GEORGIA — Attorney General Chris Carr’s campaign has announced a federal lawsuit against Lt. Governor Burt Jones over his use of a leadership committee that they say is a “blatant attempt to circumvent campaign finance laws.”

This latest escalation comes after the Carr campaign filed a complaint with the State Ethics Commission that was later rejected.

The lawsuit points to a 2022 federal court ruling that leadership committees cannot be used during primary elections when one candidate has access and the other does not.

Carr Campaign Manager Neil Bitting says this is about insuring a level playing field.

“What we’re doing is going to court to make sure that the law is upheld and that the rules are applied,” said Bitting.

In response, the Jones campaign is accusing Carr of hypocrisy because he defended the law in 2022 in his official capacity.

Kendyl Parker, Spokeswoman for Lt. Governor Burt Jones told WSB Radio, “Georgia’s lackluster Attorney General defended this law two years ago. Now, he’s running for governor and wants to challenge the same law he once defended. If hypocrisy were an Olympic sport, he’d take gold.”

Jonathan O’Brien contributed to this story.