Michael Bowers (left) gives a press conference after filing a lawsuit for clients Todd and Julie Chrisley. Christopher Anulewicz is also on the legal team handling the case. (Photo: John Disney/ALM)

Reality television stars Todd and Julie Chrisley are suing the chief investigator for Georgia's Department of Revenue, claiming he violated state and federal tax laws in a self-aggrandizing effort to smear the couple.

The suit claims that in launching an investigation of the Chrisleys in 2017 over largely unsubstantiated claims the couple repeatedly evaded paying state taxes, Joshua Waites abused his authority and illegally accessed and disclosed the couple's confidential tax information to Todd Chrisley's estranged daughter, Lindsie Chrisley Campbell, and others.

The Chrisley reality shows, "Chrisley Knows Best" and "Growing Up Chrisley," air on the USA Network.

The federal civil rights suit was filed by Chrisley civil counsel former Georgia Attorney General Mike Bowers and partner Chris Anulewicz of the Atlanta office of Balch & Bingham on Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia in Atlanta.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages, including punitive damages, as well as legal fees and expenses associated with the litigation.

Bowers on Tuesday called Waites a "rogue" public official whose actions were "simply outrageous."

The suit claims that Waites' pursuit of the Chrisleys had "more to do with securing publicity and money for his office than with enforcing the law."

Waites couldn't be reached for comment. But department spokesman William Gaston called the Chrisleys' suit "disappointing" and its allegations unfounded. "Our investigators are fair and impartial in their work with a commitment to ensuring compliance with the law," he said.

Bowers said Waites honed in on Campbell by attempting to enlist her in his efforts "to get dirt on her father" by sharing confidential information, often via text message, about an ongoing federal investigation of her parents' finances.

Bowers also said that after Waites began investigating the Chrisleys, revenue agents set up dart boards and punching bags with Todd Chrisley's face on them.

"Waites has been running a scheme which cannot be allowed to continue," the former attorney general said. " No public official in Georgia or anywhere else can be allowed to engage in this kind of conduct, especially one with police powers."

Bowers said the allegations against Waites are potentially criminal, but the Chrisleys are not pursuing criminal charges. "That would be up to the federal authorities," he said.

The former attorney general also said that if the Chrisleys' lawsuit is successful, the couple intends to donate any proceeds from a settlement or jury trial to the Institute of Justice in Washington, D.C. The nonprofit institute litigates on behalf of citizens whose constitutional rights have been compromised by government employees and elected officials.

The Department of Revenue dropped claims last month that the Chrisleys failed to pay nearly $2 million in state taxes between 2008 and 2016, according to the couple's Los Angeles spokesman.

The state determined the Chrisleys actually overpaid taxes in four of those years, owed no taxes for four others and had a net liability of less than $77,000 associated with an incorrect filing in 2009, according to a news release issued on the Chrisley's behalf and a copy of the settlement agreement obtained by The Daily Report. The Chrisleys paid just under $148,000 to settle the state claims.

"Julie and I knew all along that we had done nothing wrong and that when the facts all came out, we would be fine," Chrisley said in announcing the settlement. "We're just glad that the Department of Revenue was willing to keep an open mind and look at the evidence."

The Chrisleys, who lived in the north Atlanta suburbs when they first embarked on their reality television career in 2014, also are battling federal fraud and tax evasion charges that allegedly occurred over the same time period as Waites' investigation. They have entered not guilty pleas and are currently free on bail. The family now lives in Nashville.

Bowers and Anulewicz declined to comment on the criminal charges or whether they are tied to Waites' investigation.

But Bowers said at the news conference that Waites "worked with federal authorities" to obtain the Chrisleys' confidential federal income tax information that he later allegedly disclosed.

In text messages that Waites exchanged with Chrisley's daughter appended to the civil lawsuit, Waites referred to an Internal Revenue Service audit of the Chrisley's finances, said the federal government had subpoenaed the state for the Chrisleys' tax records and claimed federal agents were "going to Nashville to take everything of value" from their home.

The couple's Atlanta criminal defense lawyer, Bruce Morris, called the Chrisleys' settlement " a big step in the direction of proving their innocence."