Did Risch Compare EPA To Gestapo?

The comment is enough to raise eyebrows: During a recent August recess swing through Twin Falls, Sen. Jim Risch compared the federal Environmental Protection Agency to the Gestapo. The Twin Falls Times-News mentioned the comment in passing in an Aug. 19 article. But Risch says he can’t recall making the remark — and says he’s asked his staff whether he said it. “I’m not going to deny it,” Risch said in a telephone interview today. “They were taking notes. I wasn’t.” The “they,” of course, would be editors at The Times-News. I’ve asked Times-News editor Josh Awtry for his side of this one, and will update this blog when I get word/Kevin Richert, Idaho Statesman. More here.

Richert goes on to ask: Is there any context where it would be apt or appropriate for a U.S. senator to draw such an analogy?