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Edited on Mon May-18-09 07:49 PM by babylonsister
one tied in with undeclared donations, or plagiarism, or any number of things, including that nasty divorce you're going through. This guy is a doozy. :eyes: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jim_Gibbons_(United_States_politician) snip// On April 6, 2009, a judge in Washoe County Family Court ordered the records of the divorce proceedings unsealed. Dawn's papers alleged that Jim was unfaithful with Durant, and with the woman who received the 860 messages, and "has had similar relationships with many other women during the marriage."<5> She also referenced her humiliation at standing beside him when her husband attempted to defend himself from allegations of attempted sexual assault shortly before the 2006 election.<5> See "sexual assault allegation" below. Jim Gibbons' divorce filings stated that he wanted his wife out of the Governor's Mansion because she was aggressive: "It was once said in another context that being in close quarters with such a volatile person was like being locked in a phone booth with an enraged ferret."<5> snip// Criticism and controversy while Congressman Plagiarism
A speech given in February 2005 by Rep. Gibbons in Elko, Nevada was actually plagiarized from a copyrighted speech delivered in 2003 by then-Alabama State Auditor Beth Chapman at a "Stand up America" rally.<24>
Favors for mining industry donors
In November 2005, Gibbons and Representative Richard Pombo (R-CA) co-authored an amendment to the Federal Budget Reconciliation Bill easing restrictions of sale of federal lands to mining companies. This amendment attracted fire from environmentalists, anti-growth advocates, and even some Republican Senators<25> concerned about the measure's effects on hunting and fishing. Although the bill (and amendment) narrowly passed the House, the stated opposition of many Democratic Senators and the concerns voiced by Republican Senators made the amendment's future uncertain.
Condemning another alleged favor to Gibbons' mining industry donors, journalist Chris Mooney has criticized Gibbons for using rhetoric in place of sound science as a basis for policy judgments, particularly in regard to a 2005 report Gibbons produced with Pombo that some saw as underplaying the effects of mercury poisoning.<26>
Federal bribery investigation
On November 1, 2006, the Wall Street Journal published a story stating that Gibbons had earmarked several millions of dollars to a company owned by Warren Trepp, as well as added additional funds to a pre-existing government contract with Trepp's company. The report noted that Trepp had paid for a $10,000 cruise for Gibbons and his wife, which Gibbons failed to report, and $100,000 in campaign contributions. A former Trepp business partner claimed that Gibbons was also given gambling chips – convertible into cash – and cash directly.<27><28><29>
On February 15, 2007, the Journal reported that Gibbons was under federal investigation for allegedly accepting unreported gifts and/or payments from Trepp in exchange for official acts while he served in Congress (1997–2007).<30><31><32>
According to reports, on March 22, 2005, days before Trepp and his wife left for the Caribbean cruise with Gibbons and his family, Jalé Trepp, Warren’s wife, sent a reminder to her husband. It said, “Please don't forget to bring the money you promised Jim and Dawn (Gibbons).” Minutes later, Trepp responded, “Don't you ever send this kind of message to me! Erase this message from your computer right now!”<33><34><35>
The U.S. Attorney for Nevada at time of the investigation was Daniel Bogden, who was one of seven federal prosecutors forced out of their jobs by the George W. Bush administration in December 2006.<36><37><38>
Criticism and controversy while Governor
Undocumented housekeeper/nanny
As Gibbons was campaigning for governor in October 2006, it was brought to light that more than ten years earlier, he and his wife Dawn had employed Patricia Pastor Sandoval, a then-illegal immigrant from Peru, as a housekeeper and babysitter. Since the Zoe Baird "Nannygate" scandal of 1993, politicians have been deeply concerned about the impact of such revelations on their careers.
Dawn, who had become a Nevada state representative in 1998, denied the allegations in 2006, claiming that Sandoval had merely been a friend who had helped out around the house and was given clothing and household goods, but was not an employee. An employment contract from between Dawn Gibbons and Sandoval, however, appeared to disprove that assertion, as it clearly laid out the terms and conditions of Sandoval's hiring. Documents filed during Sandoval's 1988 application for working papers also contradicted earlier statements by Dawn Gibbons that the family had not known that the woman was in the United States illegally.<39>
Sandoval stated that she was employed from roughly 1987 to 1993, four years before Gibbons left for Washington in 1997 after his 1996 election as a Congressman and five years before Dawn Gibbons became a state legislator. Sandoval also stated that she was asked to hide in the basement and refrain from answering doors at certain times in order to ensure that her illegal status did not become public knowledge and jeopardize Gibbons' political career.
In 1995, Dawn Gibbons filed a police complaint against Sandoval, alleging that she was attempting to extort money by threatening to go to the media with a story involving her illegal employment. Jim and Dawn Gibbons did not pursue the matter further.<40>
In response to the 2006 revelations, Jim Gibbons' campaign issued a statement accusing Democratic candidate Dina Titus of fomenting the controversy to distract from the real issues of the race, but did not issue a denial of Sandoval's claims.<41>
Sexual assault allegation
In October 2006, near the conclusion of his successful campaign for governor, a woman accused Jim Gibbons of attempted sexual assault in a parking garage. Gibbons claimed he was helping her to her car. They both admitted to drinking alcohol at McCormick and Schmick's restaurant in Las Vegas.
