Tuesday afternoon, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee announced the state will withhold the pay of Auditor Troy Kelley, in the wake of his federal indictment.

Inslee, who also repeated his call for Kelley to resign, said the annual salary of the auditor is $116,950, and will stop effective immediately.  Kelley is taking what is being called a "leave of absence" after being indicted on tax evasion and other charges.

They stem from financial activities he engaged in when he ran a business before becoming a state representative, and then auditor.  He is facing ten felony counts related to possession of more than $1 million in stolen property from that former company, as well as obstructing a lawsuit looking into the matter.

Inslee based his decision upon input from Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson, who said there was legal precedent in doing so.  A letter was sent to Kelley informing him the state is entitled to withhold his compensation as long as he was not "performing the duties of the office you were elected to perform."

Kelley has pleaded not guilty to the federal indictment. In the meantime, the Director of Operations for the Auditor's Office, Jan Jutte, will take over Kelley's role till further notice.

Kelley reportedly said he doesn't "want the money" that's being withheld.

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