After today's House Ethics Committee deliberations, Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, said, "Well, I still think they're looking for their allegation that shows that there is bona fide violation of Rule 76. ... They're still empty-handed."Asked what he hopes happens next, Hart said, "I'm hoping that…
Starr Kelso, attorney for embattled Rep. Phil Hart, said after today's House Ethics Committee meeting, "What I can say is that the legislative process is a fluid and complex process where politics and due process meet. And so, I guess it was reasonable that they…
Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, says his conversation with Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, at the Legislature's organizational session wasn't confrontational. "I did approach him and I did say, 'Eric, if you need to get together or if you see a need for us to get…
House Speaker Lawerence Denney said today that Rep. Eric Anderson's removal as vice-chairman of the House State Affairs Committee - shortly after Anderson had filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Phil Hart - was merely an oversight, but also said he'd warned Anderson of "fallout"…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on today's House Ethics Committee meeting on Rep. Phil Hart, in which the panel voted 6-1 to launch a full investigation into the latest ethics complaint against Hart and reconvene in January, rather than dismiss the…
The motion passed 6-1, with just the chairman, Rep. Tom Loertscher, voting against it. "You know, as legislators we all have something in our past," said Loertscher, R-Iona. He said he doesn't feel that the "constitutional rights to exhaust our remedies ends the day we…
"We have before us a copy of the minutes of our last meeting," Rep. Tom Loertscher said as the ethics committee came back into session. "On page 6, on the last page, Rep. Raybould moved that the committee dismiss the complaint of misuse of constitutional…
During the Ethics Committee's break, over the speaker system is coming a muffled conversation by Rep. Phil Hart, talking at his lawyer's office, and strains of music.
Rep. Eric Anderson said children have asked him how the courts could repeatedly say Hart was wrong, but he could continue to say he's right. Rep. Tom Loertscher, Ethics committee chairman, asked Anderson, "Is Rep. Hart denied the opportunity to challenge ... in any court…
Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, told the House Ethics Committee, "It could be an array of things that cause ethics issues to rise up. ... I don't know why we have an oath if it's not going to be enforced." He said he believes Hart…
Rep. Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, said after reviewing Rep. Eric Anderson's complaint, there was no mention in it of the silver issue. Therefore, he said, he apologized to the committee and it shouldn't even be discussing it. Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, asked if under state laws…
A half-dozen Hart supporters in the audience, who are wearing white paper cut-out hearts in support of Phil Hart, are grumbling loudly, "This is a circus" and other complaints about the Ethics Committee proceedings.
Rep. Dell Raybould, R-Rexburg, said if the Ethics Committee is going to proceed further "on this silver coin issue," it needs a lot more information about the organization, the bill Hart introduced in 2010, and more. He said he didn't think that was what the…
After Rep. Bill Killen, D-Boise, pressed repeatedly, attorney Starr Kelso finally conferred with his client, Rep. Phil Hart, and said Hart was not involved with the NORFED Liberty Dollars organization after 2006 or 2007. When he introduced legislation in 2010 regarding silver medallions as currency,…
Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, asked whether Hart had proper permits to sell NORFED or Liberty Dollars. Starr Kelso responded, "That issue, to the extent it was raised, was discussed in the original hearing." He said the question of whether Hart paid sales taxes on the…
After Rep. Wendy Jaquet, D-Ketchum, said of the timber issue, "I believe that there's some merit there, that we should look into this further," Ethics Committee Chair Tom Loertscher R-Iona, said, "The thing we should consider is if Rep. Hart used his office as a…
Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, said there are three points in the ethics complaint: Theft of logs from state endowment lands, claiming that state and federal income taxes are unconstitutional, and personally benefiting from silver legislation. "We dealt in our last meetings about these items having…
Ethics Committee Chairman Tom Loertscher, R-Iona, opened the ethics committee hearing this morning saying, "The purpose of our meeting today is to make a determination as to whether or not there is merit enough on this complaint to go further. This is not a hearing…
This morning's House Ethics Committee meeting will be broadcast live on the Internet; you can listen in by going to the Legislature's website and clicking on the link under "Announcements."Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, has submitted letters of support from GOP central committees in Boundary, Bonner…
Rep. Eric Anderson, R-Priest Lake, who filed an ethics complaint against Rep. Phil Hart, R-Athol, that's the topic of a House Ethics Committee hearing later this morning, says Hart confronted him over it during the Dec. 2 organizational session of the Legislature, and Anderson subsequently…
More than a dozen Idaho river advocates gathered in front of the Idaho Transportation Department's headquarters today to deliver a 50-pound bag of peanuts to DMV administrator Alan Frew. "The people who oppose the megaloads are not 'nuts,' Mr. Frew," declared Bill Sedivy, executive director…
After the conclusion yesterday of a two-day contested-case hearing on ConocoPhillips' proposed megaloads on Highway 12, the company issued this statement:"ConocoPhillips appreciated the opportunity to reaffirm to ITD and the public our detailed plans to transport four shipments of equipment from Lewiston to the Billings…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — The state Board of Education will once again allow Idaho's public universities to seek tuition and fee increases of more than 10 percent. Trustees voted 7-1 on Thursday to temporarily waive the board…
Here's a link to my full story at spokesman.com on the two-day contested-case hearing on ConocoPhillips' proposed megaloads on U.S. Highway 12. State hearing officer Merlyn Clark said he'll take the issue under advisement. He asked attorneys on all sides to submit briefing on several…
Hearing officer Merlyn Clark said he'll rule as quickly as he can, but there's a lot of information in the record that he'll need to review. He asked the attorneys on all sides to submit post-hearing briefs by noon on Wednesday, "so I can then…
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