AG Labrador accused of misconduct, subject to Idaho State Bar probe. He calls it meritless

Ian Max Stevenson, Idaho Statesman

BOISE (Idaho Statesman) — The Idaho State Bar has opened an investigation into Attorney General Raúl Labrador complete allegations of misconduct aft a authorities charismatic accused him of disregarding his obligations to his client, the Department of Health and Welfare.

The investigation stems from a title revenge past twelvemonth by Dave Jeppesen, erstwhile head of Health and Welfare, who accused nan authorities elected charismatic of respective morals violations, including failing to decently correspond nan wellness agency and trying to usage accusation obtained confidentially from nan section while acting arsenic its lawyer to pursue his ain investigations. The Idaho Statesman obtained a transcript of nan title from Jeppesen, who supplied records of nan investigation astatine a reporter’s request.

“Recent actions taken by AG Labrador … show that (he) does not position DHW arsenic his client, is placing his ain argumentation priorities complete DHW’s needs for ineligible proposal and representation, has created an unworkable conflict successful representing nan department, and has taken an adversarial position against DHW,” Jeppesen wrote successful his title revenge successful June 2023.

Jeppesen besides lists different instances erstwhile he said Labrador has acted connected his ain successful ineligible battles without consulting pinch his client. Jeppesen has since retired from nan department and declined to remark further to nan Statesman.

The authorities barroom sent a missive to Labrador past period that laid retired 7 imaginable violations of nan Idaho Rules of Professional Conduct, a handbook that each attorneys successful nan authorities must comply with, and asked Labrador to respond to nan allegations. The letter, which nan Statesman besides reviewed, said nan barroom is successful nan mediate of a preliminary review. The barroom said it sent Labrador a transcript of nan title arsenic good arsenic materials gathered during its preliminary investigation.

Labrador has agelong maintained that he is obligated to enforce definite laws while besides representing authorities agencies, and his agency told nan Statesman that nan title was “meritless” and would yet beryllium dismissed.

“The leaking of this frivolous and baseless title to nan media is an effort to thwart a adjacent and nonsubjective process, and is impervious that it was intended arsenic a governmental hit,” Dan Estes, Labrador’s spokesperson, told nan Statesman by email.

Jeppesen’s title besides referenced Lincoln Davis Wilson, a erstwhile civilian litigator successful Labrador’s agency who worked connected nan kid attraction grants case, and who is now a elder counsel astatine nan Alliance Defending Freedom. Labrador and Wilson were fixed until Aug. 12 to respond to nan bar. Labrador’s agency declined to stock further specifications astir his response.

Investigations by nan bar, a self-governing authorities agency, are mostly kept backstage unless nan barroom pursues a nationalist sanction. The bar’s rules authorities that it conducts investigations erstwhile grievances allege facts that “if true” would beryllium a violation. The bar’s lead lawyer declined to corroborate nan beingness of aliases remark connected nan Labrador case.

If nan barroom finds Labrador violated nan codification of conduct, he could look sanctions ranging from backstage subject — a missive declaring improper behaviour without limiting nan lawyer’s expertise to believe rule — to nationalist charges. Sanctions for much superior charges must beryllium ordered by nan Idaho Supreme Court, and tin consequence successful published notices, licence suspension aliases disbarment, according to nan agency’s rules.

Jeppesen’s allegations are akin to different accusations that person been made against Labrador successful nan twelvemonth and a half he’s been successful office. Some existent and erstwhile authorities officials person said nan lawyer wide has taken an adversarial attack to authorities bureaucracies and, successful doing so, grounded to decently beryllium their attorney.

The grievances halfway connected nan delicate position of nan state’s apical attorney: 1 successful which his agency is tasked chiefly pinch representing nan authorities and its agencies while besides enforcing definite violations of law.

In 1 instance, a judge recovered nan circumstances put 1 of nan state’s attorneys successful an “unenviable” position that was “deeply problematic.” In another, a judge recovered an lawyer wide investigation was “directly adversarial” to a authorities agency’s interests and ordered his agency to mention it elsewhere. In a third, 1 of nan state’s attorneys — who has revenge a suit — said she was caught successful a position she struggled to ethically woody with.

