A special committee created by the House will continue with its investigation of campaign checks distributed on the floor of the lower chamber.
That's the result of a Wednesday night vote on the subject. Earlier this week, House lawmakers debated allowing the committee to pause its work as a parallel criminal bribery investigation into the checks debacle plays out at the Laramie County Sheriff’s Office.
The House also voted unanimously to adopt rules brought by Rep. Mike Yin (D-Jackson) that say lower chamber lawmakers cannot “solicit, offer, deliver or accept any campaign contributions within any area under the control of the speaker of the House,” according to Majority Floor Leader Rep. Scott Heiner (R-Green River), who spoke on the same floor where the checks controversy began on Feb. 9.
The rules mirror a policy the Senate adopted on Tuesday and an executive order the governor signed Wednesday for state property under his authority.
Later on Wednesday night, House Speaker Rep. Chip Neiman (R-Hulett) told the body that he, too, received a check from conservative fundraiser Rebecca Bextel at his office in the Capitol. As speaker, Neiman appointed the representatives on the special committee investigating the incident.
Background
On the first day of the budget session, Bextel, a Teton County donor to the Wyoming Freedom Caucus political action committee, handed out checks from another Teton County donor to Rep. Darin McCann (R-Rock Springs) and Rep. Marlene Brady (R-Green River) while standing on the House floor after the Legislature had gaveled out on Feb. 9. Brady and McCann are endorsees of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.
That’s based on public statements made by both lawmakers on the House floor, Facebook posts made by Bextel and a photo obtained by WPR of the interaction taken by a Democratic representative. The photo of the incident was first reported by WyoFile.
The checks incident became public during debate on the House floor over a housing bill on Feb. 11. That bill would prohibit local governments from imposing certain fees or conditions on residential or commercial development, something Jackson has tried to do to support affordable housing.
The bill, HB 141, is sponsored by former Freedom Caucus chair Rep. John Bear (R-Gillette) and other caucus members.
Neiman admits receiving check
Neiman told the lower chamber that Bextel asked him in January if he would be running for office, either the state Senate or House in the upcoming election.
He said he responded that he was still contemplating that, and that he told Bextel he’d heard on multiple occasions that “they're planning on spending about $75,000 to make sure I don't come back to this house.” Neiman did not define who was planning on spending that money.
Neiman said Bextel told him, “I have a donor that appreciates and supports how you vote and your history as a conservative, and he would like to help you if he could.”
“I said, ‘Well, I think that'd be awesome,’” Neiman told his House colleagues.
He said he told Bextel to let the donor know that he should make out his check to the “COMMITTEE TO ELECT CHIP NEIMAN TO HOUSE DISTRICT 1.”
WyoFile reported last week that the donor on the checks in question is Don Grasso, a Jackson resident.
According to WyoFile’s story, written in collaboration with the Jackson Hole News&Guide, Grasso told a reporter in an interview that he made out 10 checks to lawmakers in the House and Senate.
Like other intended recipients of the checks, some of which were distributed by Bextel, Neiman is a Freedom Caucus member.
Neiman said Bextel asked him where she should send the check to, and Neiman said he gave her his home address and “never thought nothing more of it.”
Then, on Feb. 9, Neiman said he was in his office with his wife when Bextel walked in and said, “Here’s your check.”
“I looked at it and it said ‘committee to elect Chip Neiman’ on it, and it was written January the 20th. I handed it to Joanie. I said, ‘Take that home.’ And I said, ‘And put it in my campaign account.’ Not one time did it cross my mind that I did anything wrong, did anything illegal against any rules, never even dawned on me. I basically forgot about it. Now, there it is. That's the whole story.”
Neiman denied that the check was a bribe, and said he “didn’t do anything wrong.” He also said, “There's not a legislator in this house that did anything wrong.”
“I took a campaign check for $1,500 from a gentleman that believed in me, and he agreed with my political choices and my votes,” he said.
He told lawmakers he hadn’t planned to speak publicly about his interactions with Bextel until the committee had convened.
Motion to continue House investigation
Neiman said that he’d heard the sheriff’s investigation could take up to a year to conclude. What’s happened in the days since the checks controversy became public has been a strain on Neiman and others, he said.
“I will be able to sleep now, which I haven't since the 9th of February, when this whole thing turned into a dumpster fire,” he said.
Later, Rep. Karlee Provenza (D-Laramie) spoke about her original motion to create the investigative committee. In the days since her motion was unanimously adopted, Provenza said the addition of the sheriff’s investigation to the mix has resulted in unforeseen consequences.
That’s because Article 3, Section 44 of the Wyoming Constitution allows witnesses in bribery investigations to be compelled to testify.
“It also provides that once testimony is compelled, it also cannot later be used against that witness in a criminal proceeding except for perjury,” said Provenza. “So knowing what we know now through public comments, through everything else, we have to be clear about the possible legal consequences of our actions. So, a vote to compel testimony in a bribery inquiry might grant legal immunity for those required to testify, including public officials, lobbyists or intermediaries.”
In other words, the actions of the investigative committee might inadvertently interfere with the Laramie County sheriff’s investigation and any future prosecution that might happen, she explained.
At the end of the discussion, the House voted 21 to 37 to reject a motion to pause the committee’s work until the sheriff’s investigation concludes.
That means the committee will likely hold hearings on the checks incident during the ongoing session.
This reporting was made possible by a grant from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, supporting state government coverage in the state. Wyoming Public Media and Jackson Hole Community Radio are partnering to cover state issues both on air and online.
