Ben Stevens didn't have power to appoint an acting AG in secret or otherwise

I can’t imagine that Ben Stevens, then the chief of staff for Gov. Mike Dunleavy, had the power under state law to appoint someone to do the work of the attorney general.

But that’s what happened July 31, 2020 in secret.

Stevens, as well as Gov. Mike Dunleavy, knew that AG Kevin Clarkson had gone on a texting spree, hitting on a low-level state employee half his age.

The secret suspension, which did not become public until the end of the month, was an attempt to punish him without informing Alaskans what had happened.

When the Anchorage Daily News broke the story about Clarkson’s behavior, Dunleavy released a statement in which he pretended that he had not known what Clarkson had done.

“This administration has and always will expect the highest level of professional conduct in the workplace,” the Dunleavy statement said.

“Kevin Clarkson has admitted to conduct in the workplace that did not live up to our high expectations, and this is deeply disappointing. This morning he took responsibility for the unintentional consequences of his actions and tendered his resignation to me,” Dunleavy said.

Clarkson’s departure had everything to do with the publication of the story and nothing to do with high expectations on Dunleavy’s part.

There is an important new development to watch. Based on this memo, Treg Taylor, now the AG and awaiting confirmation, knew of the secret suspension because he was copied on it. He also must have known or should have known that the chief of staff is not given the power in state law to make these sorts of decisions.

Perhaps the Dunleavy administration figured it could do this because no one would know after Clarkson returned to work following his suspension.

“You are also given the full authority granted to the position of the attorney general under statute and/or regulations during AG Clarkson’s absence,” Stevens wrote to Ed Sniffen, who has also now left the stage.

Clarkson is the one who should have designated someone to do the AG’s job, not Stevens.

This is another topic on which Taylor should explain himself before a confirmation vote. Did he believe that this was legal or illegal? What did he do about it?