Gov. Nathan Deal says he expects to receive a copy of the 30 count indictment against state Rep. Tyrone Brooks (D-Atlanta) early next week.

Fourteen days after he receives it, Deal will create a three-member panel made up of Georgia Attorney General Sam Olens and a state House and Senate member to decide whether or not to recommend Brooks be suspended from office.

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates announced Thursday that a federal investigation found the longtime lawmaker misappropriated $1 million in donations from two charitable organizations.

Deal tells WSB's Sandra Parrish he learned of the scope of the federal investigation against Brooks the same time as everyone else.

"I did not know the nature of the investigation nor the magnitude of it, but it does appear its a significant issue and one that I'm sure will occupy the time of the U.S. Attorney's office as they proceed forward," he says.

But Deal says the good Brooks has done for the state over the years shouldn't be overlooked.

"He's been a long-serving member of the House of Representatives and has certainly been a leader in the civil rights movement through the years," he says.  "This is indeed a bad and certainly regrettable event in his life, but also I think in the life of this state," he says.