The top prosecutor in Arizona will investigate conservative Sheriff Paul Babeu and his ex-boyfriend after back-and-forth allegations between the two men in recent days.
Attorney General Tom Horne, a Republican, will look into the scandal, his spokesman confirmed to TPM. The war of words began Friday when the ex-boyfriend outed and accused Babeu of threatening to have him deported if their relationship ever became public. In turn, Babeu accused his former lover, Jose Orozco, of stealing from and impersonating him.
Before the scandal broke, Babeu was a rising Republican star who regularly endorsed fellow Arizona conservatives. Horne, the man who will now be investigating him, was one of the politicians who took the sheriff’s endorsement in 2010 during his run for attorney general.
Babeu was the co-chair of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in Arizona but resigned Saturday in light of the scandal. He is currently running for the Republican nomination in the state’s 4th Congressional District.
