Bob Ferguson takes scandal into the governor’s mansion

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson hasn’t even been sworn into office as Washington’s next governor, and yet, one official said his tenure will already start in scandal.

A chief critic said Bob Scales, CEO of Police Strategies LLC, filed a $42 million tort claim against Ferguson and Washington State University (WSU) in July for alleged racketeering. He accused the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) of “managing a corrupt public procurement process that violated virtually every state procurement law and regulation on the books.”

Now, Scales said it appears Ferguson is unethically partnering with lawyers loyal to him to defend his office in that case.

A scandal within a scandal

Scales found that the AGO has signed Pacifica Law Group to a $250,000 contract to defend them in this case. Two of Pacifica’s partners include Zach Pekelis, a former AGO employee, and Washington’s Attorney General-elect Nick Brown.

Scales said this sounds like collusion.

“Bob Ferguson has essentially gifted a $250,000 contract to Nick Brown’s law firm to essentially buy their loyalty” Scales told “The Jason Rantz Show” on KTTH.

Ferguson’s Attorney General’s office has routinely engaged in practices that could be characterized as, at the very least, unethical, according to Scales. Look no further than, for example, back in August when Ferguson kept his donor’s lawsuit against the initiatives a secret from multiple parties to the lawsuit.

Scales was also incredulous at just how sloppy the attorneys at the AGO have been and believes their contract with Pacifica is just another smoking gun in his tort claim.

“They called my claims outlandish, and yet they’re hiring a law firm for $250,000 to defend against the lawsuit that I may bring,” an exasperated Scales said. “So clearly, they do not think that my claims are outlandish.”

Will Bob Ferguson and Nick Brown get away with it?

Scales says the AGO’s actions are “absolutely unethical … This violates every conflict-of-interest rule on the books. I mean, he is creating conflicts of interest in order to get his attorneys, the new attorneys that will take over for him, on board and on his side.”

But will Ferguson face any repercussions for his supposed corruption?

Scales believes that Trump’s Department of Justice’s government corruption unit will undergo a criminal investigation of both the incoming governor and attorney general.

“It is more than a 50-50 chance,” Scales said.

Editors’ note: This piece originally was published early on Friday, Nov. 15. It has been updated and republished since then. 

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