E-mail scandal causes Macon senator to step down from GOP leadership duties

ATLANTA -- State Sen. Cecil Staton, R-Macon, will cede his duties as Senate whip for the remainder of the legislative session, as he’s embroiled in a dispute over the authorship of a scandalous series of e-mails.

Staton’s deputy, Sen. Greg Goggans, R-Douglas, will act as majority whip through Thursday, the end of the session. Staton, through a spokesman, emphasized that most of the whip’s work is done for the year.

The spokesman said that because the e-mail scandal is a possible “distraction,” Staton took the action.

The issue began on Tuesday, when a GOP supporter and sometime strategist from Habersham County presented a report that he says proves Staton wrote a series of e-mails under the name of “Beth Merkleson,” which attack several other Republicans, such as Lt. Governor Casey Cagle.

The activist, Arch Adams, said he went fishing for the author of the “Beth Merkleson” e-mails because he was distressed at their “manipulative” content.

According to the Georgia Department of Driver Services, there is no drivers license on record under the name Beth or Elizabeth Merkleson.

There has indeed been a GOP power struggle in the Senate since last year, when Cagle was stripped of some of his legislative powers by his Senate colleagues.

A spokesman for Cagle’s office called the allegations against Staton “troubling,” adding that Cagle trusts the GOP caucus to make any investigation or take any action necessary.

For more on this story, read Wednesday’s Telegraph.

This story was originally published April 12, 2011 at 12:00 AM with the headline "E-mail scandal causes Macon senator to step down from GOP leadership duties."