No criminal charges to be filed against former Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne
Dec 12, 2016, 11:55 AM
(AP Photo)
(AP Photo)
PHOENIX — A criminal investigation into possible campaign abuses by former Arizona Attorney General Tom Horne has been dropped.
The Arizona Capitol Times reported Monday that the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office said it was unlikely Horne would be convicted on 2014 felony charges of breaking campaign finance law.
Horne was accused of using his staff to work on his re-election campaign during work hours.
The one-time superintendent of the state’s public schools lost in the Republican primary to his eventual successor Mark Brnovich, who during the campaign said Horne had “created a culture of corruption within the attorney general’s office.”
Horne consistently denied the allegations made by former staff member Sarah Beattie.
Earlier this year, a state appeals court decided the 71-year-old had broken civil campaign finance law, when he and a volunteer worked together on a campaign ad in 2010.
The FBI had looked into the case.
The Canadian-born lawyer was ordered by the court to repay $400,000 to donors.
He held the office from 2011 to 2015.
