The Indiana Prosecuting Attorneys Council has barred Attorney General Todd Rokita from its winter training conference unless he apologizes for past comments about prosecutors. In response, the Office of the Attorney General has withdrawn from the event entirely, according to correspondence obtained by Indy Politics.
IPAC Executive Director Chris Naylor and board Chair Wesley A. Schemenaur sent Rokita a letter dated Sept. 9. In it, they wrote that the board “will not allow you to attend this IPAC conference due to negative public comments that you made regarding prosecutors and the IPAC at a previous IPAC training event.”
The letter also cited the board’s “deep concerns regarding comments you made about Lake County Prosecuting Attorney Bernie Carter in his role as a member of the Indiana Disciplinary Commission.”
The board said that if Rokita wishes to attend a future IPAC training event, he must first apologize for his “past conduct and statements.” The letter added that the board “would expect you to refrain from making overtly political statements should you apologize and appear at an IPAC conference.”
According to the letter, IPAC had invited OAG staff to serve as faculty at the December conference, and the OAG had indicated that Rokita planned to attend. The board said it “greatly appreciates the work of the OAG in partnering with prosecutors.” It offered to continue providing the office five conference registrations at no charge and said the office was welcome to staff an outreach table at the December event.
Chief Deputy Attorney General Lori Torres was copied on the letter. She responded in an email addressed to “Courtney and Chris,” writing that the office was withdrawing from the Dec. 9 conference.
“We will not be sending a presenter, and we will not be sending attendees or staffing a table,” Torres wrote. “Our office is one, unified organization. We cannot be expected to support IPAC by training IPAC members when the elected Attorney General has been deemed persona non grata.”
Torres wrote that the office will continue its statutory duties to defend criminal convictions and represent the state on appeal. It will also continue representing prosecutors who are sued in certain circumstances. However, she wrote, “additional support of IPAC as an organization should not be expected, including staffing the Complex Litigation Committee.”
“I hope that a time will come when this will all be in the past, but for now, our engagement with IPAC will be limited,” Torres wrote.
The IPAC letter does not identify which previous training event it was referring to. It also does not specify what Rokita said there or what he said about Carter.
