State Treasurer Mike Frerichs/Photo courtesy of Mr. Frerichs

By Todd Wineburner

State Treasurer Mike Frerichs says a pending federal lawsuit is preventing his office from releasing the results of an investigation focused on former State Treasurer Dan Rutherford. Rutherford commissioned the investigation himself after being accused of sexual harrassment by former employee Ed Michalowski. Michalowski further charged that Rutherford had forced him to work on political campaign activities while being paid as a state employee.

The allegations derailed Rutherford's gubernatorial aspirations in 2014 and he finished a distant 4th in the Republican primary. Rutherford has denied all of Michalowski's charges and said that he would release the results of the investigation himself. Frerichs had also pledged to release the investigation results but legal counsel for both men have said that as long as Michalowski's federal lawsuit is under way, the results can't be made public. There is no word on the status of that lawsuit or whether it will ever lead to court action.