ATLANTA — Atlanta Inspector General Shannon K. Manigault announced her resignation on Monday and accused City Hall leaders of creating a retaliatory work environment.
The move comes in the wake of the Atlanta City Council’s efforts to overhaul how the Office of Inspector General works, and what Manigault described as “corruption at the highest rungs of city leadership.”
Manigault said that in addition to the attacks against her office, and more personal attacks on her reputation, things had shifted.
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“Things have taken a turn. Two weeks ago, the abuse that I have routinely been subjected to was then extended to my family and that is not okay. A multi-prong attack on an organization and its leader is not new around here,” she said. “For those paying attention, it should have an oddly, sadly, familiar ring to it. For our office, that has most recently involved subpoenas and lawsuits.”
The inspector general was referring to a recently filed lawsuit in federal court, accusing her and the office, and the City of Atlanta, of violating rights through unlawful subpoenas for financial information.
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The lawsuit was filed days after the Atlanta Mayor’s Office said Manigault had filed at least 50 subpoenas improperly, and that the OIG had revised its subpoena policy in response.
In the wake of the lawsuit, it was reported that Manigault was on leave. While the reasons for going on leave were not initially public, the Governing Board put out a statement saying that Manigault’s leave was not in response to the lawsuit, nor administrative in nature.
Manigault discussed that situation while announcing her resignation.
“Now some of you heard, and some of you reported, on the fact that I took some days off. No, it was not because I was put on leave. It was because I needed to take some time, I needed to take some time to step away and come to grips with everything that these people have been doing to me,” Manigault said. “And that’s how I’ve come to the incredibly difficult decision to resign as the Inspector General for the City of Atlanta. I hate that it’s come to this.”
She thanked the public and her supporters, as well as the staff of the Office of Inspector General, for their work and support.
Channel 2 Action News has reached out to the Atlanta Mayor’s Office for comment on Manigault’s resignation, and claims, and was told they are reviewing what she said before issuing a response.
Separately, in a communication to the Mayor and members of the Atlanta City Council, Todd Gray of the OIG Governing Board said the chair of the board, Nichola R. Hines, had resigned and that the board itself had come to find certain factors that matched up with the city council and mayor’s own concerns.
As far as when Manigault went on leave, Gray wrote that the subpoena issue was noted early on and that it “wasn’t a misstep, it was the willful act of an individual more concerned with being right than doing right. For this reason, I put forth a motion in the special called meeting on Feb. 13th, 2025 that the IG be placed on paid administrative leave pending further review of the matters at hand.”
In a statement shared with Channel 2 Action News, the Mayor’s Office said:
“We thank the Inspector General for her service to the City of Atlanta. We look forward to working with a new Inspector General and independent Board in the near future. Ethical government has been one of the Mayor’s four pillars since day one. The City will continue advancing policies and practices that reinforce public trust and protect taxpayer resources, while also ensuring all oversight efforts respect the rights of our employees and are conducted with fairness, transparency and accordance to the law.”
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