Susan Kiebert did Gov. Butch Otter a favor Monday by swiftly leaving the Idaho Judicial Council, the panel that vets judicial appointments and investigates complaints against judges. “I don’t want this hanging in the air,” Kiebert told me. Kiebert said she was surprised to learn that her 1995 federal conviction for making false statements remained on her record. She said she assumed it was expunged after she completed probation, paid a fine and restitution. “I would never have put myself through this, nor would I have put Gov. Otter or Sen. (Denton) Darrington through this,” she said. Darrington, R-Declo, chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee and postponed Monday afternoon’s confirmation vote on the October appointment after I told him about the conviction. “You expect the highest degree of ethics when you’re on the Judicial Council sitting on potential discipline of judges and appointment of judges,” he said. Four hours later, Kiebert gracefully resigned. But Otter, who also appointed Kiebert’s husband, Kermit, to the Department of Environmental Quality Board, was mum/Dan Popkey, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Question: Wouldn't you think that a cursory vetting of the Kiebert nomination would have caught this problem?