The Hypocrisy of Hoosier Politicians About Curtis Hill w/Update

Attorney General Curtis Hill R-Indiana 

For much of the past week the news here in Indiana has revolved to a significant extent on the allegations of sexual harassment leveled against Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill. Hill is accused of inappropriately touching four women at a party at AJ’s Lounge in Indianapolis back on March the 15th of this year. The allegations became public knowledge with the leak of a confidential memo containing information on the alleged incidents of March 15th. You can read the memo by clicking here. Tony Cook, Ryan Martin and Kaitlin Lange reported that after state legislative leaders were informed of the alleged groping by Hill in May that:

Details of the accusations are outlined in a confidential June 18 memorandum prepared by the Taft Stettinius & Hollister law firm at the request of legislative leaders. 

The internal legislative investigation into his actions at AJ's Lounge was initiated by Bosma and Long when the groping allegations were first brought to their attention in May, about two months after the party, according to the memo.

The Indianapolis Star says that according to “Jennifer Drobac, a law professor at Indiana University Robert H. McKinney School of Law. In groping cases, Drobac said, prosecutors typically decide whether the alleged battery was sexual in nature. If not, a criminal charge would be a Class B misdemeanor, which carries a potential sentence of 180 days in a county jail and a fine up to $1,000. A more severe penalty is possible, however, if the battery is sexual. That violation, a Level 6 felony, carries a potential sentence of six months to 2.5 years in state prison or a county jail and a fine up to $10,000.”

Professor Drobac does also say that civil penalties might come into play depending on the circumstances.

Lindsey Erdody writing for the Indianapolis Business Journal reported on July 6th, 2017 that State Representative Ed Delaney-D Indianapolis said they will push for Hill’s impeachment if he refuses to leave office voluntarily. Erdody writes:

State Representative Ed Delaney-D Indianapolis 

“Even his own party says he’s not fit to be in the office,” DeLaney said. “There will have to be an impeachment.” 

But DeLaney said state statute isn’t exactly clear about the impeachment process, and it’s never been done, so he’s carefully examining the statute and looking at states with similar language to determine the appropriate action.

“These things have not been tried out,” DeLaney said. “People generally get the message and depart.”

Bosma has not said whether impeachment is an option he’s considering, and if so, how long he would wait. DeLaney said “a few days seems reasonable.”

But with or without Republican support, DeLaney said he will push for impeachment.

“I prefer to push with some support from the other side of the aisle,” DeLaney said. “The public doesn’t need a months long war over the fate of Curtis Hill.”

One of the things that has piqued IR’s interest about the whole Curtis Hill situation is that nobody from the legislative Republican leadership spoke to Hill about these allegations until 11 days after the June 18th, 2018 Memo. Which has led some (all of us included) to believe that Brian Bosma, David Long and others were hoping to handle this situation quickly and quietly and pray it would just disappear. With the leak of this confidential memo to the Indianapolis Star it doesn’t appear as though Hill’s alleged groping is going to be dealt with quietly or quickly. As of the date this post was written two of the four alleged victims have publicly identified themselves. State Representative Mara Candelaria Reardon D-Munster and Gabrielle McLemore who is the Communications Director for the Indiana State Senate Democrats. You can read each of their letters to the public here and here. Curtis Hill so far has adamantly refused to resign and has asked the Marion County Prosecutors Office to investigate the incidents rather than the State’s Inspector General. Hill’s reasoning for this he says is that since Governor Eric Holcomb has already said he thinks that Hill should resign that having the IG who is an appointee of Holcomb’s to investigate would not lend itself to an impartial investigation. On this we agree with Hill. Even though IR believes the allegations against Hill are credible and that he should resign. That does not mean that we the people should ignore the Glass House inhabitited by many of our elected officials screaming the loudest for Hill’s head.

