A county clerk in New Mexico abused the power of her office and broke the law in the run-up to the 2022 elections, a state agency alleged in court this week, claiming that the official deleted and mishandled midterm ballots; sought, obtained and discussed drugs; and even deployed a TASER near a coworker.
The complaint goes on to allege that Yvonne Otero, who was elected as a Republican to be county clerk in Torrance County, N.M. in 2020, violated election procedures around certifying election machines, alluded to having sex and doing cocaine during work hours and threatened employees — before she eventually just stopped doing her job in the fall, before the election.
Otero's attorney, Jacob Candelaria, said the complaint included false, “outlandish, and dramatized” allegations, and argued election deniers were trying to punish his client for not accepting false claims about voter fraud.
"My client fully intends to defend herself against these false allegations," he said, adding that she is separately seeking a court order to get her job back.
The extraordinary allegations were made by the New Mexico State Ethics Commission, an independent state agency that enforces governmental conduct and anti-corruption laws, in a court filing this week.
Torrance County requested the commission investigate the matter, said Jessica Randall, deputy general counsel on the commission.
Torrance is a small, rural county east of Albuquerque that has been a hot bed of false fraud claims. The...
The Dangote Group has denied claims that its President, Aliko Dangote, is at odds with Tony Elumelu, describing the report as false, malicious and baseless. In a statement signed by its Group Chie...