Former Attorney General Tom Horne won’t face criminal charges in connection with his alleged use of state employees in his unsuccessful 2014 re-election campaign.
A spokeswoman for Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery confirmed Friday that the office has dropped the probe it began more than a year ago.
“We determined there was no reasonable likelihood of conviction on felony charges,” said Amanda Jacinto. “And it was past the statute of limitations for misdemeanor charges.”
“We are pleased that the county attorney decided to drop these baseless charges,” said Dennis Wilenchik, Horne’s attorney. “They must have concluded this was not a winnable case based on all the evidence that we have seen and are aware of.”
The decision marks the second inquiry into Horne’s conduct that is now closed. He previously agreed to pay $10,000 out of his own pocket to settle claims by the Citizens Clean Elections Commission that he used more than $300,000 worth of state employee time and rent in the campaign.
But Horne still could face legal problems from a third investigation into the same campaign that remains outstanding.
That is based on the findings by the secretary of state’s office that workers at Horne’s office “were not volunteering but instead were being compensation by the state of Arizona while conducting campaign activities for Mr. Horne.” That includes the use of state computers to prepare campaign finance materials on state time.
Those allegations were farmed out by the attorney general’s office to Daniel Barker, a retired Court of Appeals judge, and Gilbert City Attorney Michael Hamblin, because it was current Attorney General Mark Brnovich who defeated Horne in the 2014 Republican primary and then went on to win the general election.
All three probes revolve around the same allegations by Sarah Beattie, a staffer in Horne’s office, that she worked on his re-election bid while on state time and used state resources. Beattie also said she observed others doing similar work.
Horne has repeatedly denied the charges.
