LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) - The Arkansas Ethics Commission on Tuesday refused to dismiss a complaint against Republican state Treasurer Dennis Milligan that alleges more than a dozen ethics and campaign finance violations.
The complaint was filed by Little Rock attorney and liberal blogger Matt Campbell last year. Some of the allegations include that Milligan misused public resources while in his previous office as Saline County circuit clerk and that he hired the spouses of two state legislators without proper approval.
The panel first met behind closed doors for more than an hour, where they heard from staff members about the results of their investigation into the complaint. After the commission came out of executive session, no member made a motion to dismiss the complaint, meaning it remains unresolved.
The commission’s executive director, Graham Sloan, said after the meeting that he could not discuss what the commission talks about during an executive session. Sloan said that, in general, if a complaint isn’t dismissed, the next step for the commission is to send a settlement letter stating what probable cause and sanctions it finds appropriate.
He said sanctions can range from a caution to a reprimand and can include fines from $50 to $2,000. He said if someone were to reject the settlement, the commission would hold a hearing to listen to evidence before taking a final action.
Campbell arrived a little after the probable cause hearing started, but was allowed in for the confidential proceedings. He said afterward that the commission staff did not find probable cause in about 11 portions of the allegations.
“There were either four or five where they argued they had found probable cause, but ultimately it’s up to the commission,” Campbell said.
Staff said another four or five portions of the complaint “could go either way,” according to Campbell. He said staff felt the strongest complaints involved Milligan using either staff or resources while he was county circuit clerk to run for treasurer and the allegation that he had misreported an expenditure reimbursing his unpaid campaign manager for work he did on Facebook.
Milligan’s attorney Byron Freeland said he didn’t think it was appropriate to comment before the commission had made a decision.
“I don’t think it’s appropriate to come out of a confidential meeting and make comments,” he said as he left the commission’s office.
Campbell previously filed an ethics complaint against former Lt. Gov. Mark Darr over campaign finance related issues that resulted in multiple findings, $11,000 in fines and Darr’s eventual resignation.
Campbell said if the commission did not find probable cause, that would show more about the hurdle to prove probable cause than about the veracity of his complaint.
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