Bar dismisses complaint against Kulongoski
PORTLAND – The Oregon State Bar has closed the book on a complaint that Gov. Ted Kulongoski lied about his knowledge of former Gov. Neil Goldschmidt’s sexual abuse of a teenage girl.
The bar rejected the original complaint by radio talk show host Lars Larson, saying Kulongoski was “credible” in his denial that he had not heard about the abuse until just before it was reported in newspapers in May 2004.
Larson appealed, saying that contradicted the bar’s conclusion that former Goldschmidt speechwriter Fred Leonhardt also was “credible” in his claim that he told Kulongoski about the abuse years before it was reported publicly.
Sylvia Stevens, the bar’s general counsel, said Thursday in a letter to Larson that, “given the directly contradictory accounts of the parties and the total absence of any other evidence, I cannot conclude that there is sufficient evidence to form a reasonable belief that misconduct may have occurred.”
Larson, in an e-mail, accused the bar of trying to “sweep this matter under the rug.”
“They have decided not to investigate to find out if it is indeed true or not,” he said.
Stevens, however, said Larson had not produced any additional evidence against Kulongoski, a lawyer who has been state attorney general and a state Supreme Court justice.