Cowboys for Trump co-founder charged with campaign violation
Source: Associated Press
Cowboys for Trump co-founder charged with campaign violation
March 18, 2022
SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — A New Mexico elected official was charged Friday with a misdemeanor campaign finance violation for refusing to register his political group Cowboys for Trump, the state’s attorney general announced.
Couy Griffin, a Republican county commissioner from Tularosa in southern New Mexico, has been facing off with state election regulators for more than a year over whether he needs to register the group as a political committee. Griffin expressed concern that registering may lead to other disclosure requirements about contributions and spending and in 2020 sued the New Mexico secretary of state after she insisted the group must register.
A federal appeals court last month rejected his arguments, upholding a lower court ruling that the reporting requirement is valid. Attorney General Hector Balderas said Friday that leaves Griffin out of compliance with court orders to register the group.
“We live in a nation that ensures that no elected official is above the law,” Balderas, a Democrat, said in a statement. “Citizens have the right to expect reporting and disclosure transparency from all elected officials.”
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/new-mexico-gun-politics-hector-balderas-da89079ad18010293c03fd131de2af98
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