No charges will be brought against Effingham County Clerk of Jason Bragg following an investigation by the GBI and a review of the case by an outside District Attorney.
The inquiry and referral to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation (GBI) came during a contested election cycle in which Bragg was challenged by his 2020 opponent, Walt Lawson. News of the investigation was published by WSAV-TV the week after candidate qualifying in March, though no details were released about what prompted the investigation or the subject matter of the inquiry.
We have since learned that the complaints to the GBI involved “various allegations of malfeasance on the part of Mr. Bragg while acting as the Clerk of Courts in Effingham County.”
Also unknown at the time of the investigation was who referred the case to the GBI. Under Georgia law, only a police chief, a Sheriff, a district attorney, or a Chief Superior Court judge can request a GBI investigation.
The GBI investigation concluded months ago, at the latest in July of 2024, but has been awaiting review by the District Attorney’s Office. In this case, Ogeechee Circuit District Attorney Daphne Totten recused her office from handling the matter due to the working relationship with Bragg’s office. Atlantic Judicial Circuit District Attorney Billy Joe Nelson was appointed to handle the matter.
After reviewing the case file, Nelson’s office concluded this week that no charges would be brought against Bragg. A letter from Nelson’s office to the GBI on November 15, 2024 stated, in part, that “the Office of the District Attorney for the Atlantic Judicial Circuit has concluded that sufficient evidence does not exist to prove (beyond a reasonable doubt) criminal conduct on the part of Mr. Bragg.”
TheGeorgiaVirtue.com has requested the complete case file from the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is still pending. The GBI said Friday that the request would be fulfilled in May 2025.
Bragg was also sued by State Court Judge Stephen Yekel in June, who lost his bid for reelection to Melissa Calhoun, when Yekel alleged that Bragg was not allowing him to access records in the Clerk of Court’s office. Bragg contended that Yekel had the same access he always had through PeachCourt and was not privy to Clerk’s Office records in his judicial duties. That case was dismissed the day before Thanksgiving by Yekel’s attorney, Mickey Kicklighter.
