Capitol Letters | The Idaho Legislature Report

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By Hayat Norimine, Accountability Editor; and Ryan Suppe, State Politics Reporter

Giddings involved in Idaho lawmaker’s response to rape allegation, record shows

Rep. Priscilla Giddings was involved in crafting a news release attributed to Aaron von Ehlinger as the former lawmaker faced a rape allegation, according to a digital record reviewed by the Idaho Statesman.

Von Ehlinger had sent the April 16 news release to The Lewiston Tribune shortly before a House ethics panel publicly released documents on the sexual assault allegation. In it, he said he was “falsely accused.”

The statement, which can still be found online, was drafted in a Microsoft Word document and authored by “Representative Priscilla Giddings,” according to the digital file’s metadata — or data that can be found within an existing document.

Read Statesman State Politics Reporter Ryan Suppe’s full story here (subscribers only).

A Word document containing a statement attributed to former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger shows Rep. Priscilla Giddings was the author and last person to edit the document. The statement is mentioned in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging Giddings and von Ehlinger conspired to retaliate against a woman who accused von Ehlinger of rape.
A Word document containing a statement attributed to former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger shows Rep. Priscilla Giddings was the author and last person to edit the document. The statement is mentioned in a whistleblower lawsuit alleging Giddings and von Ehlinger conspired to retaliate against a woman who accused von Ehlinger of rape.

The Lewiston Tribune reported that Giddings issued a statement yesterday afternoon on the metadata: “This is a complete lie. The document in question, which appears to be a poor fabrication, shows I did not even see it until hours after the story was published.”

What else happened?

  • An Idaho senator introduced a bill that would set an end date for regular legislative sessions. The measure would make some exceptions, though — including one for when there’s a statewide emergency declaration. Idaho is currently under a state of emergency for the COVID-19 pandemic. Read Suppe’s full story here.

  • Multiple attempts to introduce legislation that would hike state employees’ pay failed in a committee meeting. Five motions were made, with raises ranging from a 2% baseline and 5% merit bump, proposed by Gov. Brad Little, to 8%, proposed by Boise’s Rep. John Gannon. The Change in Employee Compensation Committee will have to meet again to consider new proposals.

  • The House passed a resolution to mourn abortions. It would encourage people to fly flags at half-staff once a year, on Jan. 22 — the day the U.S. Supreme Court issued its Roe v. Wade decision. The Senate passed its equivalent resolution last week.

  • Democrats are announcing an alternative plan to House Bill 436, which would cut income taxes, at a 1 p.m. news conference Thursday. “Democrats believe that $600 million could be better spent, like reducing property taxes, repealing the grocery tax, and providing funding to schools to help reduce supplemental levies,” their statement said yesterday.

  • Community college presidents made their budget pitch yesterday and urged higher education pay raises as they described their hiring challenges. Read Idaho Education News’ full story here.

Committees to watch today

The House is expected on the floor at 11 a.m.

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