A.J. Salazar
A whistleblower whose lawyer has accused the attorney general of burying an investigation into allegations of wrongdoing against Secretary of State Mary Herrera says he doesn’t share his attorney’s sentiment and hopes that the back-and-forth that has ensued doesn’t distract from his allegations being thoroughly investigated.
“That was not a statement I made and it was not a sentiment I had expressed,” former state Elections Director A.J. Salazar said about his attorney’s allegations. “… I did not ask for that statement to be made to the media.”
Salazar said he had simply been trying – unsuccessfully – to get an update on the status of the investigation, months after he first went to Attorney General Gary King’s office with allegations of criminal activity in Herrera’s office. He said he just wants to know that his complaint is being thoroughly investigated.
Salazar resigned in March in a scathing letter in which he accused Herrera of violating the Governmental Conduct Act and election laws. Among his allegations is that Herrera ordered exempt employees to collect signatures for her re-election bid at a meeting held during work hours, that she was improperly soliciting donations from contractors doing business with the office to help fund a training, and that she retaliated against him after he tried to stop those potentially illegal actions.
Salazar’s attorney, Rudy Martin of Española, said the sentiment that King has buried the investigation is his, not Salazar’s.
“I accept full responsibility from any statements that were made,” Martin said in an interview.
Martin is also representing two current employees in Herrera’s office who have talked with the FBI about allegations of wrongdoing. Both employees are on leave.
AG spokesman lashes out at Salazar
Gary King
On Friday, Martin was quoted by The New Mexico Independent as saying that, after Salazar took his allegations to the AG’s office, “the two investigators did their job,” but then “Gary tried to play politics and swept everything under the rug” to help Herrera and other Democrats politically.
In response, Phil Sisneros, spokesman for King’s office, lashed out in a very personal way against Salazar in an interview with NMPolitics.net. He also said the office has an ongoing investigation into Salazar’s allegations, but hinted that the office may be having a difficult time corroborating Salazar’s claims.
Sisneros accused Martin and Salazar of playing election-year politics. Asked for details, Sisneros said it’s important to understand “a little background” on Salazar. He pointed out that Salazar has run unsuccessfully for district attorney in Santa Fe and, while Salazar was working for House Speaker Ben Lujan, Sisneros said Salazar “repeatedly asked Gary for a job at the Attorney General’s Office, which he didn’t get for reasons that I really don’t need to go into, but apparently Gary did not feel he met the criteria for an AGO attorney.”
He added that Salazar then worked in Herrera’s office “for a whopping two months, after which he left and made all the allegations that he’s made, and as far as we can tell I don’t know that he’s held a job as an attorney since then.”
Sisneros said there is “plenty of proof” that Salazar has “gone to work for and support” Herrera’s Republican opponent Dianna Duran. Asked for that proof, Sisneros said “we’ve heard that from political operatives all over the state.”
He also alleged that Salazar was involved with Republican Matt Chandler’s attempt to unseat King. Sisneros didn’t provide any direct evidence, but cited a previously unreleased poll conducted for the King campaign earlier this month that had Chandler behind by 19 points.
“That’s pretty desperate times for a candidate, and we feel that he’s just trying to throw up as much mud as he can,” Sisneros said. He suggested that NMPolitics.net should ask whether Chandler has promised Salazar a job if he’s elected.
Salazar says he’s ‘not involved in anyone’s campaign’
Salazar said in an interview with NMPolitics.net that he has not asked for or been promised a job by Chandler and hasn’t even met with Chandler or his campaign. He acknowledged that he won’t be voting for Herrera but said he’s “not involved in anyone’s campaign.”
“I’m trying to raise my family and trying to run my business,” Salazar said. “It’s sad that we have statements and accusations coming out like that from the representative of the Attorney General’s Office. If it wasn’t a political issue before, it certainly sounds like they’re making it into one right now.”
Salazar also said Sisneros – who he pointed out used to be a radio DJ in Albuquerque – needs to “do his homework before he makes statements like that.” He said he worked in Herrera’s office for 11 months, not two. And he said he is currently working as an attorney.
Salazar also said he was a prosecutor for 16 years in the Santa Fe district attorney’s office and in the attorney general’s office under King’s predecessor.
In an interview, Chandler called Sisneros’ statements an attempt to discredit Salazar and his allegations.
“Any insinuation that I’ve discussed a job with A.J. Salazar, offered A.J. Salazar a job, is ludicrous,” Chandler said. “… I have not met and have not personally spoken to his attorney and I have not talked with A.J. Salazar about a job… nor has he asked me about a position.”
Chandler said he has also not talked with Salazar “about details surrounding his resignation or anything of that nature.”
‘It’s not being swept under the rug’
The AG’s office usually won’t discuss ongoing investigations – or even confirm that they exist – but Sisneros said Salazar opened the door in this case.
“We did open a file as a result of his allegations,” Sisneros said. “… We took it seriously.”
He said investigators interviewed Salazar for about three hours to gather information and “have also done the same thing with the secretary of state’s office.”
“That’s kind of where it stands right now. We’re still looking into a lot of things that he talked to our investigators about,” Sisneros said. But, acknowledging that the investigation has taken months, he said, “Oftentimes when it takes a little bit longer I think experience tells me that we’re having a hard time corroborating things.”
“That’s neither here nor there,” Sisneros said, “but I think it should be pointed out that we are in fact looking at this and it’s ongoing. For him to be saying that it’s being swept under the rug is just mind-numbing to me.”
Sisneros said Salazar should not be alleging a cover up without evidence.
“If you’re going to make a charge like that then you’d better come back with some evidence, and I know that there isn’t any evidence because it’s not being swept under the rug,” he said. “It’s an active investigation.”
Sisneros said an update on the investigation wasn’t given to Salazar because the AG’s office doesn’t typically provide such updates to anyone. But Salazar said not communicating with witnesses to crimes could discourage them from coming forward. Such potential discouragement is exacerbated by Sisneros’ statements about him, he said.
“Whether I ran for district attorney, or whether I applied for jobs, what does that have to do with whether they’re going to do their job?” he asked. “I have not made any statements critical of Attorney General King. I have just asked what is the status.”
‘I did what I feel was my duty’
Salazar’s bottom line: “Secretary of State Mary Herrera and (Deputy Secretary of State) Francisco Trujillo have violated the law. … I did what I feel was my duty to do in reporting what I did when I left that office. I would do the same thing again.”
He said that should not be overshadowed by political attacks.
Martin said he believes Sisneros’ statements about Salazar back up his belief that King is doing nothing about Salazar’s allegations.
“I don’t know why Gary is so upset at all. Why they got personal doesn’t make any sense to me,” Martin said. “There’s a lot of issues out there that need to be taken care of and they’re not being taken care of.”