(The Center Square) – Newly obtained records reveal further details of the Washington State Bar Association investigation into Attorney General Nick Brown that ended hours after The Center Square reached out for comment.
WSBA rules dictate that bar complaint investigations into private attorneys are to be kept confidential, but The Center Square obtained records of the investigation through a public records request to the AGO. The office acted as defense counsel for Brown and AGO employees and resources were used to prepare the response.
Among the new details revealed is that Solicitor General Noah Purcell sought and obtained two separate extensions of deadlines set by the WSBA, albeit the first one was after two deadlines had not been met. The Center Square has previously inquired with the WSBA whether extensions were granted but did not receive any response. The AGO has also never responded to The Center Square’s requests to confirm the information.
The WSBA inquiry occurred after a bar complaint was filed against Brown for signing an amicus brief in support of a motion for a temporary restraining order made by private law firm Perkins Coie, Purcell’s former law firm, to maintain access to federal contracts. President Donald Trump sought to cancel the contracts and revoke the security clearances for firm employees.
The motion was eventually granted in federal court.
Although the amicus brief mentioned prior cases in which Perkins Coie sued the state on behalf of a client, left unmentioned was that the law firm had 10 active contracts with the AGO, making them special assistance attorneys general or the attorney for the AGO in 10 separate legal cases.
The complaint was filed in response to story by The Center Square revealing that the AGO had active contracts with the law firm.
After the bar complaint was filed, the WSBA in May sent an email to Brown’s Executive Assistant Angie Adams, his point of contact on his WSBA profile page, requesting a response to the allegations. When a response was not sent, the WSBA sent a follow up letter threatening to temporarily suspend Brown’s license to practice law if he did not respond by July 16.
According to AGO emails, Adams reached out to other AGO employees on July 17, saying she had been out on vacation when the email was initially sent.
The next day, Purcell contacted Managing Disciplinary Counsel Craig Bray, urgently requesting that he call him on his cell phone. Within minutes of that email, Bray emailed Purcell telling him that he had granted a deadline extension from July 16 to Aug. 11.
“I have also taken the liberty of listing you as respondent’s counsel,” he wrote. “Please advise if I should list someone else.”
On Aug. 4, Purcell wrote again to Bray, saying he had “been unexpectedly busy with other matters and have not had as much time as I would like to devote to this,” requesting an additional extension to Aug. 15. The request was granted by Bray two days later.
These emails did not include the complainant, who claimed to be unaware of both extensions until The Center Square reached out for comment. Emails obtained by The Center Square show the complainant did communicate with Bray asking for an update the same day Purcell reached out to Bray.
Bray responded to the complainant on July 22, writing that “we have not received a preliminary response from the respondent yet, but do expect to receive one.”
The complainant again requested an update on July 31 as well as Aug. 10, but claims to have not received any further response.
Although Purcell was designated Brown’s defense counsel with the WSBA, AGO emails reveal that the response was prepared by a variety of other AGO employees. They included Deputy Solicitor General Emma Grunberg, who signed the amicus brief and offered advice to Perkins Coie on where and when to file their motion.
Others involved in preparing the WSBA response were Purcell’s Executive Assistant Kelsi Zweifel and IT Systems Administrator Sue Budsberg, who searched internally for cases in which Perkins Coie had represent plaintiffs against the state of Washington.
On Aug 12, Bray emailed Purcell, asking him if he could get the response to the WSBA by prior to the Aug. 15 deadline. Purcell provided the response on Aug. 14.
The next day, The Center Square reached out to the WSBA for comment on the investigation.
The WSBA ultimately launched a formal investigation on Aug. 29 and assigned it to Senior Disciplinary Counsel Henry Cruz, who was also assigned a bar complaint filed against Purcell for defending Brown. The AGO is not allowed to provide legal counsel or advice to private individuals. The AGO argued that state law allows them to defend state employees, but the WSBA previously told The Center Square their investigations concern individuals as private attorneys.
Cruz later dismissed both complaints last month hours after The Center Square contacted him via phone and left a message requesting an interview.
While the investigation against him was still ongoing, Brown was collaborating with his communications staff to create a short video featuring him mocking social media posts critical of him.
The complainant has 45 days since the dismissal of his complaint against Brown to appeal.
