By Yvonne Wingett Sanchez | The Arizona Republic
As the campaign-finance allegations against Attorney General Tom Horne hang in legal limbo, documents obtained by The Arizona Republic offer insights into the case Horne and his co-defendant would make if it goes to court.
An attorney representing Kathleen Winn, Horne’s director of community outreach, argues in the documents that allegations the two illegally coordinated campaign efforts are based on speculation. Attorney Timothy La Sota also questions investigators’ tactics, revealing they not only continued to tail Horne more than a year after the alleged violation, but also followed Winn’s attorney, Larry Debus.
Investigators’ techniques “raise questions of bias and political motives and taint this entire investigation,” La Sota wrote in a letter to the Secretary of State’s Office.
“Despite all the resources poured into this investigation, all the interviews and surveillance … the FBI and Maricopa County Attorney’s Office have speculation and conjecture, but not hard evidence,” he wrote.
Horne and Winn last year were accused of unlawfully coordinating campaign spending during the 2010 election, when Horne was the Republican candidate for attorney general and Winn was chairwoman of Business Leaders for Arizona, an independent-expenditure committee. Both have denied wrongdoing.
