State attorney general demands disclosure of financial documents in Tim Eyman investigation
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- The Washington Attorney General’s Office is demanding anti-tax advocate Tim Eyman turn over banking and tax records.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Thursday asked judges in Snohomish and Thurston counties to enforce subpoenas.
Ferguson filed petitions requesting the documents as part of an investigation into Eyman's political committees, his for-profit business, and his for-profit signature gathering company.
Ferguson's office says Eyman and others withheld critical documents in the investigation of alleged campaign-finance violations.
But Eyman's attorney, Mark Lamb, issued this statement:
"The State has been investigating my clients for four years and has filed no charges.
"Instead, last year, the Attorney General demanded Mr. and Mrs. Eyman's personal tax returns. I promptly and respectfully declined to provide their returns to the State where they would be a public record but invited the Attorney General to my office to examine them instead. The Attorney General refused this proposal and instead has chosen to go to Superior Court. On this principle of personal privacy, I feel it necessary to litigate this matter. The AG has the right to review Mr. Eyman's tax returns but I do not believe his returns should be made public documents available to everyone."
In November, the Attorney General’s Office issued civil orders to Eyman and his political committees, including “Voters Want More Choices” and “Protect Your Right to Vote on Initiatives.”
The orders sought financial information, including bank and tax records.
They also asked for financial documents from his for-profit company, “Tim Eyman Watchdog for Taxpayers,” and the for-profit company “Citizen Solutions,” from Eyman and the principals of the company, Roy Ruffino and William Agazarm.
"Tim Eyman and Citizen Solutions refuse to cooperate with my investigation. I will not accept that," Ferguson said in a released statement.
The respondents began producing records in December. Over the following months, Ferguson says they only turned over a handful of records, some of which were heavily censored or redacted.
Ferguson says Eyman’s attorney has indicated he’ll seek a judicial protective order for documents they claimed are privileged or subject to a privacy interest.
Although the Attorney General`s Office agreed to potential hearing dates on the matter, Ferguson says Eyman’s attorney never filed the requests for the protective orders.
In April 2012, the state Public Disclosure Commission received a complaint about Eyman’s groups, about alleged failures to register as political committees. The complaint also claimed reports on expenditures and contributions were not filed in a timely manner, and funds raised in support of one initiative were used for a different initiative.
Last year, the Public Disclosure Commission presented results of an investigation. It says it showed evidence of multiple apparent violations of state law.
Attorney General Bob Ferguson released a list of the alleged violations: