Attorney for Elkhart County Clerk Christopher Anderson speaks to ABC57 after initial hearing

ELKHART COUNTY, Ind. -- Today was the initial hearing for Elkhart County Clerk Christopher Anderson and Chief Deputy Clerk Carol Smith.

Last week, an Elkhart grand jury indicted Smith and Anderson for official misconduct and criminal conversion. They are accused of paying county employees more hours than they worked.

ABC57 requested to speak with both Smith and Anderson after their initial hearings on Wednesday morning.

Smith declined to speak with ABC57. Anderson's attorney, Eric Kinsman of Wilson & Kinsman, LLC, provided ABC57 with an on-camera statement:

"My client, Christopher Anderson, has served the people of this county for a quarter century, working in the clerk's office. He's always acted with integrity, and in his service to the taxpayers, he puts them first. He also puts his employees first, and he wants to ensure, and he has wanted to ensure that the employees of his in the Elkhart County Clerk's office are fairly compensated for the hard work that they do. They're very often first in this building and last out. And so this case is going to be about the facts as they come out. And I think when it's done, we'll see clearly that he did nothing wrong, that he acted with good faith to pay and adequately compensate his hard-working employees," said Kinsman.

Anderson is still the elected county clerk, and Smith is his chief deputy.

Jury trials for both are scheduled in December.

Elkhart County Commissioner Brad Rogers says commissioners will not comment on this case.

ABC57 asked Rogers about the process of removing an elected official from office. He said in part, "that can only occur if an elected official is convicted of a felony. If an elected official is removed from office or resigns, a political caucus would occur of Precinct Committeemen to replace the position. In this case, that thought process is premature."

Here's the response sent to ABC57 from Elkhart County Democratic Party Chairman Chad Crabtree when asked about Chris Anderson's charges.

"Every American is innocent until proven guilty in a court of law, and we believe this principle should guide our response and the broader public discourse while the legal process unfolds.

We firmly believe that elected officials should uphold the utmost level of ethics and professional conduct. Public trust depends on accountability and integrity, and our community deserves nothing less from those in public service. We will continue to monitor this situation closely as developments unfold."

Below is a statement from Courtney Papa, Elkhart County GOP Chair.

"Regardless of political affiliation, no individual is above the law. Our justice system upholds the principle that every person is presumed innocent until proven guilty. The legal process has only just commenced, and Mr. Anderson will be afforded his full and fair opportunity to present his case in court. "