Nevada's attorney general said Tuesday there's no basis for a claim by the state's lieutenant governor that she should be disqualified from prosecuting him on charges that he mishandled a multibillion-dollar state college savings program.
Asked to respond to the claim in a motion filed by Lt. Gov. Brian Krolicki, a spokeswoman for Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto said that what Krolicki's lawyers see as a conflict for Masto is something that courts have allowed for attorneys general across the country.
"We don't believe we have a conflict," added Masto spokeswoman Edie Cartwright. "We will file our opposition to the motion (by Krolicki) and we will litigate this in court if we need to."
"We have primary jurisdiction under state law to represent the executive department of government and the agencies, and in the event there is a prosecution that needs to happen, that's built in," Cartwright said.
"This is inherent in what all attorneys general face, and the courts have said this is not a conflict," Cartwright added.
A lawyer for Krolicki, in a motion filed in Clark County District Court in Las Vegas late Monday, said Masto should be disqualified "based on conflicts of interests, appearance of impropriety and a violation of due process."
Attorney Richard Wright said several current and former deputy attorneys general provided Krolicki with legal advice regarding the college savings program when he was serving as state treasurer and overseeing the program, and Krolicki relied on their advice.
A similar motion was filed on behalf of Krolicki's chief of staff, Kathryn Besser, who also served as his chief of staff in the treasurer's office. Krolicki served two terms in that office before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006.
Wright said in his motion that the attorney general has been "eloquent" in stating the duty of prosecutors to avoid conflicts of interest, and that statement "commands the disqualification of the attorney general's office and dismissal of the indictment in this case."
Krolicki, indicted in December along with Besser, is charged with two felony counts of misappropriation and falsification of accounts by a public officer, and two felony counts of misappropriation by a treasurer.
Besser is charged being a principal to misappropriation and falsification of accounts and being a principal to misappropriation by a treasurer.
The charges arose from a 2007 audit of a more than $3 billion, state-run college savings program. Auditors found Krolicki skirted budget controls and spent more on an advertising campaign than allotted by the Legislature. No money is missing and he is not accused of embezzlement.
Krolicki, a Republican who has discussed a run against U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., next year, has said the charges are politically motivated, an accusation Reid and the Democratic attorney general have adamantly denied.