Did AG Horne steal the election?

The big story is Arizona today is the finding by Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery that Arizona Attorney General (Republican) Tom Horne - the state's top law enforcement official - broke campaign-finance laws during his 2010 bid for office.

His opponent, (Democrat) Felicia Rotellini, who lost to Horne by a few percentage points, issued this statement:

"The 2010 attorney general's race was decided by precious few votes.  While there's no way of knowing if that election might have ended differently without the boost provided by TV ads paid for with hundreds of thousands of dollars in illegal donations, I do know this: Tom Horne stands accused of breaking the law, as determined by an FBI investigation and the Republican Maricopa County attorney.  The attorney general will have his day in court, as he should.  But the fact that Tom Horne needs to have a day in court is shameful.

"An attorney general accused of breaking the law by his fellow law-enforcement officials undermines the credibility of the AG's office and hurts the state of Arizona.  This goes well beyond politics.  It goes directly to the core attribute of the job: the ability to prosecute wrongdoers on behalf of the people of Arizona.

"You can't stand accused of breaking the law and meanwhile defend the law.  Attorney General Horne should be as ashamed of his alleged conduct as we, the people of Arizona, are disappointed in it.

"Let me also say this: As a career prosecutor, I know how hard resources are to come by in a world where you're faced with investigating and prosecuting homicides, rapes and massive fraud.

"I very much appreciate the work and diligence of the FBI and the Maricopa Attorney's Office and the courage of all the witnesses that came forward in this case.  Again, they've proven that no one in Arizona is above the law."

For much more on this story, see today's Arizona Republic or go to azcentral.com

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