A Georgia lawmaker says new evidence supports his efforts to oust the state House speaker following reports the powerful Republican repeatedly used his position to delay court proceedings for criminal defendants who are clients of his law practice.
Republican state Rep. David Clark of Buford held a news conference Wednesday with an independent researcher who says House Speaker David Ralston abused his power at a scale greater than what was previously documented in an investigation by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and WSB-TV .
Former FBI agent Derek Somerville told reporters he found that Ralston used his legislative responsibilities as justification for delaying 226 cases a total of 966 times since becoming speaker in 2010.
Ralston said Somerville "is not an attorney and admittedly does not understand the legal system."
