On Friday, Governor John Kitzhaber became the first Oregon state Governor to resign in disgrace amid the growing scandal involving him and his fiancée Cylvia Hayes.

Facing a state criminal investigation and strings of demand from top state officials for him to step down, Kitzhaber, a Democrat and Oregon’s 36th governor made his decision in a letter to Secretary of State Kate Brown detailing his resignation will take effect at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 18 clearing the way for her to assume Oregon’s highest office and become the nation’s first openly bisexual governor.

He abandoned his office amid suspicions that his live-in fiancée, Cylvia Hayes used her relationship with him to land contracts for her green-energy consulting business and pushing the same policies in her public role as first lady.

Kitzhaber, who spent 14 years as an emergency-room doctor, served his first two terms as governor from 1995 to 2003, winning election to a third term in 2010 and a fourth in November of which he has only lasted one month and one day as the allegations began surfacing.

Kitzhaber said in a statement announcing his resignation “I understand that I have become a liability to the very institutions and policies to which I have dedicated my career and, indeed, my entire adult life,” he said denying any wrongdoing.

Recently released emails show Governor John Kitzhaber gave First Lady Cylvia Hayes extraordinary influence over the highest levels of state government, allowing her to promote the agendas of her private consulting client.

Photo Credit: oregon.gov

The emails, released to WW and other media on Friday by the Oregon Department of Administrative Services, are of special importance for a number of reasons: 

First, Oregon state law prohibits public officials from using their public position for private benefit, or for the benefit of members of the public official’s household. The emails show that Kitzhaber advocated for policies and decisions that would aid Hayes’ private consulting work for Demos, a New York advocacy group.

Second, the emails show Kitzhaber handed Hayes sweeping power to direct senior state employees and influence state government policies. Without disclosing to those employees she was working for private clients, Hayes then promoted her clients’ agendas in written communication and at meetings. 

Third, the emails gave evidence of something that Kitzhaber and Hayes have sought to deny, which is that she herself is a public official and thus subject to Oregon government ethics laws.

Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said Feb. 9 she had begun a conflict-of-interest probe. “The governor’s decision to resign will not affect our ongoing criminal investigation into allegations of his and Ms. Hayes’ conduct,” Rosenblum said in a news release Friday.

Subpoenas delivered to the Department of Administrative Services Friday request a massive array of documents from Kitzhaber’s administration. Seeking records pertaining to 15 other people besides Kitzhaber and Hayes, including Kitzhaber’s chief of staff, policy advisers, Kitzhaber’s lawyer and secretaries the subpoena was the first acknowledgment of a federal investigation ordering the agency to produce documents for a federal grand jury before March 10. An agency spokesman, Matt Shelby, said it would tender whatever requested records are in its possession.

Different newspaper reports since October have chronicled Hayes’ work for organizations with an interest in Oregon public policy. At the same time, she was paid by advocacy groups and played an active role in Kitzhaber’s administration, a potential conflict of interest.

It was only in August that Kitzhaber, 67, proposed to Hayes, 47, with an eco-friendly ring on the banks of the Rogue River. An announcement through a spokeswoman said the couple “could not be happier or more excited.” In the months since, their engagement has been disrupted by the ethics commission review, two recall campaigns, a criminal investigation, a possible FBI inquiry and a series of personal embarrassments.

Putting Hayes in the spotlight led her to reveal that she accepted about $5,000 to illegally marry a man seeking immigration benefits in the 1997. Later, she admitted she bought a remote property with the intent to grow marijuana. Kitzhaber said Hayes would no longer have a policy role in his administration, adding that their engagement was still on.

“I’m in love,” Kitzhaber said. “I do not believe that I’ve been blinded. Eyes wide open.”

The greatest opportunity for transparency is a state-level investigation. Kitzhaber, however, has refused to appoint a special prosecutor. And Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum has so far ignored a mandate in state law that says she “shall” investigate public corruption, although her most recent comments suggest she may be moving in that direction.    

The post Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber Resigns Amid Criminal Investigation appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

A video featuring sergeant of Saratoga County Sheriff’s Department went viral over the internet. He resigned from his job on Monday after video went viral over the weekend. He held a press conference and put forward his resignation. He is now facing many charges on one count of official misconduct and other of harassment following an investigation in connection to the confrontation.

In the video that has been shared many times on the internet, Sheriff’s Deputy is cursing the suspect while demanding to handover him the car keys. He seems hitting a man in video, taking his car keys forcibly, and then illegally searching his vehicle in the Town of Halfmoon.

The investigators contacted the authorities over the weekend concerning the video uploaded online.It went viral after someone uploaded it on the Facebook page of Halfmoon. It showed an unsuitable interaction between a civilian and a member of Sheriff’s department. The Sheriff’s office explained the media over the weekend that it had investigated properly by identifying and interviewing the different parties involved in the case. These investigations resulted in Deputy Shawn Glans’s suspension without any pay effective immediately. It put further outcomes on pending that also includes disciplinary action.

The Sheriff’s office issued a statement that it does not take the problems like this as much seriously and it require its members to behave and act professional. It pays gratitude to the community members who put some light on the issue and fully cooperated with the investigations. It was not the first time that he was disciplined. He was speeding in 1996 to a 911 call and then came around the corner where he lost all his control on his vehicle and slammed it to another car. The car’s driver was paralyzed and the county had to pay six million dollars in order to settle the case against the Deputy Shawn Glans.

The post Resignation of Sheriff’s Deputy After Video Goes Viral appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.

A video went viral over the internet that shows inappropriate actions taken by Deputy Shawn Glans of Saratoga County Sheriff’s Office. The viral video forced Glans to resign from his post on Monday. He was criminally charged with harassment and official misconduct as depicted in the video. In a video, one can easily hear him cursing the man while trying to take his car keys by force. He appeared hitting the man over his head upon not getting his permission to search his vehicle. The man has his residence in Saratoga Springs.

In a press conference held on Monday by the Sheriff’s Office, it was announced that Shawn Glans handed over his resignation to the company and faced many criminal charges following a quick investigation carried out by his own department. Someone recorded the video and presented it to the Sheriff’s Office, which caused them to take immediate actions against Glans. The investigators including some senior administration conduct several interviews with particular parties involved in the matter. The Sheriff’s Office concluded to suspend Glans for his crimes. The incident put negative influence on his family and children. According to his wife, their daughter received some serious threats from those people who watched the video. Apart from this, it affected the Glans own career.

Photo Credit: Facebook

While talking to local media, Glans said that the gun in man’s vehicle caused him to take such actions and he would do it the same way again, however not if he has awareness of videotaping. It was not the first time that disciplinary actions were taken against former sergeant Shawn Glans. In 1996, he was speeding to a 911 call. He came around the corner where he lost all his control on his vehicle and slammed it to another car. The car’s driver was paralyzed along with other injuries. The county had to pay six million dollars in order to settle the case against the Deputy Shawn Glans.

The post A Viral Video Forced Sheriff’s Deputy To Resign appeared first on NIR News / National Investigative Report.