In suit reply, attorney general denies abusing office

A month-old lawsuit accusing Arkansas Attorney General Leslie Rutledge of using her office to pursue her own interests has no evidence to support it, has no foundation in law and should be thrown out, her lawyers stated in response to the litigation.

Eight Arkansas residents claim in the suit that Rutledge, the state's first female and first Republican elected attorney general, has used her position to promote her political interests over what is best for Arkansas residents, misspending public money to do so.

They are calling on Pulaski County Circuit Judge Alice Gray to order Rutledge to stop exceeding her authority and deem the money that Rutledge has spent to be an illegal exaction of tax dollars that Rutledge must personally pay back.

Rutledge's response, a motion to dismiss filed Thursday, calls the lawsuit illogical, filed only because the plaintiffs don't like her politics and how she does her job. If they were correct, no attorney general could ever get anything done, Assistant Attorney General Michael Mosley wrote in the dismissal motion and brief.

Read more: https://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2021/feb/13/in-suit-reply-ag-denies-abusing-office/?news-arkansas