Federal judge sends 'dark money' case back to state court

Jul. 19—A top federal judge in New Mexico found no basis on Friday to hear a lawsuit in federal court alleging that a "dark money" political group is violating state campaign finance laws, including refusing to divulge its donors.

Noting the issue was "time sensitive," U.S. Chief District Judge William Johnson of Albuquerque followed up with a written order late Friday afternoon to send the case filed by the state Ethics Commission back to state district court in Albuquerque.

"This is a state law case ... that belongs in state court," he wrote.

The independent Ethics Commission sued the nonprofit group, The New Mexico Project, and its president Jeff Apodaca on May 24 for allegedly violating the state Campaign Finance Act in the run-up to the June 4 New Mexico primary election.

The lawsuit states the group has refused to register as a political committee with the Secretary of State's office and hasn't filed public reports of its donors or its political campaign contributions as required by law.

Apodaca's lawyers removed the case to federal court last month, contending there were constitutional issues involving the First Amendment that warranted the case being heard by a federal judge. The ethics commission disagreed and asked Johnson to reverse that action on Friday and award it attorneys' fees and costs.

Johnson agreed to award attorneys' fees and costs, his ruling stated, "because the ... removal here was patently unreasonable." The amount that Apodaca and his political group will have to pay will be determined in August.

The Ethics Commission contends voters need to know who is financing campaign ads backing certain candidates. But as the general election season approaches, it's unclear when a hearing on the merits of the case will occur.

The Ethics Commission says the lawsuit seeks "to stop defendants' ongoing efforts to frustrate the public's right to know."

Apodaca, the son of former New Mexico Gov. Jerry Apodaca, wasn't present in the courtroom Friday for the hearing. His attorney, A. Blair Dunn, said his client was out of state .

The New Mexico Project's website contends that it backs New Mexico moderates and pro-business candidates, and "aims to empower the moderate Latino electorate and ensure their voices are heard at every level of governance."

The commission contends that Apodaca has publicly stated that the New Mexico Project received "close to $1 million" in contributions. The group endorsed candidates in 15 state legislative races in the primary election.

Apodaca, a former media executive, ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2018.