RENO — Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt’s campaign is defending his handling of a vote on the state pardons board after a newspaper reported that an audio recording suggests he used his state staff for political purposes.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reported Friday on the Nov. 21 recording a fellow airline passenger made of Laxalt, a Republican gubernatorial candidate.
It captured Laxalt suggesting staffers in the attorney general’s office help beat back a news story critical of him for casting the lone dissenting vote in the pardon of a convicted murderer.
Officials for the Nevada Democratic Party who had made a FOIA request related to Laxalt’s vote say the recording demonstrates an ethical lapse on Laxalt’s part.
His campaign spokesman Andy Matthews says the request was made to the attorney general’s office so it was appropriate for his state staff to respond.