Judge orders special prosecutor in Island County public records case

Published 1:40 am Tuesday, August 11, 2026

A visiting judge ordered Island County to appoint a special prosecutor within 30 days to handle a public records lawsuit after finding that Prosecutor Greg Banks has conflicts of interest that disqualify him from representing the county.

The lawsuit was filed against Island County by attorney D. Angus Lee, who also represents Camano Island resident Tracy Abuhl in a related criminal case. Abuhl and fellow former Island County Republican Party official Tim Hazelo were arrested after refusing to wear masks in the Elections Office during ballot counting in 2024.

A jury convicted Hazelo of a felony count of unauthorized access to an election office as well as a misdemeanor count. He appealed the convictions. Banks charged Abuhl with the same offenses.

In Abuhl’s ongoing criminal case, Island County Superior Court Judge Christon Skinner denied her motion to disqualify Banks and his entire office but found a limited conflict involving Island County Auditor Sheilah Crider. Skinner ordered Crider to obtain independent legal counsel and ordered remedial measures involving discovery, including a privilege log and an in camera review of unredacted documents. Both the state and Abuhl sought appellate review of Skinner’s rulings.

The public records lawsuit stems from a request Lee made for documents related to the criminal cases. The county produced records, including emails between Banks and Crider, but they were heavily redacted, according to the lawsuit. Banks directed the redactions based on attorney-client privilege, according to the court order. Lee disputes the county’s assertion of attorney-client privilege over records it withheld or redacted.

The Island County Prosecutor’s Office argued that Banks should not be disqualified because his interests are aligned with the county’s and no conflict prevents him from defending the county in the public records lawsuit. Banks maintained that his involvement in the underlying criminal cases and in determining which requested records were protected by attorney-client privilege did not prevent him from representing the county, pointing to Skinner’s earlier refusal to disqualify him from Abuhl’s criminal prosecution.

The prosecutor’s office also asked the judge to put the Public Records Act case on hold until appeals in Abuhl’s criminal case are resolved, arguing that the cases involve overlapping issues.

Visiting San Juan County Superior Court Judge Kathryn Loring rejected those arguments, finding that Banks’ responsibilities to other clients and his own personal interests materially limit his ability to represent Island County in the lawsuit. She also found that Banks’ conflicts extend to the entire prosecutor’s office and cannot be resolved by screening him from the case. Loring disqualified the entire office and ordered the county to appoint a special prosecutor.

Banks wrote in an email to the News-Times that his office is reviewing Loring’s ruling closely. He contrasted her decision with earlier rulings by visiting Snohomish County Superior Court Judge Joseph Wilson and Skinner declining to disqualify him.

“The attorneys representing Mr. Hazelo tried three times, without success, to have me removed from cases related to Mr. Hazelo’s conviction for violating election laws – twice in Mr. Hazelo’s criminal case and once in Ms. Abuhl’s criminal case,” he wrote. “In this case, where one of Mr. Hazelo’s three lawyers is the plaintiff, represented by another of Mr. Hazelo’s lawyers, they got a different ruling. We believe the rulings by Judge Wilson and Judge Skinner were correct.”

In an email, Lee wrote that the judge made the right decision.

“Banks should have recused himself from this case and the Hazelo case long ago,” he wrote. “What is he hiding in those emails?”