I'd love to be a Laramie County juror if this “CheckGate” flap ever results in an allegation of criminal bribery and is presented to a jury.
Imagine trying to put someone behind bars, or fine them $5,000, or both, because Sweetwater County Republican Rep. Darin McCann – who was handed a legal donation of $1,500 by a Teton County Republican - voted with his fellow conservative Republicans to introduce a bill two days later, dealing with workforce housing in Jackson.
This would be the same McCann – former Green Beret and current Physician Assistant in Rock Springs - who, according to wyoRINO.com, votes 90 percent of the time with his fellow conservative Republicans.
Don't trust wyoRINO.com? Then check out evidencebasedwyoming.com, which gives McCann a 99 percent rating for voting with conservatives on key issues.
And yet, to convict someone of bribery, we would have to believe that, if but for the $1,500 donation, McCann would have changed his stripes and voted with the Democrats. We're supposed to believe that?
We're supposed to believe that the $1,500 donation was made specifically to support that workforce housing bill, and not in general support of a guy rated near the very top on supporting issues Republicans hold dear? And would the $1,500 have been rescinded had McCann voted with the Democrats on that one bill?
We're supposed to believe all that?
House Speaker Chip Nieman is another lawmaker who got a $1,500 donation, but in his office. Last year he voted for the Jackson workforce housing bill.
And yet we're supposed to believe that, if but for the $1,500 donation, Nieman would have voted AGAINST the bill this year that he voted FOR last year?
This is the Nieman who gets a 100 percent rating from wyoRINO.com, and a 99 percent from evidencebasedwyoming.com.
That's the guy who would saddle up with the Democrats, if not for the $1,500?
I served on a jury here in Cheyenne a few years back. I was impressed by the healthy skepticism of my fellow jurors when it came to convicting a guy for conducting cockfights in Laramie County.
We acquitted the guy, spotting big holes in the prosecution's case, and decided they hadn't come close to proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
Good luck tying McCann's $1,500 donation specifically to one bill about a problem in Jackson Hole, instead of for his overall voting record, to a jury like that.
So, whatever our sheriff finds in his investigation into bribery in the “CheckGate” imbroglio, I'd be surprised if a prosecutor would bring such a case, and doubtful that a jury would ultimately vote to convict.
Bribery is quite a reach, in this case.
The charge is also being made that the $1,500 checks violate an ethics provision under Wyoming law that prohibits officeholders from accepting anything of value. But if you go that route, you've got to prohibit donations to all 93 of our lawmakers.
Nieman last week disclosed that those who oppose his re-election plan to raise $75,000 to defeat him. And we're going to prohibit him from raising funds for his re-election campaign? Where's the fairness in that?
The argument is also made that the $1,500 donations were illegal because they weren't made during the campaign season that begins in May.
But that restriction is clearly violated all the time, with donations rolling in pretty much year-round. If that restriction were commonly enforced, why would the Senate and House last week have prohibited donations during legislative sessions, which are held in January, February and March?
I think the unfortunate decision by a Republican from Teton County to deliver checks on the floor of the House, after adjournment, could possibly fall under “Misuse of office,” but most likely for those officeholders accepting checks in that venue. A good lawyer could make mincemeat out of that.
A case can be made that this was just a mistake by that Teton County Republican, Rebecca Bextel, not realizing how it would look. It was an unfortunate decision that is now being depicted as the crime of the century by those with no love for the Freedom Caucus.
Bottom line: There's plenty of hypocrisy to go around when it comes to donations. But it's probably good that the Senate and House have banned donations during sessions, and good that the governor has banned donations in the Capitol and state facilities. Lawmakers have enough work to do at the Capitol without accepting campaign checks.
It's regrettable that our sheriff (we really like the guy) is in the middle of this, and his investigation could take as long as a year.
And lastly, when has “putting the check in the mail” ever sounded so good?
