The speaker of New Mexico's House of Representatives says he's created a special committee to investigate charges against Secretary of State Dianna Duran.
Don Tripp says he believes it's the "appropriate and responsible next step" for the House to begin the process of determining whether the charges have merit and rise to the level of impeachment.
The state Attorney General has leveled allegations of fraud, embezzlement and money laundering against Duran, who is New Mexico's top elections official.
She is facing a 64-count complaint stemming from allegations she funneled campaign donations into personal bank accounts and withdrew large sums of money from those accounts while frequenting casinos around New Mexico.
Duran's attorney says she hopes the case isn't politically motivated and she's looking forward to addressing the allegations in court.
Copyright 2015 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.