Tornado Alley (PROG)

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Cuccinelli: No conflict for AG's office to preside over election

BY JIM NOLAN
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Posted: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 11:37 am | Updated: 1:13 pm, Wed Oct 23, 2013.

This summer, state Sen. John S. Edwards, D-Roanoke, asked Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli whether it is a conflict of interest for Cuccinelli and his office to preside over an election in which he is a candidate.

He wanted to know whether that conflict required Cuccinelli to recuse his office from prosecuting any violations of election law.

On Friday, Edwards received his answer -- no.

"It is my opinion that there is no inherent conflict of interest presented, and thus, no per se requirement that the Office of the Attorney General recuse from investigating and prosecuting alleged violations of election law, when the Attorney General is a candidate for public office in the same election that is under investigation," Cuccinelli wrote in a five-page legal opinion, posted to the Attorney General's website today [ http://www.oag.state.va.us/Opinions%20and%20Legal%20Resources/OPINIONS/2013opns/13-065%20Edwards.pdf , via http://www.oag.state.va.us/Opinions%20and%20Legal%20Resources/OPINIONS/2013opns/October13opndx.html , via http://www.oag.state.va.us/Opinions%20and%20Legal%20Resources/OPINIONS/2013opns/index.html , via http://www.oag.state.va.us/Opinions%20and%20Legal%20Resources/OPINIONS/index.html , via http://www.oag.state.va.us/Opinions%20and%20Legal%20Resources/index.html , via http://www.oag.state.va.us/ ].

"It is further my opinion that any potential recusal of that office must be determined on a case-by-case basis."

In the opinion Cuccinelli notes that the law gives the governor the authority to appoint special counsel if it is deemed necessary to handle elections prosecutions, and also give the attorney general the authority to appoint outside counsel should a conflct develop.

"The General Assembly has provided adequate alternatives for the commonwealth's legal representation," the opinion states.

"...There is no legal or ethical requirement that a sitting Attorney General who is on the ballot for an election disqualify himself or his Office from performing all of the Office's statutory responsiblities."

Edwards' request was an extension of a position maintained by Democrats in the campaign -- that by remaining in office while running for governor, Cuccinelli compromised not only his ability to serve but invited conflicts between his official responsibilities and his political interests.

The previous six attorneys general who ran for governor of Virginia all resigned their office before their terms expired to seek the Executive Mansion. Cuccinelli has said he would stay in office to fulfill his promise to voters to serve his full term.

When Edwards filed his request in July, Attorney General's spokesman Brian Gottstein said presiding over an election investigation while serving as a candidate is not unprecedented.

"The same thing happens when election law issues come up in commonwealth's attorneys' own election races," he wrote in an email response. "A sitting commonwealth's attorney may recuse himself and have the matter referred to a commonwealth's attorney from another jurisdiction."

Gottstein also noted that local commonwealth's attorneys share authority over election law enforcement in Virginia and can proceed at their own discretion without approval from the attorney general's office.

Gottstein on Wednesday reiterated what he said in July: "It’s the attorney general’s position that he would recuse himself from investigating any alleged election violations in the governor’s race."

© Copyright 2013, Richmond Times-Dispatch, Richmond, VA

http://www.timesdispatch.com/news/latest-news/cuccinelli-no-conflict-for-ag-s-office-to-preside-over/article_0f3cde5c-3bf9-11e3-a2fc-0019bb30f31a.html [with comments]


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Rushed Virginia voter purge meets resistance

The Rachel Maddow Show
October 24, 2013

Lawrence Haake, General Registrar for Chesterfield County, Virginia, talks with Rachel Maddow about why he's resisting purging voters from voter rolls.

© 2013 NBCNews.com

http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/53369337 / http://video.msnbc.msn.com/rachel-maddow/53369337/#53369337 [show links at http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/links-the-1024 (with comment)]


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