufman when it came time to defend Trump’s intentions in the call? Nowhere. Why?
Another actor, friends. All of these people are acting the parts of Trump supporters.
And then Kaufman’s law firm, embarrassed by the circumstances, originally issued a statement to reporters apparently worded to cover up the fact that Kaufman was listening on the call:
Back to McKoon, recall once again the actor in his “Seven Mountains” video. That video provides testimony to the extent that Josh McKoon both enjoys, and employs, performance artistry in his role, acting the part of GRP Chairman. Here, as you may have seen before, is the segment on “the corporate stuff.”
In that video, Josh McKoon, the actor, played the fictional character, Josh McKoon, a seemingly likeable candidate for Republican Party Chairman. One can tell when Josh McKoon is acting. That is when he appears likeable. The real Josh McKoon is a calculating, power-seizing, cut-throat politician who will use his acting talents to fool the public to believe what he wants them to believe. You should know by now, the real Josh McKoon, acting in that video, had no intentions to ever settle the “corporate stuff.” We know that because recently, the actor said as much, extolling the virtues of the corporation in the following video.
What you just heard from Josh McKoon is a deliberate smokescreen. He is gaslighting Republicans throughout Georgia. If Josh McKoon were that concerned about liability protection for the officers of the party, he would simply take his concerns to the State Executive Committee and ask for the funds to purchase a suitable general liability insurance policy, which in the case of the calamity he hypothesizes, would limit or remove the risk to party officers, and of funds donated to the party being used to pay out damages, and place all of that risk with an insurance provider. The party could even insure a specific event and venue, such as the Dalton convention. A liability insurance policy would be superior in value to protect party officers. Even corporations carry liability insurance. If all those corporations protect everyone from liability, why would they, themselves, purchase liability insurance?
But, remember, Josh McKoon is acting in front of a camera. McKoon is an attorney. As such, he did not just fall off the turnip truck. Josh McKoon did not just learn about liability and various ways to minimize risks to an organization or its officers. This is all an act. Josh McKoon does not need a corporation to shield its officers against liability. He apparently wants it for other reasons he chooses not explain. Nothing has changed since he made the “Members just want to be Members” video. It is all an act.
One possible reason actor Josh McKoon might prefer to continue operating as a corporation with “no members” is that according to OCGA 14-3-1602, members have inspection rights to corporate records. Yes, members of a non-profit corporation are even entitled to INSPECT and COPY the ACCOUNTING records. As reported several times by elected Treasurer Laurie McClain, the officer designated with custody of all financial records according to the organization’s rules, has no access to the entire array of accounting information, only the Quickbooks program showing her a list of deposits and withdrawals. According to McClain, she has no input regarding the proper coding of income and expenses. Apparently, all of that work is performed by McKoon’s accounting director. According to McClain, the Treasurer’s job under Josh McKoon is only to make sure the beginning and ending checkbook balances agree with each month’s FEC report, and to sign the report.
Regarding the party’s accounting records, on a recent post by Treasurer McClain I asked the following questions:
For whatever reason, Ms. McClain chose not to answer. But obviously, others would like to know the answers she might have shared as well, but never returned to the post.
There is someone else, of note, who has asked for answers regarding the corporate accounting records. She would be National Republican Committeewoman Amy Kremer. Kremer recently posted the following list of questions asking Chairman McKoon for answers:
It is too bad the Republican National Committeewoman from Georgia is not a MEMBER of the Georgia Republican Party, Inc. If she were, she would be entitled to all of the answers she is seeking. And if the entity Ms. Kremer represents at the RNC were a true political party under Georgia Title 21, the State Executive Committee, of which she is a high-ranking member, could require McKoon to open the books and answer any and all questions the committee might require. Instead, according to Kremer as recently as last week, she has received no response from the “actor-in-charge,” Josh McKoon. And because Ms. Kremer is apparently not on the McKoon “approved list,” and in her position apparently presents a psychological threat to McKoon, that explains why, several months ago, continuing to this day, Ms. Kremer became the focus of a sudden, unprompted series of disparaging articles from Chairman McKoon’s surrogate “attack dog,” published in an attempt to demonize and discredit the national committeewoman.
Again, remember, all of this is choreographed. Republicans are witnessing an actor and his ensemble performing on a stage. Chairman McKoon, who required state party candidates to sign a personally-designed, non-disclosure agreement in exchange for a list of delegates attending the Dalton convention, within which are clauses severely punishing any candidates from disparaging McKoon, apparently is engaging surrogates, such as his own personal attack dog, to disparage his political adversaries and race opponents, thus maintaining the appearance of abiding by his own requirements.
McKoon and others cooperating with him are carrying out a plan. Their purpose is to make Georgia Republicans believe Josh McKoon is sincere and authentic, that Josh McKoon has Georgia Republicans’ best interests at heart. He doesn’t. The fact is that millions of dollars flow through the Georgia Republican Party each year. That is the honey that draws the flies and influences candidates, such as McKoon, to seek and retain the party leadership.
