Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has fired back at a former employee who claimed Horne has staffers working for his reelection campaign on state time.
In a formal response, Horne says Sarah Beattie’s claim that the campaign is being run out of the Attorney General’s office is baseless. Horne writes, “If that were true, there would be no reason for the numerous off-site meetings confirmed by an independent witness.”
He says Beattie failed to disclose relevant information on her job application that would have kept her from being hired. However, Beattie’s attorney Tom Ryan says Horne’s denials don’t hold up.
“Does he respond to all the data and metadata that’s in there? No,” Ryan said. “He wants to engage in an attack and distract strategy. The idea is distract Sarah Beattie and distract from the real story.”
It’s now up to the Secretary of State’s office and the Clean Elections Commission to review the complaint against Horne, which has also been filed with the Maricopa County Attorney and the FBI.