November 09, 2015 03:32 PM UTC

Major Scandal in New Mexico Has Colorado Angle

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• by: Colorado Pols

As the Associated Press reports, things are getting hot enough in New Mexico that Gov. Susana Martinez is being forced to respond to several serious allegations about her political operation. You know things aren’t good when the FBI says it “will neither confirm nor deny” the existence of an investigation:

New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez said Monday that she’s confident a close political adviser did nothing wrong and called allegations of fundraising violations “cheap shots” following reports of a federal investigation.

In a statement to The Associated Press, the Republican governor said she’s aware of complaints being raised about her political consultant Jay McCleskey. The complaints, Martinez said, are coming from political opponents who have tried to attack her previously…

…Her comments come after the Santa Fe New Mexican reported that the FBI has interviewed some state Republicans about Martinez’s fundraising activities and McCleskey. The newspaper said it was unclear what potential violations federal agents are investigating.

New Mexico politics are pretty hard to beat right now when it comes to brazen corruption. Just last month, former New Mexico Secretary of State Dianna Duran pled guilty to embezzlement charges after resigning from office (McCleskey was also a top advisor to Duran). Now, Gov. Martinez is in the middle of several simultaneous scandals, including an investigation alleging political enemies were unfairly targeted for state tax audits.

But because this is Colorado Pols, the scandal you should be most interested involves Jay McCleskey, who by all accounts is Martinez’s top political advisor. From 2005-09, McCleskey was the Regional Political Director for the Republican National Committee — and was heavily involved in political operations in Colorado. As the Santa Fe New Mexican, reports there’s a lot of funny money going around:

For the past several months, the FBI has been interviewing some state Republicans about Gov. Susana Martinez’s fundraising activities going back to her first run for governor.

One prominent New Mexico Republican, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, confirmed being interviewed in recent months by federal agents about funds from Martinez’s campaign, as well as money from her 2011 inauguration committee, going to the governor’s political consultant, Jay McCleskey…

…McCleskey has been Martinez’s political consultant since she launched her first gubernatorial campaign in 2009, guiding her to decisive victories, first in the 2010 Republican primary, then the 2010 and 2014 general elections. The year before Martinez’s election, he managed Richard Berry’s successful race for mayor of Albuquerque. Berry became the first GOP mayor in 20 years in the state’s largest city.

After Martinez took office, McCleskey started his own firm, McCleskey Media Strategies. He is one of the best-paid political consultants the state has ever known. [Pols emphasis]

Indeed, McCleskey and his wife Nicole McCleskey (a partner in the polling firm Public Opinion Strategies) are pulling down a ridiculous amount of money, as detailed here by Colorado journalist Sandra Fish.

There is no indication thus far that McCleskey’s time in Colorado might have included some similar shady shenanigans, but with the FBI investigating, this might not be the last time we hear McCleskey’s name round these Internet parts.