Attorney General Gary King (Photo by Heath Haussamen)
Attorney General Gary King will “publicly address his critics’ concerns very soon,” his spokesman says, adding that criticism of King is off the mark and “based on obvious misinformation.”
“And yes, these lies are hurtful to me,” King spokesman Phil Sisneros wrote this morning on the Attorney General’s Office blog. “Not just because I work for the Attorney General, but because I know the person he is and the real dedication he has for serving the people of New Mexico.”
Sisneros didn’t go into specifics, leaving that for King to do at a later date.
As I wrote on Monday, The Santa Fe New Mexican wrote in an editorial that King has lately been “dragging his public trust to political depths previously unplumbed” and should consider “recusing himself from office.”
The newspaper says nobody is “so naive as to think the position of New Mexico attorney general is above politics,” but King’s recent actions go beyond what’s reasonable and are “certainly beneath his once-praiseworthy self.”
The criticism comes from a newspaper that, a few months ago, endorsed King in his re-election battle, writing that, “When it comes to competence and honesty, few of our state’s public servants can match Attorney General Gary King.”
Recent situations have changed the minds of those who control the paper’s editorial page.
King has long faced criticism
King has long faced criticism that he’s soft on corruption and maybe even covering up for fellow Democrats. He’s responded to specific allegations on the AG’s blog and guest columns published on this site and elsewhere, but the criticism persists.
Sisneros even claimed recently, in a blog posting, that “No other NM Attorney General has ever been this involved in prosecuting corruption and investment fraud.”
In today’s blog posting, Sisneros, a former radio personality, had harsh words for some in the media. He wrote that he “made a living for many years making fun of and criticizing politicians, most of it was just for laughs. My personal guideline though, was to try hard not to attack a person’s character. Unfortunately, sometimes I went too far and immediately regretted what I said and I apologized.”
“Some in today’s media are a different sort,” he wrote. “Innuendo, outright lies, and personal or corporate agendas serve as ‘news’ and ‘commentary.’ Individuals are publicly sliced and diced and ripped apart as if the ‘commentary or opinion’ were some sort of perverted macabre blood sport. There seems to be an increasingly pervasive media attitude that growls, ‘Yeah, we ripped him good! Who else can we shred?’”
King will “publicly address his critics’ concerns very soon,” Sisneros wrote.
“He’ll talk about what really has happened in the Vigil-Giron case, including the truth about alleged conflicts; he will discuss the AGO’s involvement in the so-called whistleblower Foy case and alleged conflicts; and to the extent allowed, anything else anyone interested in the truth wants to know,” Sisneros wrote.
“I am curious to see if those with the loudest mouths about their own twisted perceptions will be interested in the rest of the story,” he wrote.