Judge to decide Wednesday on group’s Sandoval ads
CARSON CITY — District Judge James Wilson said Tuesday that he won’t decide until sometime today whether to issue an injunction to bar a Virginia-based political group from running political ads unless it first registers with the secretary of state.
But during a 90-minute hearing, Wilson several times asked questions that suggested he believes the Alliance for America’s Future must disclose its board of directors and donors before running any more television advertisements about Republican gubernatorial candidate Brian Sandoval. The ads were run without any participation from Sandoval, the alliance has stated.
“Can you tell me in a straight face that these ads aren’t designed to get people to vote for Brian Sandoval?” Wilson asked alliance lawyer Jason Torchinsky.
Torchinsky replied that he had not asked his client that question and could not state what its answer would be.
The alliance ran TV ads before May 25 that stated liberals don’t like Sandoval because of his conservative values and the fact that he is against tax increases.
But the ads do not specifically say Sandoval is a candidate for governor or urge people to vote for him.
Wilson, however, said virtually everyone in Nevada knows Sandoval is running for governor and the only purpose for the ads would be to gather support for his campaign.
Secretary of State Ross Miller, a Democrat who is seeking re-election, was granted a temporary restraining order last week to halt further airing of the ads until the judge reviews the case and decides whether to issue an injunction.
Barry Bennett, a director of Alliance for America’s Future, told reporters last week that the Sandoval ad run was complete, but Torchinsky said Tuesday that the organization might want to run additional ads before the primary election, which is Tuesday.
Internal Revenue Service records identify Bennett, an ex-chief of staff to Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio; and Mary Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, as officers of the group.
Deputy Attorney General Carrie Benson said Tuesday that Miller isn’t trying to restrict the alliance’s First Amendment right to free speech but just to follow a state law that requires political action committees that “advocate expressly” to register and reveal their sources of contributions.
She said Miller is asking only that Wilson issue an injunction to block the broadcast of the alliance’s ads. Then the judge could conduct a full hearing on the state’s registration law and the alliance’s free speech rights, she said.