Readers of Indy Republican , Advance Indiana, and Ogden on Politics may recall that all three of these blogs have written about the severe ethical and legal problems that Eric Holcomb, Ed Delaney, Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson and State House Speaker Bosma have had themselves. Some of them as far as IR knows are not guilty of sexual harassment. Nonetheless there are serious questions about these and other elected officials in Indiana’s conduct that in the interest of justice should be explored. We have previously written about Ed Delaney who is a former attorney at Barnes and Thornburg and the mystery as to why he decided to meet someone he did not know in an abandoned parking lot in 2009, which then resulted in Delaney being injured by Gus Mendenhall. Probably due to less than ethical conduct back in the early 1980’s by Delaney in ruining Mendenhall’s father Burke’s business venture. Connie Lawson who serves as Indiana Secretary of State herself according to some had homesteads in Hendricks, Marion County and Arizona all at the same time. Governor Eric Holcomb who once falsely accused a political opponent of his of engaging in beastilaty. As well as announcing in 2016 he would be dropping his bid for the US Senate and then right after then Governor Mike Pence announced that Holcomb would be appointed Lieutenant Governor to replace outgoing LG Sue Ellsperman in an arrangement that stinks to high heaven. Gary Welsh wrote about this here  here. IR also wrote last year about Holcomb’s administrations being sued by high powered Republican attorney Jim Bopp, over allegations that the State of Indiana was illegally collecting certain trucking fees. Given just how much of an autocrat Holcomb was as state GOP Chairman it’s likely that he would have heard something about Hill’s issues. And given the very public antagonism between the Governor and AG it’s strange that he wouldn’t have tried to use this as leverage over Hill. As for House Speaker Bosma from what we have been hearing going back several years he doesn’t have a squeaky clean life himself. Wish we could say more than that. But unfortunately we cannot. 

Earlier this evening Hill issued a statement saying he would address the media tomorrow at 10 AM in his office. What Hill has planned is anyone’s guess. He has so far stated that he will not resign. So far his only defender of any prominence that we can find is Revered Charles Harrison leader of the Ten Points Coalition in Indianapolis. In a statement released to the media on WRTV-6’s website Harrison said this about Hill: 

“First let me say I am against any kind of sexual harassment, and I believe that this kind of conduct has no place in our society. I have known Attorney General Curtis Hill Jr for several years now. I have often been with Attorney General Curtis Hill Jr in a lot of different settings, and I have never witnessed in my presence any kind of sexual misconduct toward women. Attorney General Hill has always been respectful and has conducted himself in appropriate ways around women. I can only speak to what I have witnessed, and in my presence Attorney General Hill's conduct has always been honorable.”

As a man of the cloth. We sincerely hope that Harrison’s statement is a genuine reflection of his thoughts on Curtis Hill. But a few have noted that Harrison’s defense of Hill might be influenced by the fact that as Attorney General Hill has helped setup $500,000 to help with the expansion of Reverend Harrison’s Ten Points Coalition. 

We will be watching to see what Hill has to say at his conference tomorrow. Friend of the blog Paul Ogden wrote about Hill on Friday  And Rob Kendall discussed the Hill drama on his radio show this afternoon:

Till next time goodnight and God Bless you all. 

UPDATE: An alert readers has just made us aware that Curtis Hill is putting out ads in his defense. Checkout this tweet by Tony Cook for the details:

Looks like Indiana Attorney General Curtis Hill is running digital ads defending himself against allegations of inappropriate touching. This on the day two of those women came forward publicly. pic.twitter.com/xU9dYgNumn

— Tony Cook (@indystartony) July 7, 2018

Vulgar, Profane, Corrupt and Stingy Todd Rokita

What are we Hoosier's to make of Todd Rokita? IR has been writing about him for sometime now. But the events of the past week even have us stunned at this man's arrogance, condescension, and unbelievable sense of entitlement. Brian Slodysko over at the Associated Press and Rob Kendall host of the "Rob Kendall Show" on WIBC have done a great job at holding Old Todd's feet to the fire. Their are some individuals to whom the people of Indiana owe the greatest debt of gratitude for helping to show Todd Rokita for the clod and buffoon he is. All we can tell you our readers is these persons have been more than generous at helping to get the truth out about Todd. We are eternally grateful to our sources for reaching out to us and trusting INDY REPUBLICAN with much needed information. Now back to less pleasant topics. The chief of them being Theodore "Todd" Rokita.

