Investigation of Michael Whiting, Apache County District Attorney

APACHE COUNTY, Arizona – On Tuesday, the Apache County Board of Supervisors hired outside counsel following an investigation into its own district attorney, Michael Whiting.

The Arizona Attorney General’s Office is investigating Whiting for misuse of public funds and intimidation of political opponents.

MORE DETAILS: Arizona Attorney General raids Apache County Attorney’s Office

Whiting has not had a challenger since he was first elected. The last time Whiting ran against him was in 2008 during the Democratic primary for Apache County District Attorney.

12News spoke with Criss Candelaria, his opponent.

Candelaria was the district attorney at the time who originally hired Whiting for the firm.

“I wanted someone who was hard working, so I hired Whiting, you know, because of his, quote, accurate resume,” Candelaria said.

In a letter to the Apache County Board of Supervisors, Attorney General Kris Mayes said Whiting was being investigated for “misuse of public funds” and “threatening and intimidating a political opponent.”

12News journalist Colleen Sikora asked Candelaria who he thought these people might be.

“Anyone who disagrees with him? I mean, anyone who could cause the collapse of his kingdom,” Candelaria said.

12News has learned that employees have filed restraining orders against Whiting for harassment.

When 12News reached out to us for comment, Whiting only responded to our questions via email and denied the harassment allegations.

Whiting said, in part, “In an election year with the primary election beginning in less than 60 days, these rumors and smear campaign are merely political tactics by those who do not support me as District Attorney of Apache County.”

Meanwhile, Whiting is running again without any opponents.

In his emails, Whiting also said he was not spending public money on his campaign and instead shared images of his work on bullying prevention.

“It eventually became too much for him,” Candelaria said. “He had an iron grip on county politics and was so arrogant that he was not as careful as he should have been in controlling the population and taxpayers’ money.”

The Attorney General’s Office has not commented further on the investigation into Whiting, but told 12News that search warrants issued last week are still under seal.

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