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Disciplinary complaint filed against Attorney General Todd Rokita

Todd Rokita stands at a lectern in his office, speaking into several microphones. Rokita is a White man with dark hair, wearing a suit jacket.
Brandon Smith
/
IPB News
The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission filed a complaint against Attorney General Todd Rokita based on comments he made to the media and on Fox News about Dr. Caitlin Bernard.

The Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission wants the court to discipline Attorney General Todd Rokita for comments he made about Dr. Caitlin Bernard.

A formal complaint was filed Monday.

Last year, Bernard made national news after she provided abortion care to a 10-year-old and then discussed it with the Indianapolis Star. Rokita went on Fox News to discuss that incident shortly after. He called Bernard an “abortion activist acting as a doctor, with a history of failure to report.” No such history existed.

The state disciplinary commission said those comments — as well as other remarks by Rokita to the media, in which he discussed an investigation into Bernard before he brought a case to the Medical Licensing Board — violate Indiana’s Rules of Professional Conduct for attorneys.

READ MORE: Rokita sues IU Health over its support of Dr. Caitlin Bernard, alleging privacy violations

Rokita defended his remarks, saying he was fulfilling his official duties and that Bernard gave up any right to confidentiality when she spoke to the Indy Star.

The likely next step in the disciplinary case is a public hearing.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.

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Brandon Smith has covered the Statehouse for Indiana Public Broadcasting for more than a decade, spanning three governors and a dozen legislative sessions. He's also the host of Indiana Week in Review, a weekly political and policy discussion program seen and heard across the state. He previously worked at KBIA in Columbia, Missouri and WSPY in Plano, Illinois. His first job in radio was in another state capitol - Jefferson City, Missouri - as a reporter for three stations around the Show-Me State.