Other LanguagesOLYMPIA – Attorney General Rob McKenna issued the following statement today regarding the cases involving the Voters Education Committee and Public Disclosure Commission pending in the King County Superior Court:
“It is the responsibility of the Office of Attorney General to represent each and every agency in state government, including the state Public Disclosure Commission when they determine enforcement action is necessary.
“In these important cases, we are representing the PDC in the effort to ensure that political activities by groups like the Voters Education Committee are conducted with full public disclosure. I strongly believe that the public has a right to know who is funding political advertising.
“Senior Assistant Attorney General Linda Dalton, lead enforcement counsel in our office for the PDC, has handled this case in an exceptional manner since it was referred to the AGO last year.
“Earlier this year, as the new Attorney General, I participated in a review of how this case would be handled by our office. At that time, we determined that the standard procedure for cases such as these, requiring the lead attorney to consult as appropriate with the supervising Deputy Attorney General and provide me periodic updates, was, in this instance, both appropriate and consistent with precedents set by previous Attorneys General.”
“Upon receiving the letter released today by Stritmatter Kessler Whelan Whithey Coluccio, our office reviewed that decision. After consulting with ethics experts both within and outside our office, at this time we see nothing whatsoever to justify my recusal.”
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