Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski on Wednesday continued to refuse to answer questions about her top fisheries adviser, who faces nearly a year in prison after he admitted lying about illegally catching at least $100,000 worth of sablefish.
Murkowski staff member Arne Fuglvog signed a plea agreement on April 8 in which he admitted to a misdemeanor charge of breaking federal commercial fisheries law by falsifying catch records. He agreed to accept a sentence of 10 months and pay $150,000 in fines and penalties.
Fuglvog remained on Murkowski's staff until Sunday, when she accepted his resignation. On Monday, he was formally charged and his plea agreement became public. A judge has not yet accepted his guilty plea.
Through her spokesman, Murkowski repeatedly declined to answer any questions about Fuglvog by telephone and email on Tuesday and again Wednesday, including when she learned Fuglvog was under criminal investigation and whether she knew he admitted his crime to federal prosecutors four months ago.
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