WA State Bar Association will defer investigation into allegations of misconduct against AG

The Washington State Bar Association said Wednesday that it will postpone an investigation into allegations of misconduct by state Attorney General Bob Ferguson until after the election season.

The grievance, filed in May by Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Mullet, alleges that Ferguson, who is also running for governor, violated the Rules of Professional Conduct by engaging in a direct conflict of interest in an interaction with Secretary of State Steve Hobbs. Ferguson asked the Secretary to reorder candidates on the primary ballot after two other candidates named Bob Ferguson joined the gubernatorial race.

Those two candidates, who were recruited by conservative activist Glen Morgan to file, have since dropped their bids following threats of legal action by Ferguson.

Washington state law says that a person can be guilty of a class B felony for filing for public office using “a surname similar to one who has already filed for the same office, and whose political reputation is widely known, with intent to confuse and mislead the electors by capitalizing on the public reputation of the candidate who had previously filed.”

Mullet, who is now a state Senator, asked the WSBA to reconsider their decision to defer the investigation in a letter sent Thursday to the association. Mullet argues that the public has the right to know the outcome of the investigation so they are able to make more informed decisions regarding a candidate on the ballot.

“Fair and transparent elections are core principles of our democracy that notably have been tested in recent years,” Mullet wrote to the association. “Arguably, deferring this matter would have the effect of endangering the public should they be denied information that a candidate they voted for had violated the Rules of Professional Conduct to gain an unfair election advantage.”

In a statement to McClatchy, Mullet said Ferguson “clearly asked the Washington Office of the Secretary of State to break the law.”

But Ferguson’s campaign pushed back on Mullet’s assertions.

In a statement to the WSBA Thursday, Ferguson noted that the complaint to the WSBA was filed by a rival candidate and argued that the requested steps to the Secretary of State fell under the broad authority of the agency to mitigate confusion for voters.

Ferguson also argued that if the other Bob Fergusons had not withdrawn, “Secretary Hobbs and our courts were the only institutions preventing tens of thousands of Washingtonians from voting for the wrong candidate.”

Had the other Bob Fergusons not dropped out of the race, AG Ferguson would have appeared after both of those candidates in the 13th slot on the gubernatorial ballot.

While Hobbs agreed to list the occupation of each of the Bob Fergusons, an authority granted under state law, he did not agree to reorder the names on the ballot, the Secretary told the Washington State Standard in May. He said he was surprised the AG had asked him in a phone call to do something he “clearly” could not do because it was against the law.

Ferguson told the WSBA in his letter that he does not surrender his rights as a gubernatorial candidate because of his role as AG.

“That includes the right that any candidate has to petition the Secretary of State to take actions to preserve fair elections,” he said.

Ferguson finished his letter to the association by saying the complaint was only filed by Mullet to “generate headlines.”

“In that sense, it has been successful. It has no merit, however, as a legitimate complaint,” Ferguson said. “Please resolve this frivolous complaint immediately. I hope you do not delay in your response, and do not wait to resolve this matter until after the election. Frivolous complaints like this should be disregarded and dismissed immediately.”

The Washington Supreme Court’s Rules for Enforcement of Lawyer Conduct governs the grievance process, the WSBA noted in their letter Wednesday.

“If, as a result of an investigation and a formal proceeding, Ferguson is found to have violated the Washington Supreme Court’s Rules of Professional Conduct, either the Disciplinary Board or the Washington Supreme Court could sanction Ferguson,” the WSBA letter read.

A spokesperson for the WSBA told McClatchy that they had no comment at this time.