As mistakes go, this one was a doozy.
Big enough, in fact, to unify Wyoming House and Senate members – who almost never agree on anything - to investigate.
And big enough for the Laramie County Sheriff to investigate possible bribery.
I'm talking about Rebecca Bextel, a Republican from Teton County, handing out political donation checks (reportedly from another donor) to three members of the House of Representatives, on the House floor, on the first day of the current legislative session, after adjournment.
It was photographed by Democratic Rep. Karlee Provenza and circulated later in the week.
The checks were legal, but the place Bextel chose to hand them out is problematic. And that has set up a ruckus that has folks using terms like “bad optics,” “icky,'' and – we knew this was coming - “CheckGate.”
Section 9-13-105b of the Wyoming Statutes states, “A public official, public member or public employee shall not use public funds, time, personnel, facilities or equipment for political or campaign activity...” It's a misdemeanor, and comes under the heading, “Misuse of office.”
The penalty is a fine of up to $1,000 and possible removal from office.
More serious is Section 6-5-102 for bribery, which our local sheriff is investigating.
That statute states, “While a public servant, he solicits, accepts or agrees to accept any pecuniary benefit, testimonial, privilege or personal advantage upon an agreement or understanding that his vote, exercise of discretion or other action as a public servant will thereby be influenced.”
That's a felony, and can get you up to 10 years in prison, a fine of up to $5,000, or both.
If anything, this episode looks like a misuse of office. Tying campaign donations to a specific vote on a specific bill seems much harder to prove.
To be consistent, the Laramie County Sheriff might have to open a satellite office at the Capitol, with 93 lawmakers, receiving campaign donations from long lists of folks, and each lawmaker casting multiple votes on hundreds of bills. Who figures out which donation bribed a lawmaker to vote for or against a specific bill? And how do you separate that from the donor who just likes the overall cut of the lawmaker's jib.
And what prosecutor in his or her right mind would open a can of worms like that in a state capital, where a leading occupation is writing and considering legislative bills?
Are we shocked, SHOCKED, that politicians get donations from all kinds of groups, professional organizations, and individuals? No. Is donating to politicians bribery? The courts seem to see donations these days as free speech, not bribery.
Problem is, Bextel chose one of the only places in the state that you really can't hand out checks. We don't want our politicians walking around the People's House wearing coin changers on their belts. That would be “bad optics.”
If Bextel had mailed those checks to politicians, even to their desks at the Capitol, we wouldn't be talking about this today. Or if she handed a campaign donation to a politician at some latter-day Hitching Post bar or lobby, nobody would bat an eye. (They used to say as many amendments were written in the bar at the Hitching Post as at the Capitol.)
But, the floor of the House of Representatives, and the Senate, are different, even after adjournment for the day, and members accepting checks there is the definition of bad optics.
But, not bribery.
Meanwhile, back at the ranch (I love that line from Western movies), your typical Wyoming conservative Republican is thinking we need this controversy like a hole in the head.
Plenty of so-called Republicans are already wishing ill upon the Freedom Caucus wing of the party, which currently (sort of) controls the House. So a controversy with “gate” tagged on the end is the last thing they need.
A line from “Happy Days” character Fonzi comes to mind: “I'm hanging on by my fingernails here, and you're walking across my cuticles!”
Where's this heading? I think the lawmakers themselves should talk this out. Talk, after all, is what they're good at.
One thing is certain, though:
Old timers (not unlike myself) will remember this session of the Legislature as “the CheckGate year.”
Dave Simpson can be contacted at davesimpson145@hotmail.com
