Nathan Deal’s son-in-law had previous bankruptcy

Nathan Deal’s son-in-law Clinton Wilder had filed for bankruptcy four years before Deal agreed to co-sign for nearly $2.3 million in loans, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has learned.

Nathan Deal said Friday that he felt obligated to help his daughter and son-in-law when he co-signed for their now bankrupt business in 2005.

Bankruptcy experts said Wilder’s November 2001 bankruptcy made him ineligible to have his debts discharged when he filed again in July 2009. The Wilders did not disclose the previous bankruptcy in the 2009 filing as the law requires.

The Deal campaign acknowledged the previous 2001 bankruptcy of the former congressman’s son-in-law, but spokesman Brian Robinson wouldn’t say when Deal became aware of it.

“Members of Nathan’s family are not running for public office,” Robinson said.”The important thing for voters to know is that Nathan will meet the obligations that are his.”

Clinton Wilder could not be reached for comment.

The 2009 petition, which the Wilders signed under the penalty of perjury, contains the answer “none” to the section requiring them to list bankruptcy filings within the eight years of the current filing.

That could mean problems for Clinton Wilder, said Darryl Scott Laddin, a bankruptcy lawyer with Arnall Golden Gregory.

Laddin said that the office of the U.S. Trustee, which monitors bankruptcy cases, could file to have Clinton Wilder’s bankruptcy protection revoked, leaving him vulnerable to creditors. A revocation of Clinton Wilder’s bankruptcy would not affect Deal’s liability for the $2 million loan because he consigned the note, Laddin said. The trustee could also refer to the case to U.S. Attorney for prosecution if he believed that the misstatement was intentional.

“Any time someone makes a materially false statement, especially one that is material to whether they can receive a discharge, that would be important in a bankruptcy case and be a big deal,” Laddin said.

Paul Rogers, the lawyer appointed to oversee the dissolution of the Wilder debts, said he has already been in contact with the U.S. Trustee’s office. “I would be very surprised if an investigation doesn’t take place,” Rogers said.

On Wednesday, the AJC reported that Deal and his wife, Sandra, were in financial distress. The couple invested $2 million of their own money in 2005 with their daughter and son-in-law in a sporting goods business that went bankrupt in March 2009. Deal’s assets, including his private residence in Gainesville, are not enough to cover the outstanding debt.

In a conference call Friday morning with supporters, Deal said he was trying to help his daughter and son-in-law.

“I believe that one of the responsibilities of parents is to help their children,” he said. “And several years ago our middle daughter and her husband who had both been traveling all across the country on their jobs wanted to be closer to home since they had our youngest of our grandchildren. My wife and I decided we would help them in that venture.”

Deal denied he is insolvent and said he would make good on his obligations.

“Of course, on top of all of this is the implication that this in some way should have something to do with the governor’s race,” he continued. “I quite frankly don’t think that it has. I believe that, if anything, this is an illustration of the fact that you need a governor who understands the pain that Georgians are facing. Certainly, many Georgians are facing the same kind of problems that my family has incurred in this business venture.”

Staff writers Jim Galloway and Jeremy Redmon contributed to this story