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AG thumbs his nose at contribution limits
Heath Haussamen
Attorney General Gary King’s latest outrageous action is accepting a campaign contribution of $15,000 less than a year after a law limiting donations to $5,000 – a law he supported – took effect.
Yes, you can slap your forehead now. The AG supported contribution limits with his words, but with his newest action, he’s attempting to circumvent the new law.
The cap of $5,000 per election (one each for a primary and general election) took effect Nov. 3, 2010. But King’s newest finance report, filed Tuesday, reveals that he accepted a $15,000 contribution from the New York law firm Bernstein Litowitz Berger and Grossmann on Sept. 22 of this year.
Here’s how King spokesman Phil Sisneros justified the donation:
“The contribution was for retirement of debt from the attorney general’s 2010 re-election campaign and subject to 2010 reporting requirements. As such, we are confident the contribution does not fall within the limits of the new law. And just so you know, the NY firm does not have any contracts with the AGO.”
No contracts with the AG. I feel so much better.
Not.
Watchdog says King broke the law
You see, the contribution limit law doesn’t state that it took effect upon completion of the 2010 election cycle, and it doesn’t state that it doesn’t apply to retiring campaign debt incurred before it took effect.
It states that it took effect on Nov. 3, 2010. Period. No ifs, ands or buts about it.
I’m not a lawyer, and maybe there’s some provision or court case elsewhere that King will use to justify accepting the contribution. But Steven Robert Allen, executive director of Common Cause New Mexico, came to the same conclusion I did. The Santa Fe New Mexican quoted him as saying there was no doubt the contribution violated the law.
“A contributor can’t give more than $5,000 to a statewide officeholder since this law went into effect. That means a statewide candidate since Nov. 3 of the last year can’t accept contributions in excess of $5,000, regardless of whether that’s to pay off a campaign debt,” Allen said.
The Secretary of State’s Office says it’s investigating. Fantastic. Dianna Duran will investigate whether her own lawyer broke the law.
This is almost as offensive as the time the guy who is charged with enforcing the state’s sunshine laws violated the Inspection of Public Records Act by refusing to release public records to someone who requested them.
Oh wait… That was also Gary King.
NM was supposed to be done with this era
New Mexico was supposed to be done with an era in which voters had to consider whether large contributions were affecting the decisions of their elected officials. King’s office even stated, in the fiscal impact report for the bill that eventually became the new contribution limit law, that “placing limits on political contributions is the most effective vehicle for addressing the current ‘pay to play’ scandals.”
Legalities aside, of all the statewide elected officials to not think about the appearance this donation would create, our top crime fighter, the man charged with rooting out corruption, the official who should be the most conscientious about leading by example on ethical issues, is doing the opposite.
After applying the $15,000 donation, King still has $248,000 in unpaid campaign debt, and it’s all money he loaned his own campaign. Following King’s logic, someone could write a check for almost a quarter of a million dollars, and it would be OK because it’s past debt from a different era when the size of donations wasn’t limited. And the money would pass through King’s campaign before going directly to him.
Would such a donor expect something in return, such as the AG’s office backing off a civil lawsuit or not indicting a corrupt public official?
Is it just me, or does anyone else find it offensive that our attorney general says the Inspection of Public Records Act doesn’t apply when it comes to a specific situation involving his office, and that the contribution-limit law doesn’t apply when it comes to a specific situation involving his campaign?
And because he’s the AG – the guy who interprets the law for other state agencies – we’re supposed to trust him on that, even when it defies logic?
I don’t think so. This is appalling.
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Heath,
I read your article and the law. BTW, thanks for posting the law to the article. This is appalling. I have a few questions, maybe you can answer.
1. What do you do when the AG breaks the law?
2. Can we, as citizens, really petition to set up a Grand Jury to review Gary King’s conduct?
3. What’s the penalty for breaking this law?
4. Why is a NY firm giving $15,000 to NM’s AG. I noticed the “spokesman” for King said he has no contract. There has to be some reason to play ball in NM for these guys to float Gary King $15,000.
wedum59, yes you are on Gary’s side with that interpretation of the law, but perhaps you should read what an author of the law has to say. From the SFNM:
“Steven Robert Allen, executive director of New Mexico Common Cause, a good-government organization, allied with King during a multiyear effort to enact limits on what contributors could give to political campaigns in New Mexico. The New Mexico Legislature passed the law in 2009 after years of New Mexico being one of a handful of U.S. states that didn’t restrict money going into political campaigns.
“When we worked on this law, the Attorney General’s Office worked on this with Common Cause,” Allen said. “We wanted this to cover both candidates before an election and public officials after an election. Common Cause’s intention was to put the limit on the amount of money that could be given by a private interest to an official decision-maker. That is why we have this law. If that isn’t the purpose of the law, then what’s the point?”"
justsayin:
Under the New Mexico Constitution, Article II, Section 14 which states in part: “A grand jury shall be convened upon order of a judge of a court empowered to try and determine cases of capital, felonious or infamous crimes at such times as to him shall be deemed necessary, or a grand jury shall be ordered to convene by such judge upon the filing of a petition there[of] signed by not less than the greater of two hundred registered voters or two percent of the registered voters of the county, or a grand jury may be convened in any additional manner as may be prescribed by law.”
Sorry but I think there is a loophole here. The contribution was applied to campaign debt for a campaign that occurred before the deadline.
However, I agree that King should have held himself to a higher standard. I think of Faramir’s statement to Frodo in the third volume of the Ring trilogy: “I would not take this thing, if it lay by the highway.” That’s a standard of honor and integrity I wish our attorney general would uphold.
