IS HE RIPE FOR LAWSUIT? Secretary of State Mark Martins spending of public money on lawyers raises question.

  • IS HE RIPE FOR LAWSUIT? Secretary of State Mark Martin’s spending of public money on lawyers raises question.

The Arkansas Democratic Party follows up today on Blue Hog Report’s research that indicates 1) Mark Martin is the first secretary of state to rely on outside legal counsel (costing more than $100,000, on top of a staff full of lawyers) rather than the attorney general and 2) law seems to prohibit what Martin is doing.

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The full recitation is on the jump.

The immediate question is whether there’s a taxpayer suit to get the money back. Or, as Matt Campbell of Blue Hog has dared to hope, a vehicle to remove Martin from office. We noted here yesterday that Martin sent paying work to a lawyer who sits on a public board with Martin. Not that the payment would influence that board member’s vote come the day, but Martin has created a dandy appearance of conflict of interest on future contested votes.

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Will the Arkansas Republican Party, which rushed to repeat Lt. Gov. Mark Darr’s baloney claim about cuts in office spending, rush to repeat THIS news?

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