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Michael Lamoureux, the former state senator who is now Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s chief of staff, probably isn’t done explaining.
A political nonprofit, the Arkansas Faith & Freedom Coalition, paid Lamoureux $120,000 in “consulting” fees in 2013, according to news reports citing tax documents. There are so many problems with this arrangement that it’s hard to know where to start.
First, the coalition got most of its money from lobbying firms in Arkansas. In 2013, Lamoureux led the Arkansas Senate as president pro tempore, and state law bars legislators from lobbying.
One contributor was nursing home magnate Michael Morton, whose contributions to political action committees that gave money to the appeals court campaign of Michael Maggio are under investigation by the FBI. Maggio, of course, is no longer a judge and has pleaded guilty to a federal bribery charge.
The Faith & Freedom Coalition was founded by former state Sen. Gilbert Baker, who also served as its executive director for a time. The FBI is also investigating Baker’s role in the Maggio bribery case. (Neither Morton nor Baker has been charged with a crime.)
The coalition raised $141,000 in donations in 2013; a member of its board told the Associated Press that Lamoureux was responsible for raising the money.
Late Thursday, Lamoureux issued a statement saying that in his work for the coalition he followed the law and ethics rules at all times. “This position in no way influenced my job as a state senator,” he said.
His work, Lamoureux said, “included traveling to recruit candidates, recruiting and organizing volunteers, educating candidates on our issues, and handling legal issues as they arose.”
If we take him at his word — and there’s no reason yet not to — we still must question the judgment of a legislator who failed to foresee that such an arrangement might raise the issue of appearances. We’d like to hear more.
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