AG Steve Marshall

Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall holds a press conference Monday, Feb. 13, 2017, at his office in Montgomery, Ala. Marshall was appointed to office on Friday by Gov. Robert Bentley. (Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

(Julie Bennett/jbennett@al.com)

About three weeks ago, the Alabama Attorney General's office sent a flurry of subpoenas to lawmakers asking them to show proof their campaign finance reports were accurate.

It was about time.

There are good reasons to believe lawmakers might be playing fast and loose with their campaign funds. First of all, no one has ever looked before, because the law didn't create any mechanism of accountability. (Imagine how many people would pay taxes if the IRS had no way to audit them.)

Second, in the last year, two lawmakers have been caught dipping into their campaign accounts to pay personal expenses. And those two who were caught -- they were caught practically by accident, having been discovered in investigations of other people and other crimes.

Somebody needed to look at the rest of the Legislature.

But that somebody who needs to look isn't Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall.

Crossing the streams

Since those subpoenas went out, Marshall's campaign has sent emails to at least two of the same lawmakers who received subpoenas, only this time he asked for campaign contributions and help setting up campaign fundraisers.

Marshall says the emails were sent out by his campaign staff and that the addresses came from lists bought from vendors.

In the first email, sent the same week lawmakers received their subpoenas, Marshall's campaign asked a lawmaker for help coordinating fundraiser in his district.

The second email, sent this week, solicited campaign donations.

Both create potential problems for the investigation

Open season

An Alabama lawmaker shared the email he recieved with me, on the condition that I not reveal his name. Obviously, he doesn't want constituents to know he also received a subpoena. I felt it was worth the trade, so I agreed.

The most recent email, sent from steve@stevemarshall.gop, has the subject line, "Blackout. Over."

Under Alabama campaign finance law, candidates for state offices are prohibited from raising money during the legislative session, unless it is within 120 days of an election. This year's blackout ended Monday.

In the email, Marshall boasts of achievements since being appointed to the office by Gov. Robert Bentley last year.

"We are proud of our victories, but there are critical battles ahead: defending Alabamians from the opioid epidemic, seeing through any violent crime initiative, strengthening ethics laws, and thwarting human trafficking," Marshall wrote in the email. "To continue winning for Alabama, we need you to support Team Marshall. Please pitch in today!"

While Marshall's second email to lawmakers came after the blackout had ended, the first came before.

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill said the first email would have been in a gray area if it solicited help during the blackout period but set up fundraisers after the blackout ended.

"If it went out during the blackout period, then that's a concern. The blackout period ended Monday morning at 12 a.m.," Merrill said. "It would be left to the interpretation of some jurist, whether that be the Ethics Commission or a judge, whether that is a violation."

Alabama Ethics Commission Executive Director Tom Albritton said he has cautioned others against using similar fundraising tactics. The code does not define "solicitation," he said.

"Any time a determination of whether the act is violated turns on the interpretation of facts, my recommendation is that you proceed very conservatively," Albritton said. "In most people's minds, what 'solicitation' means is 'Hey, can you give me some money?' But if you think about the word solicitation, it means 'asking.'"

According to Marshall the second fundraising email went out to a large number of recipients, including some lawmakers.

"It was a global fundraising email that went out to a broad email spectrum," he said.

The first email, he said, was a follow-up with a lawmaker who had previously offered to help him with his campaign.

Since the last email went out, the names of current and former lawmakers have been removed from his campaign mailing lists, Marshall said.

Bad timing

But one thing is clear, Marshall has given some potential targets of investigations a big card to play should a grand jury return an indictment against any of them. Is he trying to extort campaign donations from suspects? Because that's what those lawmakers can argue if they get popped.

But Marshall doesn't see it that way. When I asked him whether he felt he had put his office's investigation at risk, he responded with one word, "No."

Marshall has recused himself from investigations before. Last year, after Bentley appointed him to replace Attorney General Luther Strange, Marshall removed himself from the office's investigation of Bentley, handing it off to a former Montgomery District Attorney Ellen Brooks.

But Marshall doesn't see the need to do so this time. When I asked him whether, he would recuse, again he answered with one word.

"No," he said.

Kyle Whitmire is the state political columnist for the Alabama Media Group. You can follow his work on Facebook through Reckon by AL.com.