Governor calls for investigation of former Attorney General Ed Sniffen

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - Governor Mike Dunleavy has ordered newly-appointed Attorney General Treg Taylor to appoint a special outside counsel to investigate allegations that Taylor’s predecessor, former Attorney General Ed Sniffen, engaged in sexual misconduct with a 17-year-old girl three decades ago.

Sniffen’s resignation was officially announced Friday. According to a statement from the Governor’s office, Sniffen resigned from the office, and state service in general, for “personal reasons.” Allegations of Sniffen’s misconduct were first reported by the Anchorage Daily News and Propublica Saturday. An additional statement from the Governor’s Deputy Communications Director Jeff Turner Saturday says Dunleavy only learned about these allegations after Sniffen’s resignation.

“When Governor Dunleavy accepted Mr. Sniffen’s resignation, he was unaware of the allegations against him,” Turner wrote. “As details of the allegations became known, the Governor directed Attorney General Treg Taylor to appoint a special outside council, [sic] independent of the Department of Law, to investigate possible criminal misconduct by Mr. Sniffen.”

In a separate statement Saturday, Assistant Attorney General Maria Bahr confirmed the Department of Law would be bringing in a special counsel to investigate the claims.

“Given Mr. Sniffen’s history with the Department of Law, the Attorney General has determined that a conflict of interest exists and will contract with special counsel to ensure an independent and unbiased investigation into any possible wrongdoing,” the statement reads in part.

Alaska’s News Source was unable to reach Sniffen for comment.

This is a developing story.