Republican Alaska AG Quits Amid Sexting Scandal

The Associated Press reports:

Alaska Attorney General Kevin Clarkson has resigned, shortly after details of text messages he exchanged with a woman were revealed Tuesday. Clarkson submitted his resignation letter to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the governor’s office said.

“Kevin Clarkson has admitted to conduct in the workplace that did not live up to our high expectations, and this is deeply disappointing,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy said in a statement. “This morning he took responsibility for the unintentional consequences of his actions and tendered his resignation to me. I have accepted it.”

ProPublica reports:

Records obtained by the Anchorage Daily News and ProPublica show the abrupt departure came after a junior state employee raised concerns about 558 text messages that Clarkson sent to her personal phone in March.

Over a 27-day span, the attorney general asked the woman to come to his house at least 18 times, often punctuating the messages with kiss emoji and comments about the much-younger woman’s beauty.

The attorney general texted the woman at all hours of the day and evening, sometimes from his state office, until she sent him a message in early April asking him to respect professional boundaries and saying she doesn’t accept late-night calls on her personal phone.

In late June, Clarkson ruled that local mask mandates do not apply to government buildings.