Former state auditor candidate was ‘skeptical’ of Troy Kelley from the beginning
Mar 20, 2015, 2:32 PM | Updated: 2:33 pm
Former state auditor candidate James Watkins was skeptical of his opponent, Troy Kelley, from the beginning.
During the race for the state auditor in 2012, Watkins dug into Kelley’s past and posted hundreds of court documents on the now defunct website factchecktroykelley.com. The documents released included a former employer accusing Kelley of stealing and being involved in misappropriation of $3.8 million from mortgage borrowers.
“It was pretty damning and apparently a lot of people thought that as well,” Watkins said.
Documents from the office of the Washington state auditor were turned over to the U.S. Department of Justice just days after federal Treasury agents searched his home, but what officials are looking for isn’t yet known.
The documents handed over Thursday were in response to a March 6 subpoena of Kelley’s office, said spokesman Thomas Shapley, who added that he hadn’t seen either the subpoena or the documents.
That action came after agents with the U.S. Department of Treasury spent about five hours searching Kelley’s Tacoma home early this week. He is out of state on vacation and issued a statement saying he had no knowledge of any investigation.
“He was always pushing that line and doing things that most people don’t think are ethical,” Watkins said.
Shapley said that Kelley’s vacation plans were in California, and that he is not aware of any plans for him to return to the state early. His schedule indicates he’ll be back in the office on Monday, Shapley said.
Kelley, a Democrat, was elected auditor in 2012. He previously served in the state Legislature.
The U.S. attorney’s office in Seattle has declined to confirm or deny any investigation, and IRS officials declined to comment. By Thursday evening, no documents had been publicly filed in federal court related to any investigation involving Kelley or his address.
The auditor’s office wouldn’t release the agency subpoena Thursday, and a spokesman for the state attorney general’s office, which represents state agencies, said that their attorneys were looking into the details of releasing it.
“It’s certainly disappointing for the people of Washington to have a state auditor who appears to be in legal difficulty,” Watkins said. “We need an auditor who is above reproach.”
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
