GOP attorney general indicted on charges of 'malfeasance and intimidation': report

Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill has been indicted on 16 criminal charges by a grand jury in New Orleans.

According to The Times-Picayune, jurors "handed up the indictment at New Orleans’ criminal courthouse ... The attorney general faces eight felony counts of malfeasance and another eight felony counts of intimidation."

The charges stem from allegations that Murrill threatened the careers of public officials in New Orleans, including Mayor Helena Moreno and District Attorney Jason Williams, in retaliation for their public criticism of a law that consolidates the New Orleans criminal and district clerks of court, according to the report.

Former Judge Laurie White was appointed as a special prosecutor to oversee the case, which saw the grand jury deliberate for weeks. In a press conference on Thursday, she said, “Aren’t we a little tired as New Orleanians having everyone in the state kicking New Orleans? Why would we want people to be afraid to run for office if they’re going to be intimidated?"

Murrill denies any wrongdoing, and her attorney accused White, along with Criminal District Judge Leon Roche, who issued Murrill's arrest warrant, "of having conflicts of interest that called the indictment into question and suggested the secrecy of the grand jury had been compromised by members leaking information to the media," the report said.

The proceedings were reportedly chaotic, as reporters "were threatened with arrest if they entered the courthouse while the indictment was handed up," and one reporter was "handcuffed by sheriff’s deputies," the Times-Picayune continued.

Wrongdoing allegations against state attorneys general often lead to explosive controversies — one of the most notable recent cases being Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who was impeached and ultimately acquitted over charges of misuse of his office. Paxton is now running for U.S. Senate.