Yvonne Wingett Sanchez

The Republic | azcentral.com

Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne is challenging the authority of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission to investigate him over alleged campaign-finance violations.

Horne filed a lawsuit last week arguing the commission does not have jurisdiction to investigate or sanction him because he is not using public funds for his reelection campaign. The commission administers the state's public campaign-finance system.

Horne's lawsuit contends any inquiries into Horne should first be reviewed by the Secretary of State, then referred to the Attorney General's Office, or through civil actions if the attorney general fails to act on a sworn complaint within 45 days.

Horne's complaint asks a judge to prevent the commission from "proceeding outside of its jurisdiction," and find that the commission isn't authorized to investigate candidates who do not rely on public funding.

The commission is investigating the allegations of a former Horne staffer, Sarah Beattie, who asserts Horne and his executive staff worked on his re-election campaign on state time. Beattie presented a sworn statement and documents to the commission and the Secretary of State. The information was also given to the FBI and Maricopa County Attorney's Office.

Horne has denied all wrongdoing. His lawsuit against the commission came the same day the commission sent Horne's office a four-page request for public records. That request asked for detailed information about Horne's operations, including Internet browsing history, employee work schedules and time entry records.

Thomas Collins, executive director of the commission, disagreed with the points laid out in Horne's complaint.

"The commission has spelled out its position on these legal issues and authorized the inquiry," he told The Arizona Republic. "The vote on the inquiry, as I've said, doesn't predict or prejudge what the facts are or what, if any further action is necessary" beyond an investigation into Horne, he added.

Besides, Collins said, the voter mandate that created Clean Elections gave the commission the authority to be an independent campaign enforcement agency.

"The statute is very plain," Collins said on Channel 8's public-affairs show "Horizon" Monday evening. "And if it wasn't plain enough, in 2004 the Supreme Court said the duty to do enforcement is a paramount duty that does not relate to public financing."

Horne, who has drawn a primary challenger, was not immediately available for comment.

The Legislature this spring passed a bill, which Gov. Jan Brewer signed, that removed the Clean Elections Commission from any say over alleged campaign violations by candidates running with private funding. Election-law attorneys speaking in favor of the bill said the commission never had such authority in the first place.

Collins has argued if the commission was as powerless as sponsors of the new legislation claimed, there was no need for the bill.

The Attorney General's Office has launched an internal investigation led by outside attorneys and donors to Tom Horne to determine whether Horne and his executive staff acted illegally to violate campaign-finance laws.

The office has hired criminal defense attorney David Derickson and John Kaites, a lobbyist, former state lawmaker and attorney, along with a private investigator and a computer-forensics expert to investigate Beattie's allegations.

The Attorney General's Office has said it will not make the investigation public, citing personnel rules.

Republic reporter Mary Jo Pitzl contributed to this report.