On April 9th, 2018 Kaitlin Lange over at INDYSTAR reported that:

 Leaders of Trump's Indiana presidential campaign announced their official endorsement of the U.S. Senate candidate Todd Rokita Monday, just days after a report that the congressman called President Donald Trump "vulgar" in early 2016. Rex Early, the Trump Indiana State Chairman, and Tony Samuel, the vice chairman, said what set Rokita apart from the other candidates was how Rokita supported Trump after he secured the GOP nomination.

Ms. Lange cited an article by the Associated Press in which Rokita gave his reasons for endorsing Senator Marco Rubio instead of Donald Trump for the Republican Presidential Nomination in 2016. Rokita is quoted as saying:

"When you see Marco contrasted with Donald Trump — I mean someone who is vulgar, if not profane," Rokita said at the time. "At some point you have to be presidential. People expect that and you see that in Marco Rubio."

Let's stop and examine Rokita's standards regarding what he considers "Vulgar, if not profane". In light of Rokita's endorsement of Marco Rubio for the GOP Presidential Nomination. Rokita must have some rather unusual idea of what constitutes vulgarity. Gary Welsh over at Advance Indiana in February 2016 wrote a post called "Marco Rubio's Days May Be Numbered". Gary reported on rumors that Marco Rubio having attended gay foam parties in South Beach, Flordia. Gary even provided these photos which appear to be of Rubio. One shows Rubio looking like a Chippendales Dancer, the other shows what maybe Rubio at gay foam party. One person commented on Welsh's post: "Evidently, Chris Christie was on the mark when describing Tio Taco Rubio as 'the boy in the bubble'.

Here are the photos in question. Look at them if you dare:

Marco seems to be devoid of vulgarity and profanity in Rokita's eyes. Which is interesting considering sources have told us that Rokita and Rubio share many similarities OUTWARD appearance however is not one of them. 

Rokita in his haste to try and make himself look important jumped on the endorsements of the leaders of Trump's 2016 Indiana Campaign as proof that President Trump was endorsing him in the Senate Primary. As usual Todd jumped the gun. Brian Slodysko reporting for the AP on April 18th, 2018 that: 

Donald Trump’s re-election campaign has demanded that Rep. Todd Rokita take down yard signs it says give the false impression the president endorsed the Indiana Republican’s Senate bid, two people with direct knowledge of the matter told The Associated Press. The rebuke came after two volunteers who led Trump’s bare-bones 2016 campaign in Vice President Mike Pence’s home state endorsed Rokita during an Indianapolis news conference last week.The Rokita signs, which have gone up since that event, proclaim in large white letters “Endorsed by Trump/Pence,” with smaller letters below adding “2016 Indiana Team Leaders.”

All the Rokita campaign said is "We do not comment on yard sign strategy". Here is what some of Rokita's yard signs look like since being bitch slapped by Trump officials:

INDY REPUBLICAN has made clear in the past that most of us here are not Trump supporters. But by what twist of logic can Rokita having been endorsed by some of Trump's campaign staff translate into an endorsement from Trump? What's next is Todd going to receive a pastor's endorsement and then claim God is backing him? Or what if some Kroger or Eli Lilly worker endorses him? Is he then going to claim that he has the backing of Kroger or Eli Lilly?

A reader sent in their idea of what kind of sign Todd would make up to convince people God was on his side:

Todd cannot even get it right when attacking his opponents. Here is a tweet in which someone responded to Rokita's attack on Mike Braun facing lawsuits over pay issues:

Here’s another neat little article about pay: Todd Rokita pays his staff the second lowest average salary in Congress. Todd Rokita does not believe in supporting and fostering a viable middle class in this state. We all deserve better. pic.twitter.com/SWhUzqgww4

— Bill (@ReplaceRokita) April 20, 2018

In several past posts on this blog. IR has pointed out how Rokita loves to misuse his office staff to further his political ambitions. We have mentioned how he used his office staff when he was Indiana Secretary of State to do political work for him on government time. And how some complaints were made to the Marion County Prosecutor's Office and the State's Inspector General as far back as 2011. But nothing was ever done. Turns out Rokita appears to still be continuing his habit of using office staff for political work. Rob Kendall posted an interesting find on Twitter earlier today:

Odd that Nathan Brand, the very terrible spokesperson for @ToddRokitaIN CAMPAIGN was on the GOVERNMENT payroll as of December 31. Interesting, considering I was getting CAMPAIGN emails with his name on them during this time. pic.twitter.com/Ohig2SDkhT