Interestingly, last week I was made aware of a response by the McKoon camp to the series of articles and information I and perhaps others have been publishing about the McKoon corporate regime presently occupying the Georgia Republican Party. Although the verbiage likely emanates from the party’s general counsel, or perhaps the thespian McKoon himself, below you will see a screenshot of a social media post by an anonymous individual ostensibly representing the 14th District GOP of Georgia. Let’s see…who do we know in the 14th District…
I thank my anonymous benefactor, the 14th District McKoon surrogate, for his or her published response. I say that because he or she just opened the door for me to deal directly with Chairman McKoon’s personal arguments. So, let’s take Chairman McKoon’s bullet points one-by-one.
1. The Georgia Republican Party is fully compliant with Title 21 of Georgia law, as confirmed in writing by the General Counsel of the Secretary of State’s office in August 2023.
Unsurprisingly, what the anonymous author writes is not what Brad Raffensperger’s lawyer said at all. Ms. McGowan’s response was carefully worded, and limited in scope.
Note, Ms. McGowan responded with her “belief” that the rules she received “satisfied the party’s filing requirements” under Title 21.
Regardless what Ms. McGowan seemingly “believed,” or was told in Mr. Kauffman’s original message, her answer is not conclusive as to whether Mr. Kauffman’s referenced rules submission made the Georgia Republican Party “fully compliant with Title 21 of Georgia law,” satisfying in her mind all six enumerated requirements if OCGA 21-2-110. Ms. McGowan only referenced the rules Kaufman supplied, incidentally over three years after a properly certified set of rules, filed with the Secretary of State, was due and required by law to be submitted. Mr. Kaufman did not ask Secretary of State Raffensperger’s general counsel to render an opinion as to the legality of a Title 14 Corporation operating as a Title 21 political party. Had he asked that question, we might expect he would have received a different response.
So, what set of rules did Mr. Kauffman send to Ms. McGowan in August 0f 2023?
Obtained via Open Records Request 24-97 from the Georgia Secretary of State’s office, is the same UNSIGNED, UNCERTIFIED set of rules that were on the gagop.org website until recently:
Make no mistake, according to OCGA 21-2-110(a)(3) below, each political party is required to file “CERTIFIED copies of rules governing its organization and operation.” The rules on file with Ms. McGowan would be the same rules her office sent under the document request, as the request was made of the SOS office AFTER Mr. Kaufman’s submission to Ms. McGowan, and was received pursuant to a specific request asking for the current, certified rules of the Georgia Republican Party.
The term, “certified” means the rules must be authenticated with the signature of the party chairman when the rules went into affect. Obviously, because these rules were never certified, they also never went into affect. Thus, if these are those rules submitted by Mr. Kaufman and referenced in Ms. McGowan’s response, as the SOS office response would have us to believe, Ms. McGowan apparently made a mistake in her “belief.” But, of course, since Ms. McGowan only stated such as her “belief,” any contention by the 14th District author above which depends on that belief being true, for example maintaining that, “Georgia Republican Party is fully compliant with Title 21 of Georgia law,” would also be a mistake.
2. Incorporation under Title 14 is both legal and standard. Every major political party in Georgia — including the Democrats, Libertarians, and Greens — is incorporated. This legal structure protects party officers and volunteers from personal liability. In today’s litigious climate, not incorporating would be irresponsible.
The 14th District author’s contention here is not supported by the written law, nor by any authoritative rationale imagining that “since other political parties do it, we can too.” The fact is that it is the RULES of the organization, which provide the litmus test determining whether that organization is operating as a political party or a corporation. Of the three organizations the 14th District author cites, only one is a political party with ballot access in Georgia. That would be the Democratic Party of Georgia. The Rules of the Democratic Party of Georgia make no mention of a corporation anywhere in the document, only a political party.
On the Georgia Ethics website, if you look up the Democratic Party of Georgia, you will also see that there is no reference to a corporation.
Thus, the 14th District author’s contention that, “Every major political party in Georgia — including the Democrats, Libertarians, and Greens — is incorporated,” is patently false. Only one of those entities is a lawful political party in Georgia, and it does not operate as a corporation. Whether there might be a corporation out there operating under a similar name, is of no consequence. The Democratic Party of Georgia operates solely as a political party under Title 21 of Georgia law.
Conversely, should you look up the Georgia Republican Party, you will only find the corporation, Georgia Republican Party, Inc.
(Note: I had originally posted information from an outdated Georgia Ethics website, which indicated the Georgia Republican Party, Inc. had not updated its registration. That was incorrect and I apologize to the Georgia Republican Party, Inc. for the error. According to the new ethics website, the Georgia Republican Party, Inc. has updated its registration each year. Although I do regret the error, the major principle of this discussion has not changed. And that is that the Democratic Party of Georgia operates as a Title 21 Political Party, and not a Title 14 Corporation, as the reader can plainly see.)
3. The 2014 incorporation under then-Chairman John Padgett was poorly executed — but not illegal. The State Committee has approved a corrective plan, which Chairman Josh McKoon is actively implementing. However, due to ongoing litigation with Mr. Padgett, finalizing the process now could expose the Party to unnecessary legal risk.
