Kootenai County Republicans condemn Giddings censure

Kootenai County Republican Central Committee members condemned Idaho lawmakers in a recent resolution for censuring Rep. Priscilla Giddings last month and "using her for political gain."

Giddings, a Republican from White Bird, was formally censured and stripped of a committee assignment by her fellow House lawmakers on Nov. 15 for "conduct unbecoming of a legislator."

The recommendation stems from a bipartisan complaint filed by lawmakers against Giddings for sharing an article that included the personal information of a 19-year-old legislative intern who accused former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger of rape. Ehlinger pleaded not guilty to the rape and sexual assault charges last month and is scheduled to stand trial in April.

Published initially by Redoubt News, Giddings shared the article on her Facebook page and an emailed newsletter to her supporters. During the two-hour debate on Nov. 15, Giddings said she "would not have done anything differently" and believed her "intentions were pure."

KCRCC youth committeeman Dan Bell proposed the resolution at the organization's Nov. 23 meeting.

Text in the document states the KCRCC "condemns" all 49 state representatives who voted for the censure and asserts that "politicians should not be using (Giddings) for political gain."

KCRCC chair Brent Regan told The Press on Wednesday that committee members believe the censure is a "charade" orchestrated by House Speaker Scott Bedke — Giddings' rival in the 2022 lieutenant governor race.

"It was a foolish move on Speaker (Bedke's) part because it was so transparently politically motivated," Regan wrote in an email.

Regan said it "became clear" many were upset about "the process used to procure the censure" during a debate among committee members.

Following the resolution's passage, the chairman condemned Bedke's presiding over the censure proceedings on Facebook. Regan further described Giddings' punishment as a "stunt."

"As a leader (Bedke) is responsible for the Kabuki show trial against his political opponent for Lt. Governor, Lt. Colonel Priscilla Giddings, which climaxed in a censure vote costing taxpayers north of $100,000," Regan wrote.

Bedke has maintained that he has not played a significant role in Giddings' censure. During a sit-down with The Press in November, Bedke said his involvement in the ethics proceedings was a firm "zero."

The KCRCC resolution states Giddings was exercising her First Amendment rights when sharing the Redoubt News article. Since the news outlet had published the intern's information, their name was already "in the public domain," Regan said.

"The ethics charge was that Giddings published a link to this existing news article and by doing so she exposed the name of the alleged victim," he wrote. "When clearly Giddings had a right to publish a link to the article since the name had already entered the public realm."

Members of the Ethics on House Policy Committee acknowledged in their final report that Giddings is "entitled to exercise her First Amendment right, the right to freedom of speech." However, the report also stated, "she is not free from the consequences of abusing, or imprudently exercising, that right in connection with a personnel matter."

State and national news agencies have written numerous articles on Giddings' censure proceedings. The public was also able to view the hearings and floor vote through live television and YouTube streams.

This publicity, the KCRCC resolution states, has "brought more attention to the alleged victim's identity than the article that Lt. Colonel Giddings shared digitally."

Regan called this the Streisand Effect — defined by the Merriam-Webster online dictionary as when "the attempt to suppress something only brings more attention or notoriety to it."

"Few people outside of North Idaho were aware of the Redoubt News article," Regan said. "The ethics proceedings made it national news. The committee was therefore committing the same 'violation' they were accusing Giddings of committing."

The resolution also directed the KCRCC treasurer to allocate $3,000 into Giddings' lieutenant governor campaign. Regan said the committee also pledged $500 to Blanchard Rep. Heather Scott and Bryan Smith, a candidate for Idaho's 2nd Congressional District.