Arkansas lawmaker accused of wrongdoing should resign only if indicted, governor says

HOT SPRINGS -- Gov. Asa Hutchinson repeated his belief Friday that a lawmaker accused of wrongdoing should resign only if he is indicted on criminal charges.

Information attached to a June 7 federal guilty plea by lobbyist Milton "Rusty" Cranford accused "Senator A" -- acknowledged as the governor's nephew, state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson, a Republican in Little Rock -- of accepting bribes. However, the senator has not been charged. Cranford pleaded guilty to one count of federal program bribery for his role in bribing Arkansas lawmakers from 2010 until 2017.

The governor addressed the matter Friday during a previously scheduled speech on ethics at the Arkansas Bar Association's annual meeting in Hot Springs.

Gov. Hutchinson said he had delayed speaking about the matter in depth until the speech, although his conclusion was largely what he had told reporters last week: Any decision on Sen. Hutchinson's resignation should depend on the outcome of the federal corruption investigation. Some lawmakers are calling for Sen. Hutchinson to resign now.

Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jun/16/governor-calls-for-patience-in-inquiry-/?f=news-politics

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Former law client sues state senator; filing seeks $383,805 from Hutchinson

The company that once paid state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson of Little Rock $9,000 a month in lawyer fees filed suit Friday.

Friday's civil suit by Preferred Family Healthcare, a behavioral-health service provider, seeks to recover at least $383,805, an amount awarded to an ex-employee who sued one of the company's subsidiaries in 2014.

Hutchinson represented the subsidiary but failed to show up for hearings or respond to court motions in the dispute, the suit said. The earlier suit involved is David Coleman v. Health and Human Resources of Arkansas. Health Resources is a Batesville subsidiary of Preferred Family Healthcare.

The new suit said Hutchinson failed to notify the company of missed deadlines and court appearances in the previous case in Independence County. The company "learned of the judgment for the first time from its banking institutions, who were processing the garnishments" in the Coleman case. The order of garnishment went out Feb. 21, 2017, according to the new lawsuit.

Read more: http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2018/jun/16/former-law-client-sues-state-senator-20/?f=news-politics