Lawmaker who ID'd rape accuser may lose committee assignment
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - A legislative ethics committee says an Idaho lawmaker who publicized the name of an intern who reported a rape by another lawmaker should be stripped of one of her committee assignments for acting in an a manner "unbecoming" to the state's House of Representatives.
The full House will now be asked to vote on the recommendation made Tuesday, but they will have to reconvene for the vote. It's unclear when that will happen, but it could be any time before the Legislature's next session begins in January.
Republican Rep. Priscilla Giddings became the subject of two ethics complaints by about two dozen lawmakers after she shared links to a far-right blog that included the name, photo and personal details about her the young woman who reported being raped by the lawmaker. Giddings posted the link on social media and in a newsletter to constituents.
The decision came on the second day of a public hearing, during which the committee found that Giddings engaged in "conduct unbecoming a representative, which is detrimental to the integrity of the House as a legislative body."
The lawmaker accused of raping the intern, Republican Aaron von Ehlinger, resigned earlier this year after the ethics committee recommended he be removed from the Statehouse. Von Ehlinger has denied all wrongdoing. The rape allegation is under investigation by police.
Giddings declined to attend much of the hearing, appearing only on Monday to make an opening statement and again when she was called as a witness.
Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, arrives with applause from her supporters in a packed committee hearing room Monday, Aug. 2, 2021 at the Statehouse in Boise, Idaho. Rep. Giddings was called before the Ethics and House Policy Committee following complaints of alleged "conduct unbecoming" of a member of the House. The complaints revolve around releasing the name and photograph of a legislative staffer who accused another member of the Idaho House of Representatives of sexual assault last spring. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP)
During her testimony, Giddings maintained that she had to share the link to the article presenting von Ehlinger´s side of the story, but didn't explain why she included disparaging remarks about the 19-year-old intern who made the rape report. The Associated Press does not typically identify sexual assault victims without their permission.
Giddings also claimed she did nothing wrong, claimed the intern wasn´t a crime victim, and refused to answer questions that she said she considered "irrelevant."
Her combativeness and evasive answers left committee members visibly frustrated on Monday, with Republican chairman Rep. Sage Dixon at one point warning her that she seemed to be continuing with evasive behavior that prompted part of the ethics complaints in the first place.
Rep. Sage Dixon, chairman of the Idaho Ethics and House Policy Committee listens to Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, as she delivers her opening remarks Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. Rep. Giddings was called before the committee on complaints alleging "conduct unbecoming" of a House representative last spring regarding a legislative staffer who had accused another member of the Idaho House of Representatives of sexual assault last spring. (Darin Oswald/Idaho Statesman via AP)
Republican Rep. Priscilla Giddings, left center in black, enters her ethics committee hearing Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, to applause and shouts of encouragement from supporters in the audience in Boise, Idaho. An Idaho lawmaker accused of violating ethics rules by publicizing the name of an alleged rape victim in disparaging social media posts, and then allegedly misleading lawmakers about her actions, said in an ethics hearing Monday that she did nothing wrong and claimed the allegations against her were politically motivated. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
FILE - In this March 1, 2018, file photo, Idaho Republican state Rep. Priscilla Giddings sits at the Capitol in Boise. An Idaho lawmaker accused of violating ethics rules by publicizing the name of an alleged rape victim in disparaging social media posts and then allegedly misleading lawmakers about her actions, said in an ethics hearing Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, that she did nothing wrong and claimed the allegations against her were politically motivated. Rep. Giddings of Whitebird became the subject of two ethics complaints by about two dozen lawmakers after she publicized the rape accuser's name, photo and personal details by sharing links to an far-right news article on social media and in a newsletter to constituents. (AP Photo/Kimberlee Kruesi, File)
Democratic Rep. Brooke Green of Boise, far left, testifies before the Idaho legislature's ethics committee in a hearing Monday, Aug. 2, 2021, in Boise, Idaho, to determine if Rep. Priscilla Giddings, a Republican, acted inappropriately when she publicized the name and photo of a woman who said she was raped by another lawmaker. Green was one of about 25 lawmakers who signed on to ethics complaints against Giddings. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
Rep. Priscilla Giddings responds to questions from ethics committee attorney Christopher McCurdy during a hearing to determine if she violated the Idaho Legislature's ethics rules by publicizing the name of a young intern who accused one of Giddings' fellow lawmakers of rape in Boise, Idaho., on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. An Idaho lawmaker accused of violating ethics rules by publicizing the name of an alleged rape victim in disparaging social media posts and then allegedly misleading lawmakers about her actions, said in an ethics hearing Monday that she did nothing wrong and claimed the allegations against her were politically motivated. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
Rep. Priscilla Giddings makes her way into a committee hearing to determine if she violated the Idaho Legislature's ethics rules in Boise, Idaho., on Monday, Aug. 2, 2021. An Idaho lawmaker accused of violating ethics rules by publicizing the name of an alleged rape victim in disparaging social media posts and then allegedly misleading lawmakers about her actions, said in an ethics hearing Monday that she did nothing wrong and claimed the allegations against her were politically motivated. (AP Photo/Rebecca Boone)