— Rob Kendall (@RobMKendall) April 24, 2018

Hat tip to Mister Rob Kendall for catching old Todd in the act. None of us here have ever met Nathan Brand Todd Rokita's spokesman. But he seems to be a poor man's version of his boss. Being Todd Rokita is bad enough. But being a pale imitation of Todd that is just pathetic! Oh and thanks again to our "sources". Until next time this is IR saying keep up the pressure on frauds and fakes like Todd Rokita. We will be back in awhile. Until our next post,Goodnight Everyone! That's a wrap! 

Rokita's Ethics Problems are Much Worse Than you Think

Congressman Todd Rokita

INDY REPULICAN's least favorite Indiana Congressman just cannot seem to stop getting his hands caught in the cookie jar as Rokita wrongly decrees he is legally allowed to steal the cookies. Just as the "laughbox" is activated for sitcoms, Hoosier voters are repeatedly fed words such "unsubstantiated", "de minimus" and 'we received a private and secret ethics opinion' overtime Rokita is caught blowing money like a drunkin' sailor to promote himself and support his campaigns while allegedly "working" at his so-called "duty station".  Last Friday Brian Slodysko reportedthat when Rokita was Indiana Secretary of State that the Indiana GOP had locked him out of their donor database back in 2009.

Slodysko reports:

Todd Rokita likely violated ethics laws as Indiana's secretary of state by repeatedly accessing a Republican donor database from his government office, prompting party officials to lock him out of the system until he angrily complained, three former GOP officials told The Associated Press. The alleged ethics flap over Rokita's use of the Indiana Republican Party's Salesforce database during work hours occurred in 2009, as he was wrapping up a second term as the state's chief elections official and angling for higher office. Indiana law prohibits state employees from engaging in political activity while on duty or acting in an official capacity. It also prohibits work on anything outside official duties while on the clock, or ordering others to do so, and from using state resources for political purposes. The former officials, who have direct knowledge of the situation, spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to talk about it publicly. They did not report Rokita's activity to authorities at the time.

(While the above sources had not filed complaints, IR has learned complaints nonetheless had been filed against Rokita as far back as 2011 over the same issue and the Inspector General's Office still refuse to issue a response)

Rokita's campaign spokesman Nathan Brand said Thursday April 12th, 2018 that Rokita used the database to keep his personal rolodex, which Brand said was allowed under state ethics guidance the office received. However, Rokita's campaign could not produce documents outlining the guidance, and the office of current Indiana Secretary of State Connie Lawson said it could not locate any such records. State party officials were alarmed when they discovered that a computer in Rokita's Statehouse office frequently logged in to the database containing detailed campaign information on activists and donors. They froze his access to the system but restored it after Rokita complained. 

Slodysko also reports that mailers from the Secretary of State's Office were sent out to some county republican chairmen about Rokita's "Rethinking Redistricting" which garned a great deal of attention during Rokita's successful run for Congress in 2010. Two legal experts interviewed by Slodysko did not believe that Rokita's use of state resources and employees was legal. David Orentlicher a lawyer and former Democratic state legislator from Indiana said: "Using your government staff (for political business) during their work day, while they are using government resources? This is well across the line and not a hard call." Indianapolis attorney Bill Groth said he believes that Rokita or his employees were "engaging in unlawful political activity, the unlawful use of state property, and ghost employment." "Indiana law strictly requires elected state officials to wall off their public duties from political activities," Groth said.

Since the Secretary of State has NO STATUTORY POWER to draw legislative and congressional district lines, one has to question why Rokita spend thousands of dollars of taxpayer funds on a Rethinking Redistricting websites, promotional materials and a professionally made video shown at political dinners around the state in 2010. The expenditures constituted a bald-faced effort by Rokita to promote himself as he was trying to secure future "public employment" as his term of Secretary of State was winding down. Other politicians could be prosecuted for theft for the same actions.

