Heck claims opponent in Senate race ‘corrupt’

In the age of Trump, everybody has to have a nickname.

For Catherine Cortez Masto, the Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate, that nickname is “Corrupt Catherine,” bestowed by her Republican rival, Rep. Joe Heck. His campaign has an entire website now devoted to cataloging what it says is a pattern of partisanship that runs like a thread through the quilt of her public life.

Describing the former attorney general as corrupt may strike some as utterly incongruous — especially those who know and have worked with her over the years. But consider some of the evidence Heck’s team proffers:

In 2008, Cortez Masto indicted then-Republican Lieutenant Gov. Brian Krolicki for mishandling state funds. (Krolicki wasn’t accused of misspending or stealing any money, however.) A judge later tossed the indictment as unconstitutionally vague. But the damage to Krolicki’s political career was done and he passed on a 2010 challenge to U.S. Sen. Harry Reid, who’s now an enthusiastic Cortez Masto backer.

Compare that to how she handled the case of Democratic lawmaker Morse Arberry. In 2011, the longtime former Ways and Means Committee chairman was charged with felonies for allegedly pocketing more than $120,000 in campaign funds. Cortez Masto’s office allowed him to plead guilty to a single misdemeanor and avoid jail. (Arberry has not made good on a promise to repay what he took, and even ran unsuccessfully for Congress in a Democratic primary this year.)

In 2009, members and affiliates of the liberal group ACORN were charged with felonies for allegedly paying voter-registration canvassers based on the number of people they registered, which is illegal. ACORN canvassers made up names on voter registrations to get paid. But the attorney general’s office allowed them to plead guilty to lesser charges.

In 2010, Cortez Masto refused a direct order from then-Republican Gov. Jim Gibbons to join Nevada to a multi-state lawsuit seeking to undo Obamacare. State law clearly stipulates that the attorney general “must” commence litigation whenever the governor so directs, but Cortez Masto refused, saying the lawsuit was frivolous and that no unique issue required Nevada to be a part of the action.

Gibbons hired attorney Mark Hutchison, who represented the state pro bono. A divided U.S. Supreme Court eventually struck down one of the key justifications for the Affordable Care Act, but upheld the measure on other grounds. (Hutchison went on to be elected lieutenant governor, succeeding Krolicki.)

Now, as any district attorney or attorney general will testify, every case involves different facts, and what one person might take to trial, another might dispose of with a plea bargain in the interests of justice or legal efficiency. And even the most scrupulous prosecutor can face allegations of bias, even if none actually influenced his or her decisions.

The point that Heck’s campaign is making is that — taken together — the weight of the evidence demonstrates Cortez Masto favors Democrats over Republicans, and made official decisions under that rubric.

Her campaign vigorously contests that charge, calling the website “gutter politics” and starting a social media campaign dubbed #ShameOnYouHeck to respond. Her supporters insist Heck’s charges spring from desperation at gains she’s made politically with ads attacking him for things such as votes to defund Planned Parenthood.

And her campaign points to her record of working with Republicans and Democrats to pass bipartisan legislation during her tenure in Carson City — as well as her endorsement by police groups — as proof that the last thing you can call Catherine Cortez Masto is corrupt.

Steve Sebelius is a Review-Journal political columnist. Follow him on Twitter (@SteveSebelius) or reach him at 702-387-5276 or SSebelius@reviewjournal.com.