IN-SEN: Republican candidate used Indiana State computers for campaign purposes.
INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Senate candidate Todd Rokita likely violated ethics laws as Indiana’s secretary of state by repeatedly accessing a Republican donor database from his government office, prompting party officials to lock him out of the system until he angrily complained, three former GOP officials told The Associated Press.
Rokita, currently a congressman, is in a bitter primary fight for the right to challenge Joe Donnelly, who is considered one of the Senate’s most vulnerable Democrats. The alleged ethics flap over Rokita’s use of the Indiana Republican Party’s Salesforce database during work hours occurred in 2009, as he was wrapping up a second term as the state’s chief elections official and angling for higher office.
Indiana law prohibits state employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or acting in an official capacity. It also prohibits work on anything outside official duties while on the clock, or ordering others to do so, and from using state resources for political purposes.
The former officials, who have direct knowledge of the situation, spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about it publicly. They did not report Rokita’s activity to authorities at the time.
Rokita’s campaign spokesman Nathan Brand said Thursday that Rokita used the database to keep his personal rolodex, which Brand said was allowed under state ethics guidance the office received. However, Rokita’s campaign could not produce documents outlining the guidance, and the office of current Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said it could not locate any such records.
https://apnews.com/8a68ad589e504ab8913125a975391c94
