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Guest Author: Wendy Strauch Mahoney

Charlene McGowan, the General Counsel to Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brad Raffensperger, built her reputation by allegedly defending Georgia’s elections against “meritless” challenges. However, a new complaint filed by Kevin Moncla flips the script, alleging that the state’s top election lawyer misrepresented and falsely stated under oath the results of the 2020 election and “the events surrounding it, in direct contravention of her professional and ethical obligations,” according to this and two previous complaints filed by Moncla and Joe Rossi.

Moncla and Rossi’s efforts to substantiate claims of a fraudulent 2020 election have been nothing short of heroic. They and other citizen groups have worked relentlessly on behalf Georgia’s voters to ensure the state does not repeat the mistakes seen in 2020.

Moncla’s July 8, 2025 complaint alleges McGowan allegedly doubled down on her false statements while testifying before the Washington D.C. Bar Disciplinary Board on September 30, 2024, and again on October 1, 2024. According to the complaint, “The Board had convened in the matter of three (3) attorneys whose actions surrounding the 2020 General Election were being questioned.”

The 31-page complaint allegedly shows that the “facts of Georgia’s 2020 Election” are “at odds with Ms. Charlene McGowan’s sworn testimony,” and provides ample evidence that it is she who should be under scrutiny and not the three lawyers named in the 2024 D.C. Bar Disciplinary hearings. The consolidated disciplinary hearings were called due to their roles in cases such as King v. Whitmer (MI) and Gohmert v. Pence (TX).

Among the allegations put forward by Moncla in the complaint are that McGowan allegedly:

• Misdescribed evidence. She labeled statutorily-required digital ballot images and cash-register-style “poll tape” printouts as mere “paper backups,” then told the SEB those records were “inconclusive.”
• False statements of law. McGowan “willfully and knowingly made false statements of fact to the Disciplinary Board regarding Fulton County’s (and many others) failure to preserve ballot images.” Federal law, state statute, and SEB Rule require the mandatory preservation of ballot images.
• Engaged in multiple acts of deceit. In her testimony in D.C. and earlier regarding the 2020 General Election, SEB2023-025, and SEB2021-181, McGowan intentionally misrepresented requirements to retain ballot images, Georgia law, signature verification, and allegedly refused to provide the State Election Board (SEB) with evidence.
• Georgia Poll Pads. McGowan falsely stated KNOWiNK pads were not connected to the internet.
• Invoked a phantom contract. To justify outside consultants’ access to sensitive election material, she relied on an unsigned memorandum of understanding the county itself said never existed.
• Closed complaints under false pretenses. The grievance says her misstatements led the Board to shut down probes into missing ballot images, chain-of-custody gaps, and faulty logic-and-accuracy testing.
• Defamed and silenced whistle-blowers. In an SEB meeting she allegedly accused complainants of spreading “conspiracy theories,” then blocked them from responding.
• Refused to correct the record. Even after documentary proof of the errors was supplied, McGowan did not retract or amend her report.

In the end, according to the complaint,

Ms. McGowan’s egregious and unethical conduct detailed herein has concealed very serious violations of law, obstructed proper investigation, and protected those responsible. Her actions have prevented accountability, proper remedy to prevent recurrence, and unjustly weighted the scales of justice against three attorneys whose fate, livelihood, and honor hang in the balance with material misrepresentations and false statements of both fact and law. In so doing, Ms. McGowan’s conduct has inarguably been prejudicial to the administration of justice.”

Her actions have arguably greatly interfered with the proper adjudication of the 2020 General Election in Georgia.

McGowan’s pattern of knowingly making false statements, her misuse of an invalid contract, suppression of evidence, and intimidation of complainants demonstrate dishonesty and an abuse of public office. Under Georgia Rules of Professional Conduct 3.3 (candor to a tribunal), 4.1(truthfulness), 5.7(responsibilities of a government lawyer), and 8.4 (dishonesty and conduct prejudicial to justice).  These acts warrant professional discipline ranging from public reprimand to disbarment, Moncla contends.

Why It Matters

The complaint provides a good summary of the strong, corroborated evidence of significant errors found in Georgia’s 2020 General Election– evidence that that eventually produced a certified recount in Fulton County, Georgia and a letter from Governor Kemp acknowledging there were problems with the 2020 election that warranted “corrective action.”

It is the general counsel for the secretary of state, McGowan in this case, who drafts the investigative summaries the SEB relies upon to dispose of citizen complaints. The officials in charge of reviewing citizen complaints should approach evidence dispassionately and without political bias. When summaries are slanted, the oversight system collapses.

Furthermore, McGowan’s perplexing actions undermine election integrity optics, and profoundly affect public trust. Additionally, responses like hers discourage earnest inquiry from voters who rightfully wish to engage in their civic duty without fear of retribution. Georgia’s 2020 vote has arguably been litigated more than any other in modern history, at great cost to many citizens who have in most cases volunteered to take on powerful forces with little hope of reward for their efforts. McGowan’s actions also contribute to jeopardizing the credibility of other state officials who will likely be under a microscope in the upcoming 2026 mid-terms and whose offices should engender public trust not cynicism.

McGowan’s behavior also discourages good lawyers from entering the fray.  From Rudy Giuliani’s suspension due to his involvement in litigating the 2020 election, to the harassment of lawyers like Jeff Clark and the recommended disbarment of Attorney John Eastman, post 2020 election lawyering is now a professional minefield. This unpleasant reality is further reinforced with the ongoing scrutiny of the three lawyers referenced in Moncla’s July 2025 complaint. McGowan’s actions undoubtedly contribute to discouraging other reputable attorneys from taking on important, and valid election cases going forward.  

However, most egregious is McGowan’s impaired contribution to the breakdown of American elections. For reasons that remain opaque, she and like-minded bureaucrats have helped dismantle the very guardrails—statutory ballot-image retention, airtight chain-of-custody rules, transparent investigative procedures—that protect both the vote and the voter.

Through her alleged deliberate misrepresentations, false statements, and refusal to address well-documented objections, McGowan did far more than distort the outcome of a single election—she sent a dangerous signal to county and state officials alike that shortcuts, omissions, and half-truths are permissible from the top down. The result is a cascading erosion of confidence that no recount, audit, or press conference can easily repair. In time, reckless stewardship does more than taint an election, it erodes the foundation of a free people.

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