AG Tom Horne again found to have violated law, must return $400,000 in campaign contributions

For the second time, a prosecutor has found that liberal Republican Tom Horne violated campaign finance laws by illegally coordinating with crony Kathleen Winn on her independent expenditure committee. Both Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery and Yavapai County Attorney Sheila Polk found the independent expenditures were illegally made in-kind contributions. Polk wrote in part, "\“When Home sent strategic information to a supposedly independent campaign, he intentionally and blatantly broke the barrier that was supposed to exist between his campaign and BLA. The breach is so clear that Home must have recognized it to be improper,” Polk wrote, adding that it “is clear that BLA’s expenditures were based on the needs of the Horne campaign.”

Horne defeated conservative Andrew Thomas for Attorney General in 2010 and then Democrat Felecia Rotellini in the general election. Horne campaigned running nonstop TV ads which claimed that Thomas was under "criminal investigation by the FBI." All he was referring to was the county supervisors' complaints to the DOJ about Thomas and Arpaio. Thomas and Arpaio were ultimately cleared by the DOJ through a grand jury.

Horne, on the other hand, continues to be mired in investigations that aren't going away. The feds are investigating him and he recently pled guilty to a misdemeanor for a hit and run accident, where he slammed into a car while leaving his mistress's house (Horne is married). There may be some more ongoing investigations into that.

Meanwhile, conservative Mark Brnovich is gaining steam against Horne. Inside polling reveals that Horne cannot beat Rotellini in the general election, and conservatives and Tea Parties are lining up behind Brnovich.

Read the ABC-15 article