State defers to FBI on initial West probe

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna on Thursday said the state will hold off on an investigation into misconduct allegations against Mayor Jim West until the FBI has completed its preliminary investigation of the case.

The chief of the State Patrol has recommended waiting for the FBI to conduct interviews with at least two men who have said they were offered positions at City Hall after they met West through a Gay.com personal chat line.

McKenna said during a Thursday morning appearance in Spokane Valley that he would ask the State Patrol to initiate an investigation. After speaking with State Patrol Chief John Batiste, McKenna issued a written statement clarifying his earlier comments.

“Chief Batiste and the FBI have agreed that rather than duplicate efforts at this stage, the patrol will await the completion of the FBI’s preliminary investigation,” McKenna said in the statement issued at 2 p.m.

The action by the attorney general followed requests on Wednesday by City Attorney Mike Connelly that the FBI and the state conduct independent investigations.

Allegations against West surfaced on May 5 when The Spokesman-Review published the results of a lengthy investigation in which two men said they were abused by West when they were boys more than 25 years ago when West was a Spokane County deputy sheriff and Boy Scout leader – allegations West denies.

In addition, the newspaper reported that West used his City Hall computer to communicate with a man he thought was a Ferris High School student. He initially made contact with the man through Gay.com and later offered him a City Hall internship.

The man was actually a forensic computer expert hired by the newspaper to confirm statements from an 18-year-old that West was using Gay.com to solicit dates. The expert initially portrayed himself as a 17-year-old about to turn 18. West has not denied having private online relationships in the past year through Gay.com.

McKenna said that once the FBI has finished its preliminary investigation, “the State Patrol will decide whether a full-blown investigation into violations of state law is warranted and the FBI will decide whether a full-blown investigation into violations of federal law is warranted.”

It was unclear today how long the FBI’s preliminary investigation could take.

Two state laws – communicating with a minor for immoraql purposes and official misconduct – and three federal laws could be applied to the case.

McKenna appeared in Spokane Valley Thursday with Spokane County Prosecuting Attorney Steve Tucker on an effort to fight methamphetamine abuse statewide. McKenna said Tucker would be the authority responsible for prosecution of any state law violations unless Tucker requested that the attorney general undertake any prosecution.

During Thursday’s press announcement, Tucker, a Republican, acknowledged he is “uncomfortable” dealing with a probe of the nonpartisan mayor, who built his career as a GOP lawmaker.

McKenna said the scope of the investigation was not limited: “When you do an investigation, you look for any and all evidence of possible wrongdoing.”

McKenna also said that no determination had been made as to the number of years in which investigators would be looking into West’s activities. It may include West’s activities as a state legislator, he said.

The statute of limitations on the sex abuse allegations in the 1970s has expired, he said.

In a related matter, at least three lawyers on the attorney general’s staff, who worked closely with West when West served as Republican Senate majority leader in 2003, will not be involved in any state investigation, McKenna and others said. McKenna is also a Republican.

McKenna’s chief of staff is Milt Doumit, who earned $120,000 as the secretary of the Senate in 2003.

“Milt would not be allowed to participate in any of the discussions,” said Greg Lane, a spokesman for the attorney general’s office.

Lane said Doumit “recognizes the potential conflict, or impression of it,” and recused himself from any investigation, Lane said.

Also being kept out of any investigation would be West’s former GOP colleagues Sen. Luke Esser, who represents Bellevue, and ex-senator Larry Sheahan, formerly of Colfax, both of whom work for McKenna now.

It’s still unclear precisely what sorts of potential violations would be investigated, Lane said.

“It could be anything from misdemeanor use of public facilities on up,” he said. “We’re just waiting to hear what the initial (FBI) investigation uncovers.”

The State Patrol would also disqualify from its investigation anyone linked to West, said Patrol spokesman Capt. John De Vere. Although West was a sheriff’s deputy decades ago, the likelihood of a potential conflict with current patrol employees “is fairly minimal, I think,” said De Vere.

In addition, the city is doing its own investigation into any possible violations of city policy on the use of city computers or resources, Connelly said Wednesday.

At City Hall, officials said West continues checking in with top staff. Chief Financial Officer Gavin Cooley said he spoke with West by telephone Thursday. Cooley said West “is doing everything he can to keep things running.”

Spokane city officials said that if West were to resign from office he would likely be eligible for a pension that includes benefits combined from his years of public service, including that of deputy sheriff, state legislator and mayor.

The amount of his pension apparently would be based on a percentage of his salary for the past two years. West took over the mayor’s job in January 2004 and is now earning $136,000 a year, plus benefits.