EDITORIAL: Kemp made right move in calling for Beck ouster

We applaud Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp for throwing his considerable political weight behind the effort to have Insurance Commissioner Jim Beck removed from office.

In a political climate fraught with partisan preference outweighing right or wrong, Kemp knew pushing for suspension of a fellow Republican elected official could draw blowback from GOP heavyweights both in the state and beyond. But the governor did the right thing — the only thing — that made sense in a case in which the sitting insurance commissioner is charged with a fraud/money laundering scheme that netted Beck more than $2 million.

Beck, through his attorney and in a letter to Kemp, has maintained his innocence, even balking at stepping down from office. He wrote to Kemp, “I am, in fact, innocent of these charges. In the circumstances, it would be inappropriate for me to resign as commissioner of insurance.”

With pressure coming from within the GOP and from both state Democrats and others with no overt political affiliation, though, Beck conceded that it would be best for him to step down because “In the coming months, it will unfortunately be necessary for me to spend a significant amount of my time defending myself against these false charges. Preparing for that trial will be a significant distraction from my public duties.”

And while we agree with the ousted insurance commissioner that he deserves, like all persons charged with a crime, the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, it’s impossible to imagine a scenario when Beck would not be engaged in a significant conflict of interest were he to remain in office.

The federal indictment against Beck, filed by BJay Pak, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia on Tuesday of last week, says that over the past five years, Beck was involved in an “elaborate invoicing scheme” that netted him more than $2 million. Beck allegedly used the scheme to convert money sent to his employer at the time, Georgia Underwriting Association, through fraudulent invoicing. GUA provides high-risk property coverage to Georgia homeowners.

The indictment against him alleges that Beck approved payments to four businesses he convinced associates to create. Invoices were sent from GUA and the Christian Coalition to the four firms, and Beck’s associates — at his direction, according to the indictment — paid the invoices from a portion of the money they’d been paid by Georgia Underwriting Association.

If found guilty of the charges, Beck could, according to Pak, receive a multiyear prison sentence.

In his letter encouraging Beck to voluntarily suspend himself from office, Kemp noted the insurance commissioner’s oversight of GUA, saying, “As insurance commissioner you hold significant legal authority — including appointment powers — over GUA and its governing board. In light of this connection and the possibility of new revelations, it would be highly inappropriate for you to continue to hold public office.”

Given the partisan tone of the 2018 gubernatorial election, many worried that Kemp might be another politician that put party over the people he served. But like Nathan Deal before him, the Kemp has so far proved to be more concerned with moving the state forward. And he should be lauded for making what might have been a tough political move, but was far and away the right move for Georgia.