Attorney General Adam Laxalt reportedly pressured the chairman of the Gaming Control Board to intercede in a lawsuit on behalf of Sheldon Adelson
The Nevada State Democratic Party has filed four new public records requests today for correspondence between the Attorney General’s office and the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, including CEO and founder Sheldon Adelson and lobbyist Andy Abboud. Laxalt recently sought to pressure the chairman of the Gaming Control Board to intercede in a lawsuit on behalf of Adelson, Nevada’s wealthiest casino magnate and Laxalt’s largest campaign donor, prompting the regulator to secretly record his conversation with Laxalt and turn over the tape to the FBI. The state party filed an official complaint last week with the Commission on Ethics requesting a full investigation.
The four separate public records requests under the Nevada Open Records Act include the following:
- Copies of all correspondence between Attorney General Adam Laxalt or Chief of Staff Nicholas Trutanich to any Las Vegas Sands Corporation employees, including but not limited to Sheldon Adelson, sent or received from March 1, 2016 to June 1, 2016 and January 1, 2017 to March 1, 2017.
- Copies of all correspondence within the Attorney General’s Office related to Sheldon Adelson or the Las Vegas Sands Corporation from January 1, 2016 to June 30, 2016 and January 1, 2017 to present.
- Copies of all correspondence between any employee of the Attorney General’s Office and Andy Abboud from February 1, 2015 to the present.
- Copies of the full individual schedules of Attorney General Adam Laxalt and Chief of Staff Nicholas Trutanich’s meetings with Sheldon Adelson and/or Andy Abboud from January 5, 2015 to the present.
“Nevadans clearly deserve more information about the intimate connections between the Attorney General’s office and Adam Laxalt’s biggest donor,” said Stewart Boss, spokesperson for the Nevada State Democratic Party. “Since Attorney General Laxalt refuses to clear up this ethics scandal and release the FBI tape, these public records requests will help shine a light on whether Nevada’s chief law enforcement officer is indeed acting as a personal attorney for his favorite billionaire and his company. Laxalt may believe this sort of unethical pay-to-play conduct is just business as usual, but the public is entitled to know whether their Attorney General is misusing the powers of his office. We will keep digging until we find answers.”