Cobb County Superior Court Clerk indicted on felony charges

Written by: A. Smith

Published August 1, 2025 @ 7:48 AM ET

Update: Cobb County Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor has been indicted on multiple felony charges after allegedly directing an employee to delete public records related to passport revenues and financial disclosures, actions that state officials say violate Georgia law and the public trust.

Taylor, who was reelected in 2024, is charged with two counts of destruction or alteration of public records and two counts of violating her oath of office. The charges stem from a long-running controversy over Taylor’s handling of passport application fees and her response to an open records request.

According to the indictment, Taylor instructed an employee to delete a digital folder titled “Passport” from a work computer. The folder reportedly contained accounting records linked to passport services offered by her office. She also allegedly told the same employee to delete an email with the subject line “Expedited Passport Revenue Analysis 2021-2022,” which included a financial report that documented passport revenues.

The alleged actions came after a whistleblower employee raised concerns and contacted the Atlanta Journal-Constitution through an attorney, claiming Taylor had ordered her to delete records.

According to reporting based on the whistleblower’s attorney letter, Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor allegedly told the employee, “We’re just going to Donald Trump this thing”, referring to destroying documents related to the passport fee controversy instead of providing them in response to an open records request.

Under Georgia law, Superior Court clerks are allowed to collect a $35 processing fee for each passport application, but Taylor’s office also retained additional expedited shipping fees, nearly $84,000 in total, which she was not entitled to keep. Though Taylor ultimately agreed to return the funds in February 2025, years had passed since the initial controversy surfaced.

Reports show Taylor collected more than $400,000 in passport-related fees during her first two years in office, supplementing her $170,000 annual salary. That financial activity prompted legislative reforms in 2023 requiring quarterly disclosures of all passport revenues by court clerks.

In response to the indictment, Attorney General Chris Carr said, “Any attempts to conceal or destroy government records are serious allegations that cannot be ignored, and those responsible will be held accountable.” GBI Director Chris Hosey added that the destruction of public records undermines transparency and public trust.

The Cobb County District Attorney’s Office recused itself from the case, citing a conflict, and the Georgia Attorney General’s Office is now leading the prosecution. The matter was presented to a Cobb grand jury by Deputy Attorney General John Fowler.

Douglas County Superior Court Judge William McClain is presiding over the case after all Cobb County judges also recused themselves.

Taylor has declined to comment publicly, but her office’s chief operations officer, Libby Blackwell, said Taylor intends to remain in office and that the indictment will not disrupt court operations. Superior court clerks in Georgia are constitutional officers and operate independently of county government oversight.

State law allows Gov. Brian Kemp to appoint a review commission following an indictment to determine whether an official should be suspended. If Taylor is convicted of a felony, she would be automatically removed from office.

Taylor, a Democrat, was first elected in 2020 and reelected in 2024 despite ongoing concerns over her management. In 2023, local attorneys and judges criticized her office’s record-keeping failures, which had grown so severe that the court’s chief judge issued an emergency order suspending filing deadlines and penalties due to the dysfunction.

COBB COUNTY, Ga. – Cobb County Superior Court Clerk Connie Taylor will repay nearly $84,000 after officials determined she kept passport-related fees that should have gone to the county.

Georgia law allows superior court clerks to retain the $35 processing fee for passport applications. However, county officials said Taylor also kept the $24.70 expedited shipping fees, which should have been deposited into county funds.

The Cobb County Board of Commissioners voted 4-0 on Tuesday to accept repayment from Taylor’s office for fees collected during her first two years in office.

Taylor was also accused of keeping expedited shipping fees, which state law prohibits clerks from retaining. A county review found she collected $46,411.30 in fiscal year 2021 and $37,247.60 in fiscal year 2022, according to Tuesday’s commission agenda. The review also found she retained more fees than other metro Atlanta clerks, some of whom share the revenue with local governments.

Taylor did not attend Tuesday’s commission meeting or respond to requests for comment. Her chief operating officer, Libby Blackwell, told commissioners that Taylor intended to refund the money two years ago. She also said the county has already received more than $43,750 from expedited passport fees collected in 2023 and 2024.

Cobb Commission Chair Lisa Cupid acknowledged Taylor’s previous willingness to return the money but said determining the exact amount owed had been difficult. Commissioner Keli Gambrill said the clerk’s office should have reimbursed the county from the start.

Blackwell said Taylor’s office has prepared a check for the county’s finance team and that all expedited passport fees are now being deposited into a separate account. Her reimbursement check to the county totals $83,658.90.

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation launched an inquiry into Taylor’s office in late 2022 after a whistleblower alleged she ordered records related to passport fees deleted. The findings were turned over to Attorney General Chris Carr’s office, which confirmed the case remains open.

A letter from the whistleblower’s attorneys alleges Taylor “chastised” an employee via email for asking about passport funds and claimed the fees were “her money.” The letter also states Taylor refused to provide records of how her predecessor handled the fees and told staff they would “get rid” of related documents, allegedly saying, “We’re just going to Donald Trump this thing.”

The GBI completed its investigation and turned over its case file to the Attorney General’s office for prosecutorial review on March 14, 2024.

Processing passports has long been a source of additional income for some superior court clerks in Georgia. Applicants pay a $130 fee to the federal government and a $35 processing fee that clerks are allowed to keep.

A 2017 survey by the Association County Commissioners of Georgia found that 87 of the state’s 159 counties processed passport applications, with 54 clerks or probate judges keeping some or all of the processing fees as personal income.

In 2023, lawmakers passed a bill requiring superior court clerks to disclose the total amount of passport fees collected each quarter. Taylor’s first report under the new law is due at the end of March.

Taylor was reelected to her position in November 2024.

According to the Attorney General’s office, the case remains open and active.