AG seeks hearing in corruption case

Former state Sen. Phil Griego charged

SANTA FE — With a judge finally on the case, the attorney general is asking a court to schedule a preliminary hearing in July for former state Sen. Phil Griego on the corruption charges filed against him by the AG.

In a motion filed this week, Attorney General Hector Balderas asked state District Judge Brett Loveless to schedule a preliminary hearing to begin July 5 and to set aside five days for it.

Griego’s lawyer, Tom Clark, said Thursday that he is fine with the date, which is likely to be discussed Monday at a brief court session in Albuquerque that Loveless has set for scheduling purposes.

A trial date would be set if Loveless determined after a preliminary hearing there was probable cause for the case against Griego to proceed to trial.

Griego, a Democrat from San Miguel County, is charged with 10 criminal counts — including bribery, fraud and perjury — related to allegedly using his position as a legislator to profit from a real estate deal. He pleaded not guilty.

Loveless, of Albuquerque, was assigned to the case in late April by state Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles Daniels after all nine judges in the Santa Fe-based 1st Judicial District were removed from it — eight because they stepped aside and the ninth by Griego’s request.

Balderas this week also filed a request that Loveless set a hearing in the dispute over whether the Legislature’s administrative arm must turn over records related to Griego, which the AG wants.

The Legislative Council Service has asked the judge to deny Balderas’ bid for the documents, saying the Legislature’s independence and integrity would be jeopardized.

The AG wants correspondence related to the drafting of the 2014 property sale legislation that’s at the heart of the case, as well as documents from a Senate ethics subcommittee that was looking into a complaint against Griego when he resigned in 2015.