Although the first sentence by our 14th District friend is true, it is misleading. Note, the author was careful not to write, “the 2014 incorporation OF THE GEORGIA REPUBLICAN PARTY under then-Chairman John Padgett was poorly executed — but not illegal.” The author carefully constructed his or her sentences to mislead a casual reader to believe that the Georgia Republican Party was, as they say, “incorporated.” There is no such animal in the jungle. There is no codified procedure under which an organizer can “incorporate a political party” in Georgia. There are no journal entries available to an accountant to accomplish transferring the identity of a political party into a corporation. The Georgia Republican Party was never “incorporated.” In 2014, then Chairman John Padgett’s attorney incorporated a completely separate “legal person” by the name of “Georgia Republican Party, Inc.” A political party is not a “legal person.” Under Georgia law, a political party is an association of committees staffed by human beings and their associated human “members.” Members achieve that status in accordance to the rules of the political party, adopted by the organizing committee. As you can see below, the entity incorporated by Mr. Padgett is a “legal person,” and HAS NO MEMBERS. Thus, for those reasons alone, GRP, Inc. cannot be a political party in Georgia. The entity incorporated by Mr. Padgett was separate and apart from the Georgia Republican Party he served as chairman, had nothing to do with the Georgia Republican Party, either then or now.
And the really stupid thing is that, apparently, even to this day, the Board of Directors of Georgia Republican Party, Inc. consists of one person…the corporation founder and former party chairman, John Padgett. That’s right, apparently John Padgett is still the sole director of Georgia Republican Party, Inc., and insomuch, Former CEO John Padgett is current CEO Josh McKoon’s boss in the corporation. And most ironically, the corporation Mr. Padgett ostensibly founded to protect him from liability, ultimately became his own “Frankenstein monster,” suing him in court for damages and winning!! Is this not the most screwed up situation anyone has ever heard of?
The corporation that the anonymous 14th District author contends is designed to “protect party officers and volunteers from personal liability” is the same corporation that sued its founder and sole director in a liability case, and won!
How is all that corporate liability protection working out for Mr. Padgett!
4. The GAGOP’s rules have not changed since 2020. No secret changes have been made to grant the Chairman unilateral control. These claims are not only false — they are dangerous distractions.
Other than the fact that a month or two ago, Josh McKoon attempted to certify the previously uncertified, un-filed Rules of the Georgia Republican Party, Inc., no contention have I made of any “secret changes” in the 2020 rules. That remark is another smokescreen in a continuous effort to gaslight Georgia Republicans. My contention, which is obvious on its face, is that those rules, posted for almost five years on the GAGOP website, and furnished by the Secretary of State’s office as the rules apparently conveyed by General Counsel Kaufman, and referenced in Ms. McGowan’s response to Kaufman above, were never certified, and therefore never went into effect. That is obvious on its face. Just look at the document. There is no signature anywhere throughout its pages. And the rules document recently signed by Chairman McKoon, states clearly on its last page that David Shafer, not Josh McKoon, was the Chairman when those rules should have gone into effect. And because those rules were never certified, Ms. McGowan apparently made a mistake in responding to Mr. Kaufman that those rules satisfied any requirement whatsoever under OCGA 21-2-110 or 111.
And what I have also said, which is obvious on its face, it that for the last two years Chairman McKoon has repeatedly, and continuously usurped authority from the only sources of authority in those same rules, those sources being (1) the rules themselves, (2) the convention, (3) the State Committee, or (4) the State Executive Committee. Every contention I have made concerning those repeated and continuous usurpations is fully-documented and obvious on its face.
Finally, we have item #5”
5. The idea that incorporation transforms the Chairman into a “CEO dictator” is legally unfounded. The Chairman remains accountable to the State Committee, the Executive Committee, and ultimately, to the grassroots who elect the leadership.
I have made no contention that “incorporation transforms the Chairman into a “CEO dictator.” This item is another gaslighting smokescreen by the anonymous 14th District McKoon surrogate. My contention is that Chairman McKoon has transformed himself into a dictator by repeatedly and continuously usurping authority conveyed to other bodies under those same rules, to carry out his own policies never properly authorized.
So, I thank my anonymous benefactor in the 14th District for allowing me the opportunity to address each of Chairman McKoon’s written defenses. He or she can know that, once I publish this Substack, I will paste a link to it as a comment on the 14th Districts’ original post. I will be interested to know whether my anonymous friend will allow it to be seen and read, or whether he or she will remove it. My readers will be interested to know as well.
Below, please find and share links to the first four Substacks in the Case Against Josh McKoon series:
The Case Against Josh McKoon - Part 1
The Case Against Josh McKoon - Part 2
The Case Against Josh McKoon - Part 3
The Case Against Josh McKoon - Part 4
The Case Against Josh McKoon - Part 5
The Case Against Josh McKoon - Part 7
The Case Against Josh McKoon - Part 6
