Lobbyist’s messages probed, rep says
Investigation stems from House’s ouster of Shooter
The county’s top prosecutor is investigating whether a lobbyist sent “unsolicited, sexually explicit communications” to undisclosed figures at the state Capitol, a Republican lawmaker told The Arizona Republic on Thursday. Rep. Anthony Kern, a Glendale Republican, said Maricopa County Attorney Bill Montgomery told him and two other Republican lawmakers on Friday that he is moving forward with an investigation stemming from the Arizona House of Representatives’ sexual-harassment probe.
That investigation, which led to the February ousting of then-Rep. Don Shooter, concluded, among other things, that a lobbyist, Brian Townsend, sent sexually explicit communications that might have broken the law.
Kern, who had asked law-enforcement officials to evaluate whether the
report revealed any criminal activity, said the meeting with Montgomery took place at the County Attorney’s Office in downtown Phoenix. Reps. Maria Syms, of Paradise Valley, and Regina Cobb, of Kingman, also attended, he said.
Montgomery’s office does not confirm or deny investigations, and spokeswoman Amanda Jacinto reiterated that longstanding practice Thursday.
In November, the House of Representatives hired attorneys Craig Morgan and Lindsay Hesketh as part of a broad probe of sexual-harassment allegations at the state Capitol. The three-month investigation found “credible evidence“that Shooter, a onetime powerful lawmaker, had behaved inappropriately toward women.
Days after it was made public, Shooter’s colleagues expelled him from office in a dramatic floor vote, making him the first state lawmaker in the nation to be expelled for sexual harassment in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
But Shooter’s wasn’t the only conduct questioned in the investigation.
The probe revealed that Townsend, then a lobbyist and a longtime Capitol insider, engaged in inappropriate conduct that “involved unsolicited, sexually explicit communications.” Investigators described the communications as “unwelcome,” “harassing” and “offensive,” and characterized Townsend’s conduct as “potentially unlawful.”
The report does not say to whom Townsend sent the explicit communications or what they involved.
At the time of the report, Townsend was identified by investigators as the fiance of Rep. Michelle Ugenti-Rita, of Scottsdale. Investigators concluded there was no “independent, credible evidence” that Ugenti-Rita had violated the House’s harassment policy.
Townsend and Ugenti-Rita have not talked publicly about investigators’ findings. They did not return The Republic’s calls Thursday about Montgomery’s meeting with the lawmakers.
In light of the investigative findings, Kern had asked law-enforcement officials to determine if “unlawful act(s) were committed under the ‘revenge porn’ statute ... or any related criminal statutes, and file charges if necessary.”
The “revenge porn” law makes it a felony for people to intentionally share a sexual photo or video of another person without permission and with the intent to harm, harass or intimidate.
“My intent is to get that investigated, not to go after anybody else, but if it leads to other actions, so be it,” Kern said Thursday. “According to that report, there is a possible criminal act, and we are leaders of the state, and we should be investigating.”
Separately, Kern said he will attempt — as chairman of the Joint Legislative Audit Committee — to subpoena all evidence compiled by the attorneys who conducted the harassment investigation. He said he would like the House Ethics Committee to subpoena the records, and that he and other lawmakers are evaluating processes for doing so.
House Speaker J.D. Mesnard has refused to release all records compiled by investigators as part of the probe. Mesnard has repeatedly said that he was withholding the records to protect the privacy of victims who spoke to investigators on the condition that their names be withheld.
“If we have to look at getting an attorney, then we’re going to see if there are some pro bono attorneys out there that can do this,” Kern said.
Yvonne Wingett Sanchez is The Arizona Republic and azcentral.com’s Governor’s Office and state political reporter. Email her at yvonne.wingett @arizonarepublic.com.
“My intent is to get that investigated, not to go after anybody else, but if it leads to other actions, so be it. According to that report, there is a possible criminal act, and we are leaders of the state, and we should be investigating.” Rep. Anthony Kern