Attorney General Bill Sorrell testified before the Senate Government Operations Committee in April where he called for an independent investigation into allegations that he violated campaign finance law. File photo by John Herrick/VTDigger
The first phase of an investigation into allegations that Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell violated campaign finance laws is complete.
David Cahill, executive director of the Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs, said on Tuesday that complaints against Sorrell have been evaluated.
Tom Little, acting special legal counsel to the investigation, is now seeking additional requests for information.
Once Little has completed the investigation, he will report to a bipartisan committee made up of eight state’s attorneys.
Gov. Peter Shumlin appointed Little as independent counsel in early May.
Sorrell has been accused of violating campaign finance laws in the 2012 and 2014 election cycles. The Democrat, who has served as Vermont Attorney General for 18 years, denies any wrongdoing.
Brady Toensing, vice chair of the Vermont Republican Party, filed a four-count complaint against Sorrell in April. Toensing alleges that Sorrell coordinated with a super PAC, failed to report campaign expenditures on 16 occasions, improperly coordinated campaign activities with Dean Corren in 2014 and received a large campaign donation from a law firm he later hired.
David Cahill, the executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs Association, explained that Little will be paid to investigate the allegations and issue a report that will be reviewed by an eight-member panel of state’s attorneys. The report will be similar to an affidavit produced in a criminal or civil case, Cahill says.
Once the report has been presented to the state’s attorneys, they will determine whether criminal or civil charges should be filed with the court. If the state’s attorneys decline to charge Sorrell, the committee will issue a press release.
Either way, the report will be made public, Cahill has said.
The timing of the report, Cahill says, is “largely dependent upon the willingness (or lack thereof) of individuals, campaign committees and political action committees” to respond to requests for interviews and documents.
Toensing says it’s the first time in Vermont’s history that the conduct of a state official has led to the appointment of an independent counsel.
“It’s an important precedent for the future and for good government,” Toensing says.
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