Idaho House member denies allegations of conduct unbecoming of legislator at ethics hearing

[TexasTowelie]

Rep. Priscilla Giddings, R-White Bird, was not present for much of hearing at Capitol in Boise


Idaho Rep. Priscilla Giddings denied all allegations of conduct unbecoming of a legislator at Monday’s House ethics hearing, calling them unfounded, politically motivated attacks by “woke cancel culture.”

Two complaints were filed in April and May against Giddings, R-White Bird, for revealing the name and photo of the 19-year-old legislative staffer who accused former Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger, R-Lewiston, of rape in April. The Boise Police Department investigated the rape allegations against von Ehlinger and referred the case to the Ada County Prosecutor’s Office for a decision on charges. Emily Lowe, spokesperson for the prosecutor’s office, told the Idaho Capital Sun on July 20 that they have received the police reports and further investigation is ongoing. No charges have been filed.

Giddings posted a link to a blog article with the woman’s name on her Facebook page, which included a thumbnail showing a picture of the staffer. In addition, the complaints said Giddings misrepresented her actions when she appeared before the ethics committee during von Ehlinger’s hearing.

At Monday’s hearing, Giddings gave an opening statement and said she shared the link to the blog post because she thought media outlets were not presenting both sides of the story. She said she posted the link on Facebook on April 17 and deleted it on April 28, after the ethics committee requested that the woman’s identity be protected. She said she had no control over the thumbnail that showed the woman’s photo, and she said she did not read the article thoroughly.

Read more: https://idahocapitalsun.com/2021/08/02/idaho-house-member-denies-allegations-of-conduct-unbecoming-of-legislator-at-ethics-hearing/