We are very impressed with Brian Slodysko's article and we encourage everyone to go read the entire article. Slodysko should have asked these officials why they did not report Todd Rokita to the authorities.  Our readers may recall that we blogged in February of last year about former Indiana Schools Superintendent Tony Bennett's issues with misusing his office personnel and resources to try to get reelected to his job in 2012. In that post we also referred our readers to a post Gary Welsh over at Advance Indiana had made back in 2014 that discussed not only Bennett's problems but pointed out how Todd Rokita probably had very similar problems himself. 

The responses out of Rokita's camp sounds as if they have something to hide. The dearth of any substance in Rokita's attempt to defend themselves is nothing short of embarrassing. Here is what some others are saying about Rokita's response to AP's story:

.@ToddRokitaIN calls @AP’s story on him likely breaking ethics law by repeatedly accessing a GOP donor database on state time “fake news.” Yet his campaign hasn’t disputed the facts. Nor have they produced an IG ethics opinion that they insist gave him permission to do so.

— Brian Slodysko (@BrianSlodysko) April 15, 2018

Rokita is asked about AP reporter @BrianSlodysko's story indicating he accessed state party database from government office as secretary of state. He calls it "a perfect example of fake news," says Messer campaign is behind accusations.

— Tony Cook (@indystartony) April 15, 2018

As soon as this story hit the AP wire IR was immediately contacted by several of our sources stating that various government officials were aware or had been made aware of Mister Rokita's unethical, possibly criminal actions as far back as 2011 but that nothing was done about them. We find it impossible to believe that journalists in Indiana are only just now finding out about this. Here is just some of what we have heard about Rokita and the claim that his misusing his state office is a new revelation:

"The AP was informed that in March/April 2011 reports were made to the IG and to the Marion county prosecutor and no one cared" 

"AP was even given the name of the software platforms (campaign sales force and later backoffice) and the shared file the employees updated (for Todd Rokita) named “Lucy”

"Word around the water cooler was Curry’s chief deputy David Rimstidt back in 2011 was told by several people about Rokita’s indiscretions but did less than nothing."

Interestingly the late great Gary Welsh wrote here and here about Rimstidt on Advance Indiana in 2010. Rimstidt appears to be somewhat shady to many. 

“The Inspector General was asked back around 2011 if Rokita’s activities were not illegal nor unethical, that if they were in fact ethical and legal. You think they would have whipped the fantasy opinion out to show what they had sent to Rokita but they never got issued anything about Old Todd”

"Republican state committee people were up in arms when they found out he (Todd Rokita) was using campaign sales force and Rokita yelled at them when they turned off his account. He started using “backoffice” so the state party couldn’t monitor his use of office staff for this shit"

IR has been told by our sources that “Lucy” was the name of the shared file of the spreadsheet that Rokita would have his staff update names of donors, contact info, talking points for TR and the amounts of donations to other campaigns During his 2010 congressional run.These were spreadsheets he (Todd Rokita) used to keep information on whom to call for money when he was in the car. Our sources told INDY REPUBLICAN they haven’t the first clue where the "Lucy" file was kept. All that is known is that "Lucy" was accidentally found saved on the hard drive in the executive office in 2011. Many of our sources have been trying to find out why the file was called "Lucy" as one informant told us: "Kinda sticks in your head because you want to know “why did they call it Lucy?!”

If you feel a burning sensation in your wallet do not panic and hold on to it tight as it is only a warning that Rokita is near to feed his mammoth hunger for more ill-gotten money. Our sources also claim that Rokita received reimbursements and payments that he was not legally allowed to take:

"Rokita bragged in speeches around Indiana for eight years that he did not take a state car as Secretary of State, insinuating he was saving the taxpayers money.  What Rokita concealed from Hoosiers was that he was constantly receiving reimbursements for mileage from the State for use of his campaign car. Many in the State would argue it would have been better for Rokita to simply have his gas paid for using a state vehicle instead of mileage reimbursements."

"Rokita also received an extra paycheck and annual healthcare deposit by mistake from the State Auditor in January of 2011 as if he were Secretary of State while he was a congressman. Rokita of course refused to pay it back immediately unless he was first paid 11,000 for his “comp time” from when he was COS for Gilroy (even though the books had been closed for years for his time as COS for Gilroy). Executive Broadband employees do not get a check for past comp time after they vacate a particular position. Further, Rokita had previously denied other past executive broadband employees request for a cash reimbursement for comp time. Rumors were swirling about some “deal” he made to pay the money back in 2012 or 2013 before the board of accounts was starting to try to reconcile everything. For any other people, this would be theft."

