INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita—just three weeks into his second term in that position—is once again facing disciplinary charges from the Indiana Supreme Court Disciplinary Commission.
The three charges, filed by the commission Friday morning, are a result of Rokita’s response to his most recent reprimand case in 2023.
The commission argues Rokita made contradicting statements when he issued a public statement after accepting responsibility in a sworn affidavit.
According to the complaint, Rokita faces disciplinary charges of: making false statements to the state Supreme Court, engaging in dishonest behavior, and for violating another of Indiana Professional Conduct rules.
In a statement Friday, Rokita pushed back against the latest disciplinary action, writing:
"The lawfare continues and is aimed at silencing me because they don’t like what I say on behalf of Hoosiers who spoke loudly at the ballot box recently. This is an attempt to take away their voices as well.
These never ending investigations have created unnecessary distractions and expenses, and despite my offer to take responsibility well over a year ago, this matter continues to be revisited by politically passionate people who have weaponized the process, going well beyond what is fair and appropriate.
The claim that my press statement contradicts the agreement is wrong. The agreement required me to acknowledge the disciplinary process and accept the reprimand, which I did — it did not require me to forfeit my right to speak truthfully about what happened regarding a major political and policy matter. I upheld my obligations while also defending myself against mischaracterizations that were circulating for weeks while being prohibited from speaking. Once able, I spoke truthfully.
I remain committed to enforcing the law, protecting Hoosiers, and defending their rights, undeterred by efforts to create further controversy where none should exist."
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Rokita’s “continuing course of conduct demonstrate [his] lack of candor and dishonesty to the Court when he swore that he was accepting responsibility for the agreed misconduct,” part of the complaint reads.
The commission cites the Nov. 2, 2023 press release that Rokita issued after the resolution.
In the first line of the release, Rokita wrote, “First things first: I deny and was not found to have violated anyone’s confidentiality or any laws.” The commission argued that line contradicts the affidavit where Rokita agreed to violating two rules charged in the previous case.
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The case now heads to the Indiana Supreme Court, where as of publication, no future hearing date has been set.
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The 2023 disciplinary case focused on comments Rokita made in 2022 about Dr. Caitlin Bernard, the IU Health OB-GYN who performed an abortion on a 10-year-old rape victim from Ohio.
During an appearance on the Jesse Waters show on July 13, 2022, Rokita called Dr. Bernard an “abortion activist acting as a doctor—with a history of failure to report."
In the complaint that came the following year, the commission argued Rokita violated three separate rules of conduct when he made public comments about the abortion case and the investigation into Dr. Bernard, which was on-going at the time.
Rokita was reprimanded in Nov. 2023, after he accepted responsibility for the charges.
