The call for Arizona’s Attorney General Tom Horne to resign began with state Senator Steve Gallardo. The calls are increasing and now at least one editor is calling for Horne’s impeachment.
Few people listen to Gallardo, known for his flame throwing rhetoric designed to divide, but over time, serious people are getting serious about Horne’s thorny legal situation.
The editor for the blog TucsonCitizen.com, Mark Evans, addressed the “reprehensible behavior of Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne, as revealed in thousands of pages of FBI investigative documents and several media reports,” in an oped this past week.
Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery initiated a civil enforcement action against Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne and Kathleen Winn, General Director of Community Outreach for the Attorney General’s Office, for alleged campaign finance violations committed during the 2010 election cycle.
The 11 month-long FBI investigation uncovered evidence of a hit-and-run incident, which occurred while he was being followed by FBI agents, and involved his reported lover.
Montgomery said, “The conduct in question is expressly prohibited by Arizona’s election laws and we will work to hold those responsible accountable.”
According to the results of the FBI’s investigation, Horne actively directed BLA’s fundraising and communications strategy with Winn in the final weeks of his 2010 campaign for Attorney General. During this time period, BLA raised more than $500,000 from the Republican State Leadership Committee and individual donors which paid for television advertisements advocating against Felicia Rotellini, Horne’s Democrat opponent.
State campaign-finance records show her committee raised large contributions in late October 2010 as Horne and Rotellini were running neck and neck, according to the Arizona Republic. The committee, headquartered at Winn’s Mesa address, raised $512,500 in nine days to fund anti-Rotellini TV ads through Nathan Sproul’s company, Lincoln Strategy Group. Sproul was fired by the NRCC last week due to accusations of voter fraud.
After reviewing the investigation, Secretary of State Ken Bennett determined there was reasonable cause to believe Horne and Winn’s actions violated civil statutes governing independent expenditures, and directed the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office to initiate an enforcement action pursuant to its statutory authority. The County Attorney intends to issue an order requiring compliance by BLA and the Tom Horne for Attorney General campaign committee, followed by an order assessing a civil penalty. The penalty for violating A.R.S. § 16-917 is three times the cost of the literature or advertisement that was distributed.
The investigation into Horne’s actions began with a complaint by former Horne employee, Don Dybus. While working for the Attorney General’s Office, Dybus worked to raise funds for Horne through unorthodoxed methods and avenues. Dybus was later fired by Horne and became a whistle blower.
Evans writes, “Horne’s behavior has been so dishonorable that waiting for him to do the honorable thing and resign seems futile. He should either be recalled or impeached. Recall will take at least a year and an enormous amount of money. Impeachment can happen now and would cost far less.”
Evans concludes, “Horne’s actions are far worse than anything impeached former Gov. Ev Mecham ever did. Horne should be impeached without further delay.”