JusticeP said “Therefore, it is time to address to whom a formal complaint needs to be presented so that once and for all King and his associates in lawlessness is mandated to answer for his wrongs. ”
There is a way, as I understand it, to have 100 citizens sign a petition for a grand jury? If so it is well past time. King has abused his power, he accepted contributions from vendors as in his infamous Pay to Sue scandal; his IPRA ethical lapse; his lunacy on filing the water suit; Bruce Mallot issue (signature fraud); and so on. It has to stop somewhere.
You have been caught again Gary King.
If anyone is interested in knowing more about Attorney General Gary King’s questionable activities please use the search box provided on http://www.nmpolitics.net by entering “Gary King”. There is a lot of information that readers, voters and Federal prosecutors can read.
The clock has been ticking for New Mexico Attorney General Gary King. The following news story provided in the link below is an example of King’s work, the comment section offers comments and other links that provide insight into King’s background and tenure as New Mexico Attorney General:
http://www.nmpolitics.net/index/2011/06/criticism-is-off-the-mark-ag-spokesman-says/
Become informed, decide for yourself.
Hemingway – of course you are worried about the Republican “corruption.” It has been people like you that have been in serious denial and have turned the other way when serious allegations come to the surface about any Democrat.
Look at all of the comments posted here. They see the work Heath has done to expose this nonsense. The scary part is that anyone that saw King’s campaign saw the low-quality commercials he produced along with the lackluster ground campaign. What the hell did he do with that much money?
Look, I’m obviously a Republican, and I have never liked Gary King. But the truth of the matter is he used his name to get elected – but aren’t there already two additional instances of this in our state?
I’ll cut to the chase – Heath has exposed some serious flaws in King’s judgement and ethical acumen. Take off your “political goggles” and get real and see what it really is at face value.
Interesting observation jimspiri. Since Gary is term limited (at least we can thank heavens for term limits in our corrupt state), will he roll that debt and any new contributions from “friendly” donors into his next campaign? Since he has been running for something all his life, what’s next? The question I have of the experts is, can he do that?
I’ll have to play the same old tune of corruption and self-serving agendas that plague NM politicians, and this goes for all sides. It’s like a never ending war on cockroaches, you think you’ve killed them, but they keep coming. In AG King’s case, he has been a big disappointment, and I doubt he has any future in politics.
Keep up the good work, Heath.
I would keep an eye on the $248,000 debt Gary King (and campaign) has and see who pays that bill. That should be the straw that will break the camels back.
Heath – thank you for all of the great work that you do in calling these ‘misguided’ politicians out. Unfortunately, when it comes to Gary King, nothing seems to help. Even when it’s an easy call (release of public records; holding other public servants accountable – Mary Herrera, Block Jr., Vigil-Giron…; campaign finance), he just can’t seem to get it right. And many, many GREAT public servants have suffered due to his ineffective (at best) and illegal (most likely) actions. To borrow from another frequent responder, TICK TOCK Gary King. Your time is coming – to an end, that is.
Heath: For some of us on this site that have been severely harmed by wrongful actions and deliberate lies of the Gary King attorney general’s office I find it extremely offensive that (our) the attorney general continues to act without regard to the law or ethics as you have detailed in this commentary.
Therefore, it is time to address to whom a formal complaint needs to be presented so that once and for all King and his associates in lawlessness is mandated to answer for his wrongs. As for me, I think the responses on this site and watchdog should address resolution of the issue. Find a cure for the disease.
Appalling indeed! But is anyone really surprised that this career legacy politician would blatantly violate state law and then have the grapefruits to then have his “flack,” a state employee, then go on record defending his campaign practices???
Then, look back the past two decades and ask yourself, has there ever been a time that Gary WASN’T campaigning for some office?
The most hilarious thing is that the SOS is “investigating” whether this is a violation. HINT: Step 1: Read the Law; Step 2: Look what Gary did; Step 3: INVESTIGATION COMPLETE.
This isn’t the first time ‘ol Gary will violate the law, logic and ethics, nor will it be the last. Maybe Gary will prosecute himself and give himself the sweet deal that he gave to Jerome Block!
Only in New Mexico…
According to a Bloomberg investigation, Koch Industries and their political action committee KOCHPAC gave $10,000 to Governor Susana Martinez. I am more worry about this corruption. Read the Bloomberg Report on Koch Brothers’ activities:
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-10-02/koch-brothers-flout-law-getting-richer-with-secret-iran-sales.html
So let me get this straight, our famous AG not only ignores corruption and is hyper-partisan about anything to do with his office and its’ functioning, but he also ignores the laws??? I have to ask why we have no recall laws for all elected politicians, otherwise we have another Block Jr. on our hands don’t we?
For as long as there have been laws, fully half of its most ardent participants have been trying to figure out ways to get around them. What we are left with is the lowest standards of conduct that civilized people will defend. Think of all the evil that the law allows before we finally say, enough.
Those who hold the public trust have to be held to higher standards of conduct than the law. “The law” is inadequate to the need. The temptations that accompany power and resources are more powerful than “the law’s” ability to combat them. There needs to be higher standards of conduct and competence for public servants than for the rest of us; we aren’t holding the public’s trust and treasure.
It begins with a civil discourse on the standards and accountability that apply to politicians, public servants and anyone else whom we must “trust” with the spending of our power and our resources.
It ends with then holding politicians and public servants honestly accountable to meaningful standards of conduct and competence within their public service, under systems over which they have no undue influence, and powerful enough to hold them accountable, even against their will.