In the initial aftermath of the event, Las Vegas Sheriff Bill Young, a long time supporter of Jim Gibbons and donor to his gubernatorial campaign, cited lack of evidence in the case and refused to bring evidence of the attack to the District Attorney. The accuser did not initially want to pursue pressing charges, saying she just wanted "to be left alone." But when the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department was forced to open the incident case file after inquiries by Las Vegas media, the Las Vegas Review Journal and the Las Vegas Sun released her name and she was thrust into the public eye. She later said she was being pressured to not talk to the police about the incident by people close to Jim Gibbons.<42> In fact, the Gibbons campaign hired a private investigator to "talk" to the woman shortly after the incident occurred.<43>
Under pressure from the media and eventually from the accuser herself, Sheriff Bill Young famously taunted the alleged victim to "bring it on" and sign a formal complaint. This was a highly irregular step, as most victims of assault are not required to sign a complaint before an investigation can begin. Nevertheless, she signed the complaint and there was a further investigation. The evidence was given to the Las Vegas District Attorney, David Roger, who had also donated to the Gibbons campaign. Criminal charges were never filed in the case.<44>
Gibbons' gubernatorial campaign manager, Robert Uithoven, speculated in an e-mail to Gibbons' supporters that Dina Titus, Gibbons' opponent, hired the woman to entice Gibbons. Titus retorted that to do this she would have had to control where Gibbons went, who he was with, and even the weather (Gibbons claimed he was helping the woman to her car in part because of the weather).<45>
By 2009, the alleged victim had filed a civil suit against Jim Gibbons, specifically alleging battery, false imprisonment and second-degree kidnapping as well as deceit about the episode.<5>
Undeclared donations
Gibbons set up a legal defense fund just before the November, 2006 gubernatorial election to help pay for legal expenses incurred after a woman accused him of attempted sexual assault. Gibbons neither reported the legal defense fund to the appropriate U.S. House of Representatives committee (even though he was a sitting congressman at the time and was required by House rules to do so), nor did he report donations to his legal defense fund as contributions to his gubernatorial campaign, citing the money was for "personal use" and not for "political purposes."<46>
In January 2008, it was reported that Gibbons raised $256,000 for his legal defense fund during 2007, including a $61,000 personal loan Gibbons gave to his own fund, as well as $10,000 from The Palms hotel and casino, and $40,000 from various companies connected to Las Vegas Sands Corporation Chief Executive Sheldon Adelson.<47> The defense fund has spent money to defend Gibbons in cases which include:
* Investigations into the allegations that Gibbons secured defense contracts for his friend Warren Trepp in exchange for gifts and money during his time in Congress, 1997-2006.
* A nepotism scandal regarding Sierra Nevada Corporation's hire of Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons as a consultant. Sierra Nevada paid Dawn Gibbons $35,000 at the same time Jim Gibbons helped the company get a no-bid federal contract.
* Gibbons' alleged attempted sexual assault of a Las Vegas woman in 2006
* Questions about Gibbons' employment of an illegal immigrant as a nanny<48>
Interference with an ongoing investigation
On August 3, 2007, the Las Vegas Review Journal printed the following:
A newly available document states that Gov. Jim Gibbons "has admitted" that he urged federal authorities to pursue criminal action against a software developer whose business dispute with a friend of Gibbons has prompted a federal investigation. The statement is made in a legal motion filed last year, but kept secret until Tuesday, when it was unsealed at a judge's order.<49>
Lamoille Land Deal
In 2007, Governor Gibbons and wife Dawn purchased 40 acres of land in the ranch country of Lamoille, which belonged to Nevada Judge Jerry Carr Whitehead. The Elko County Assessor said he felt pressure from the governor and the governor's lawyer to lower the tax liability. Under state law, such an agricultural tax break goes only to legitimate farm and ranch operations, and must generate at least $5,000 a year in income. If such a land is developed by million-dollar homes, property taxes would go up. "To say I was put in an awkward position I think is an understatement," Joe Aguirre, a Republican, told The Associated Press in 2008.<50> The editorial page of the Las Vegas Review-Journal, which has been staunchly pro-Gibbons, said the deal might constitute fraud.<51>
Dedication to office
While the state faces an economic slowdown and steep budget cuts, Gibbons is facing criticism from officials for spending less time at his office. The Las Vegas Sun reviewed Gibbons’ attendance and discovered that he was only in his Capitol office five days in August 2008 and never for a full eight hours. In September, he was in his office a total of seven days.
In an interview with Las Vegas Sun reporters, Gibbons said “I never knew this job had a time frame on it that requires me to be sitting behind a desk at a certain hour.” He also said that he works about 60 hours a week for the state. Previous Nevada governors were also interviewed and they said that they felt it was necessary that they spent most of their time in the office.<52> |
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