CNN Screenshot

Attorney General Raúl Torres is seen regularly before TV cameras promoting lawsuits against corporate interests but now he finds himself ensnared by those same interests. 

CNN explored Torres' acceptance of a lavish trip to South Africa (video here) along with other attorneys general, both Democrats and Republicans, and that led to this questioning of Torres:

Reporter: New Mexico's Attorney General Raul Torres is on his way into a public meeting.

Torres: We gotta run.

Reporter: We've reached out to your office. We haven't heard back. 

Torres: Sure, let me do this (meeting) and we can have a talk.

Reporter: (Torres) did not stick around like he promised to respond to our questions.

The NM AG's office is part of a multi-state case against Amazon and CNN points out the company had a representative invited to the South Africa trip from the corporate-funded Attorney General Alliance (AGA).

The South Africa trip is just one of the expensive international strips the group sponsors for their members who are also invited to bring a guest such as a spouse.

The exclusive trip to South Africa in 2023 that Torres took featured a safari, rooms at a five star hotel, wine tours and gourmet restaurants that served waygu steaks. 

AGA covered the cost including a flight allowance of up to $26,000. 

South Africa Safari

The guest list included more than a dozen attorneys general along with corporate lawyers and lobbyists from  companies like Amazon, Uber, Pfizer and Albertson's. Some of those companies have been sued by the attorneys general.

The AGA said:

Foreign delegations have a key role in strengthening bipartisan relationships. . . and educate all delegates on pressing civil and criminal issues. Asked about the safari the group said the visit included discussion on combating the illicit trade of endangered species."

Not all attorneys general take part. Arizona's Democratic AG Kris Mayes said:

It's intentional on my part to put my focus here in Arizona. I will leave it at that. 

In a statement to CNN Torres' office pointed to lawsuits filed against private companies and said AGA's programs "promote. . .equal enforcement of the law. "

Torres' role as a fighter for the regular guy could be called into question next year when he stands for re-election. But no Republican has won the AG's office since the 1980's and the Democratic attorneys general preceding Torres have also had questionable relationships with powerful corporate interests and the law firms that represent them. Still, the politically ambitious TorRes can't be please that he stepped in a mud puddle.

Mr. Attorney General, for dodging a reporter's questions about your luxurious South Africa junket paid for by the corporate elite while promoting consumer rights, you are hereby the victim of an Alligator Strike. Congrats. . . or something. 

 SANCHEZ SURFACES

Here's former Lieutenant Governor John Sanchez with former NMGOP Chairman Ryan Cangiolosi celebrating at Friday's Bernalillo County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner and renewing speculation that Sanchez may embark on a run for the '26 gubernatorial nomination. 

Sanchez, one of the state's more affable political personalities, is an an old political warhorse who knows that his surfacing will be seen as a near declaration of a candidacy. 

Sanchez, a moderate, is liked in the GOP. 

Rio Rancho Mayor Gregg Hull is the only Republican publicly exploring a possible run. 

This could be Sanchez's time, if he dives in. Hispanic movement toward Trump in the north, Sanchez's high name ID and his personal fortune are all factors. 

GOP ON FIRE

A fire that damaged the entrance to state GOP headquarters in ABQ early Sunday morning has set off an arson investigation and heated reaction from Republicans. 

Besides flames at GOP headquarters there was graffiti drawn on a wall that said  "ICE=KKK." That sent GOP Chair Amy Barela over the top:

Let us not forget: it was the Democrat Party that once supported the formation of the KKK, pushed Jim Crow laws, and defended slavery. Today, we see the same dangerous tendencies play out in new forms — attempts to suppress free speech, silence dissent, and use fear to control the political narrative. 

She also tried--absurdly so--to implicate Dem US Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez in the incident after the congresswoman urged her constituents at a Santa Fe townhall Saturday to "agitate" for change.  

The GOP's scorching rhetoric may serve to do more damage than the fire. The first order of business in the wake of such incidents should be to turn down the temperature, not to add kerosene. 

There is no evidence that a Democrat set the fire. It could have been an anarchist or someone entangled in the immigration process. Or even a disgruntled Republican. No matter. It was wrong. That everyone can agree on and that's enough. But the polarization and the lure of the national TV cameras along with red-hot social media makes divisive sensationalism the order of the day across the political spectrum.

And in the style of the day, the NMGOP quickly started a fund-raising drive, citing the "cowardly act of arson" at their headquarters as an incentive to donate.

The GOP blaze comes after earlier this month Solomon Pena, a former GOP candidate for the state House, was found guilty of hiring people to shoot at the homes of elected ABQ Democrats in 2022 and 2023.

Have a nice day. 

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