Despite this morning's news that the the Lt. Governor's office now considers the matter moot, the bribery beef swirling around the recently resolved GOP State Treasurer primary election race is apparently far from dead. This morning's Salt Lake Tribune reports the matter will now be investigated as a possible ethics violation by the state legislature. We incorporate Cathy McKitrick's opening paragraphs below:
An ethics complaint, signed by five state lawmakers and filed Wednesday on Capitol Hill, calls for an investigation into one of their own - outgoing Rep. Mark Walker, R-Sandy.To characterise such an action by the legislature as "unusual" would be a gross understatement. According to this morning's Tribune story, Utah Legislators haven't taken a member of their own body to task on an alleged ethics violation for at least ten years:
Republican Reps. Sheryl Allen, of Bountiful; and Steve Mascaro, of West Jordan, joined Democratic Reps. Neil Hansen, of Ogden; Roz McGee, of Salt Lake City; and Phil Riesen, of Holladay, to ask that the House Ethics Committee probe recent bribery allegations against Walker.
"They're empowered by the state Constitution to look into the character of its members and determine if there's cause to expel a member," said attorney Alan Smith, who has teamed with David Irvine to bring the charges forward.
It takes the request of at least three lawmakers to initiate a legislative ethics investigation. The last such charge was a decade ago, when then-House Speaker Mel Brown was accused of improperly discussing a job prospect with a lobbyist.Grab a bag of popcorn and pull up your barca-loungers, gentle readers. We haven't gotten this much pure entertainment from the State Treasurer's Office since... Forever.
Brown was cleared of wrongdoing by the panel of his peers.
