Republican candidate for attorney general of Alabama Troy King lashed out at his GOP competitor on Friday, saying Marshall is not adequately tending to his duties as the state’s top law enforcement officer.
“Last week, we gathered in Montgomery to look for Attorney General Steve Marshall,” King said at a press conference this morning at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. “We went to the place where you would most expect that we would find the attorney general of Alabama, at his office. Of course, we learned that he was not there.”
“We come to the airport today, a place that we are most likely to find Steve Marshall, because these weren’t isolated events,” King said, with revving jet engines as background noise.
King began to argue that Marshall has spent too much time away from his post, such as at a recent meeting of the Republican Attorneys General Association (RACA) in Kiawah, South Carolina, where King said attendees – state attorneys general and their lobbyist friends – were “bought and paid for” while they did yoga on the beach and went on dolphin tours.
King referred to this report published by CBS News on Tuesday, which lays out the agenda of RACA’s retreat meeting.
“This idea that someone’s bought and paid for is rich coming from Troy King,” Marshall told Yellowhammer News, citing King’s relation to the gambling industry.
Marshall said that King attended the same RACA meetings when he served as attorney general. He also challenged King’s characterization of the business interests in attendance, saying the notion that their interests are wholly other than the interests of Alabamians is misguided.
“One of the things we attempt to do, on behalf of not only the people of Alabama but on matters of constitutional importance is to make sure that we are upholding the rule of law,” Marshall said.
According to Marshall, among the issues that RACA set off to address at their April conference were the leftovers of President Obama’s regulatory environment, health care and campus free speech.
King also accused Marshall of wasting time on a trip to Africa last year, which was sponsored by the Conference of Western Attorneys General, saying Marshall was “missing in action.”
In a statement to Yellowhammer News, Marshall’s campaign challenged King’s claims.
“Steve was on a short trip last year to the Republic of South Africa to participate in a legal seminar with his counterparts there,” the statement said. “This trip was not a vacation of any kind and was focused on fighting human trafficking, a hallmark of Steve’s platform.”
The primary runoff election is July 17.
@jeremywbeaman is a contributing writer for Yellowhammer News
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