INDY REPUBLICAN seriously doubts Todd Rokita got an ethics opinion on what he was doing with Salesforce. If he had received such an opinion publicly, Tony Bennett would have used it to defend himself. As our sources tell us “Rokita is only a master of using his staff for ghost employment. As Tony Bennett was slapped with ethics fines over the "red meat" list former Rokita staffer Cam Savage downloaded on public computers, many do not realize that Tony Bennett's action were naive child's play compared to the Rokita's."  All Hoosier taxpayers should challenge Rokita to produce his ethics opinion, whether issued publicly or privately, where the Inspector General made criminal ghost employment and theft of public resources suddenly legal just for him. 

IR would like to thank our sources for sharing with us their knowledge of Congressman Rokita, We genuinely appreciate, and understand the immense risks these brave people are taking by speaking to us, We want them to know that we are very grateful to them and encourage them to keep up the good fight. Here's to good old Todd getting his ass handed to him on a platter! With French-fried potatoes!

P.S. Not sure how accurate this is but Brian Slodysko tweeted yesterday that he found and interesting article on Wikipedia for the word "Rokita". All we can say is that if this Wikipedia entry is accurate it explains a great deal about Todd:

This is unreal —> “Rokita is a Polish folk devil. He was specifically busy corrupting peasants, as opposed to, say, Boruta who dealt with the noblemen. While sometimes shown in any rustic setting, he was usually pictured standing... at the edge of a swamp” https://t.co/i4w6Qbnl7d

— Brian Slodysko (@BrianSlodysko) April 14, 2018

Ironic how ancient folklore even reveals Rokita to be a swamp creature, terrorizing hardworking Hoosier taxpayers all while he claims to be at his "duty station". If President Trump were still the host of the Apprentice, it would be funny to see the look on Rokita's face as Trump told him "You're Fired!"

We Need More Gadflies Not Less

Gadfly

noun, plural gadflies 

1. : any of various flies (such as a horsefly, botfly, or warble fly) that bite or annoy livestock

2. : a person who stimulates or annoys other people especially by persistent criticism  

• a political gadfly

IR, Paul Ogden, Charlie White have all been accused of being gadflies. Usually meant to convey the impression that people like us exist only to irritate or annoy others with our blogging and activism. We will not speak for Misters Ogden and White. Speaking for ourselves we choose to hold public officials and others accountable when they act contrary to the values they are supposed to uphold. If by speaking truth to power we irritate some people we say GOOD! If it was not for gadflies like Paul Ogden and the late great Gary Welsh. Dick Lugar would still be decomposing in his Senate seat from a state in which he has not resided since 1977. A more recent example of the need for gadflies is provided in Paul Ogden's most recent post Indianapolis Terminates Ballard-Era Electric/Hybrid Car Contract; Will Blue Indy Be Next? Paul discusses how after several years of him and the late great Gary Welsh banging the drum against former Indianapolis Greg Ballard's Indy-Vision boondoggle. Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett has decided to cancel this ill advised deal. Yes it took many years. But the point is that the contract was eventually cancelled. Not all of our heroes share our enthusiasm for being the monkey in the wrench of our political parties. Jonah Goldberg of National Review and host of the outstanding "The Remnant" podcast voiced his opinion of how he feels having to be the political odd man out:

People who think I enjoy being the skunk in the garden party on my own side of the garden are wrong. I hate this shit. Hate it.

— Jonah Goldberg (@JonahNRO) February 20, 2018

Although we can understand Jonah's frustration we cannot share it to any significant degree. We tend to share the view of The Weekly Standard's Bill Kristol in this matter:

Being a nice guy, @Jonah doesn't enjoy being the skunk at the garden party on his own side of the garden. But considering what some on our side--if it still is our side--are now saying or doing, I'm convinced being a skunk at that garden party is both necessary and honorable. https://t.co/CWqjGnShWQ

— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) February 20, 2018

On that note we would also say that if we are going to be the skunk's on the Republican Parties lawn we might as all stink together!