AG Steve Marshall investigates Alabama lawmakers’ campaign finances

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campaign finance

The Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall‘s office is investigating the campaign finances of several current and former state lawmakers, according to AL.com’s Kyle Whitmire.

This week current and former Alabama lawmakers have received subpoenas from the AG’s office asking them to produce documentation verifying the campaign finance reports they’ve filed in the past are accurate.

The investigation comes on the heels of several lawmakers being found guilty of misusing campaign accounts. Including Decatur-Republican and former State Rep. Micky Hamon. In September, Hamon plead guilty on felony charges Monday to devising a scheme to commit mail fraud involving his campaign funds. As a result of pleading guilty to a felony, Hammon was automatically removed from his House seat.

According to court documents, Hammon, who had represented the 4th district in the Alabama House since 2002, used campaign money to pay his own personal expenses as part of the scheme.

Hammon wasn’t the only lawmaker who spurred the investigation. Former state Rep. Oliver Robinson, who also pleaded guilty last September for bribery, four counts of fraud and tax evasion.

Under Alabama law, candidates are are split into two groups: those who have reached the $1,000 threshold and those who have not. Those who have not reached that threshold are not required to file any campaign finance reports until they reach the threshold. Candidates who have exceeded the $1,000 threshold must report all contributions from a single source and all expenditures to a single recipient greater than $100.

Up until now, the state has not looked into whether or not officials are itemizing their expenses greater than $100.

According to AL.com Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill confirmed that his office has been assisting a state investigation of lawmakers’ campaign accounts.

“They have contacted us over a period of months for information to help them in an investigation of expenditures they wanted more information on,” Merrill said.

The Attorney General’s office has a standing policy to not comment on ongoing investigations.