In 2012, indicted Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley raised $700,000 for his winning campaign for state auditor. But the bulk of that money -- nearly $500,000 -- came from Kelley himself.
Now, the state Republican Party is formally requesting an investigation into where that money came from. In a letter to Attorney General Bob Ferguson, the chair of the state Republican Party suggests at least some of that money might have been “illegally obtained.”
Kelley is accused in a federal indictment of keeping more than $2 million stolen from title company customers. Kelley has pleaded not guilty.
The federal indictment does not make a direct connection between the alleged ill-gotten funds and Kelley’s self-funded campaign. But it does allege Kelley illegally claimed personal and campaign deductions on nearly $500,000 of the funds in question.
If the attorney general decides to take civil action, the law gives him 45 days to do so.
