Cobb County Superior Court’s clerk, Connie Taylor, has been charged with destruction of public records and violation of oath of office. Jill Nolin/Georgia Recorder
Cobb County Superior Court’s clerk has been charged with two counts of destruction of public records and two counts of violation of oath of office by a grand jury Thursday.
The clerk, Connie Taylor, had been the subject of a yearslong joint investigation by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation and the Georgia Attorney General’s White Collar and Cyber Crime Unit into her handling of public records.
The clerk’s office is responsible for maintaining official court records.
Taylor, a Democrat, was first elected in 2020, defeating a Republican incumbent. But she later came under fire for pocketing over $425,000 in passport fees paid by Cobb County residents, which is permitted under a Georgia law allowing superior court clerks to use the fees to supplement their income.
In 2024, state Sen. Kay Kirkpatrick, a Marietta Republican, introduced Senate Bill 19, a bill requiring clerks to disclose the amount of revenue they generate from passport fees. The bill was signed into law later that year, and took effect this past January.
Taylor became the subject of a Georgia Bureau of Investigation probe in 2022 after a whistleblower complaint accused her of directing employees to delete government emails and financial records related to the passport fees in response to an open records request filed by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Nearly three years later, she now faces formal charges.
“The intentional destruction of public records is a serious offense that undermines transparency and public trust,” GBI Director Chris Hosey said in a statement. “We remain committed to working alongside our local, state, and federal partners to ensure accountability and uphold the integrity of government operations across Georgia.”
Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr also weighed in on the indictment.
“Georgians deserve honesty and transparency from their elected officials, and anything less undermines public trust,” Carr said. “Any attempts to conceal or destroy government records are serious allegations that cannot be ignored, and those responsible will be held accountable.”
Neither Taylor nor her attorney, former Georgia Gov. Roy Barnes, responded to a request for comment.
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