Idaho GOP committee members accuse party of secret society

BOISE – Members of Idaho’s Republican Party central committee say a secret society has been formed to oust them from their leadership positions.

The men have filed a petition in state district court in eastern Idaho to force Republican officials to give depositions so that members of the alleged secret society can be revealed.

Bryan Smith, a former Idaho congressional candidate and a regional GOP chairman, and Doyle Beck, the Bonneville County GOP committee chairman, say they cannot file a lawsuit because they do not know enough information about the so-called “clandestine core group,” but they believe duties have been breached.

“The core group is a secret society using innocuous descriptions of their project that is safe to share if asked,” the petition reads.

The petition, which was filed Dec. 15, is scheduled to be reviewed on April 7 after previous hearings were rescheduled when the judges recused themselves.

Additionally, Smith sent out a letter on March 18 using state Republican Party letterhead cautioning precinct candidates that the alleged secret group may be tied to Gov. C.L. “Butch” Otter’s recently formed political action committee, Otter PAC.

Listed as people who could be deposed as part of the lawsuit are Idaho GOP chairman Steve Yates, former Idaho lawmaker Doug Hancey, Marsha Bjorn, Richard Larsen, Stephanie Mickelsen, Ann Rydalch and Sean Colletti. They all filed a motion earlier this week asking the court reconsider granting Smith and Beck’s request.

“Petitioners have not explained how members of a political party would owe any fiduciary duties – such as a duty of loyalty – to other members or officers in that political party. To suggest such is so completely contrary to the idea of politics,” according to the motion.

Yates said the petition belonged in conspiracy theory territory.

“This type of government intrusion into personal rights is fundamentally contrary to everything conservative Republicans stand for,” Yates said in a statement. “Smith and Beck’s true colors are now exposed in that they only give lip service to libertarian and conservative values when it suits their personal agendas.”

Yates’s attorney has also sent a letter to Smith and Beck warning that Yates would refuse to answer any question if he were to be deposed. Furthermore, Boise attorney Jason Risch argued that Smith and Beck know that their request is illegal.

“Simply put, the United State Government, the State of Idaho, your law firm and your clients have absolutely no right to even ask these questions of my client; it is none of your business,” Risch wrote.

Christ Troupis, who represents Smith and Beck, did not return requests for comment.

Named the Idaho Prosperity Project, Smith and Beck argue in their petition that the group is working to take over local precinct positions. Meanwhile, the group – which is tied to the influential Idaho Association of Commerce and Industry – describes itself as a nonpartisan service providing information about candidates and elections.

However, attached to the petition is an undated Idaho Prosperity Project campaign plan that outlines a nearly $100,000 effort to “change the balance of power in Idaho politics.”

It lays out a yearlong strategy that involves recruiting and training walkers to be deployed in Bonneville and Madison counties to identify voters who will support their endorsed candidates. The plan suggests walkers, who would be recruited students from Brigham Young University-Idaho, would go door-to-door multiple times a week for four months before the May primary election.