It was frigidly cold and windy in Atlanta on the morning of February 17, 2025. Despite the miserable weather, friends and supporters of Atlanta’s Inspector General, Shannon Manigault, gathered on the front steps of City Hall to speak out. That day, the City Council would vote on a bill that ultimately stripped the Office of Inspector General of much of its power. In the leadup to the vote, members of City leadership had engaged in an aggressive media campaign to discredit the Office and its work.
James Radford and the law firm of Radford Scott LLP were appointed by OIG’s Board as independent counsel due to a conflict of interest with the City Attorneys’ Office, who had publicly accused OIG of issuing improper financial subpoenas. We were proud to defend Ms. Manigault and her office, which we determined had operated within the law in diligently investigating claims of fraud, waste, and abuse in City government.
James Radford was invited to open the press conference. His remarks and those of Ms. Manigault are highlighted here.
The mission of the Inspector General and the mandate under law is to investigate claims of fraud, waste and abuse in city governments. As any good investigator will tell you, the very first thing that you do is follow the money. And they have done that. And that has put them in the crosshairs of certain members of city leadership and certain people who are connected politically to city leadership who do not want them to pursue their investigations with that sort of vigor. That is why I've been brought into this case. The linchpin of the most recent media attack was a letter that the city attorney's office issued to the Inspector General and then blasted that letter out in a press release that contained quotes from the mayor's office and quotes from members of council. Three days after that letter was issued, a lawsuit was filed by a vendor who had dealt with the city whose financial records were subpoenaed and a letter threatening another lawsuit and demanding that the city pay $5 million. When I was retained, we did careful legal research and determined that in fact, the Office of the Inspector General absolutely had the authority to issue these financial subpoenas without tipping off the people who are being investigated. I'm proud to be representing the Office of the Inspector General. I'm proud to be offering her in the office this legal defense, and I'm proud to be standing beside the other individuals here with us today to do so. I'll yield the floor. Thank you. As James noted, the lawsuit claims will be defended and truly thank goodness for board approved James Bradford. The whole reason the City of Atlanta Office of Inspector General, like any Office of Inspector General needs an attorney of its own. Is to protect against potential conflicts of interest. The last several months, the City of Atlanta, Office of the Inspector General and I had been subjected to threats. Bullying. Intimidation. And harassment. At the hands of people who have been the subjects of our investigations, the attacks have been systematic. Sustained. And savage as we have uncovered more corruption once again at the highest rungs of City Hall. The attacks have gotten worse. As James Radford said, our job is to identify fraud, waste, abuse and corruption to serve this city. And that's exactly what we have done. We reported it to you, the public. Because transparency and accountability matter. We've been able to call out favoritism and collusion in procurement to help level the playing field for city vendors, not just the special few, but for all city vendors. We've identified bribery so that you residents and small business owners don't have to pay a toll. For the city services that you're already paying for with your taxpayer dollars, you, the public, have appreciated our work. You've recognized the care and professionalism and detail of our reports. I am so incredibly proud of the work that's been done by the dedicated professionals of the OIG team. Then if you were behind me now.