In nan mold of different outspoken conservatives, Labrador has portrayed himself arsenic an outsider devoted to battling wide and left-wing ideas from nan courtroom, and arsenic a people’s lawyer committed to opinionated up to sprawling authorities agencies. He campaigned connected restoring people’s “trust successful nan norm of law” and belief that their authorities would protect them complete “the bureaucracy,” he wrote after winning his election.

Estes said Jeppesen misunderstood “two basal principles”: that nan lawyer wide doesn’t correspond authorities officials personally, and that nan rules of master behaviour let authorities lawyers to correspond aggregate parties successful a case.

“The lawyer wide is accustomed to meritless attacks successful nan media,” Estes said. “But it is unfortunate that anyone is now attempting to besides sully nan characteristic of nan fantabulous attorneys who activity aliases person worked for nan office.”

READ THE JEPPESEN COMPLAINT TO THE IDAHO STATE BAR

Jeppesen: ‘A dispute situation’

In early 2023, lawmakers said they started to fishy that millions of dollars successful COVID-19 alleviation costs were sent retired to kid attraction organizations that were ineligible to person them nether authorities law. Lawmakers notified nan lawyer general, who responded to those concerns quickly by serving Health and Welfare officials pinch demands that Jeppesen and 2 of his deputies move complete documents astir nan grants successful March.

Jeppesen’s title alleged that attorneys tasked pinch representing nan wellness agency were told not to supply wellness officials pinch ineligible counsel. Labrador besides declined to supply Health and Welfare pinch extracurricular attorneys, he wrote.

Shortly aft Labrador’s order, Jeppesen and nan 2 deputies sued his agency pinch extracurricular attorneys to extremity nan investigation. Fourth Judicial District Judge Lynn Norton successful Ada County ruled that Labrador had a conflict of liking successful nan case, prompting Labrador to name a typical charismatic for nan investigation. Norton yet dismissed nan lawsuit aft nan typical charismatic withdrew nan demands.

Jeppesen said successful his missive that nan business created “a terrible deficiency of assurance and trust” successful nan Attorney General’s Office among Health and Welfare employees, arsenic good arsenic “concerns that attorney-client privileged accusation will not beryllium kept confidential, aliases worse, will beryllium utilized against DHW and its employees.”

Labrador’s tenure had a “severe impact” connected Health and Welfare, he added, “creating a dispute business wherever spot and assurance has been destroyed.” Six lawyers successful nan Attorney General’s Office tasked pinch representing Health and Welfare resigned aliases were forced retired complete nan controversy, Jeppesen wrote.

Daphne Huang, a lawyer successful nan Attorney General’s Office who represented nan authorities wellness agency, was 1 of those employees. She advised wellness officials that their distribution of nan grants was ineligible successful 2 abstracted opinions, nan first of which was issued while she was still moving nether nan erstwhile lawyer wide and nan 2nd of which was issued soon aft Labrador took office. Labrador’s spokesperson said he wasn’t alert of nan sentiment issued nether his tenure and “would ne'er knowingly person put his sanction connected a ineligible sentiment for illustration that,” according to erstwhile Statesman reporting.

Huang became further enmeshed successful nan conflict erstwhile nan main lawyer assigned to Health and Welfare and her supervisor, Chelsea Kidney, was told to resign aliases beryllium fired connected nan aforesaid time nan Attorney General’s Office began investigating Huang’s ineligible opinions; Kidney resigned, according to tribunal documents.

Huang was tasked pinch retrieving Kidney’s activity phone. She said elder officials successful nan Attorney General’s Office pressured her to break her ethical responsibilities to Health and Welfare by trying to spot nan contents of Kidney’s telephone erstwhile authorities wellness officials believed they contained backstage communications betwixt them and their lawyer, according to tribunal records. Kidney and an lawyer for Huang did not respond to requests for comment.

When Huang wrote up her concerns and submitted them to her supervisor, she was notified that she, too, had to resign aliases beryllium fired, she said successful tribunal filings. She has since sued nan Attorney General’s Office, alleging retaliation.

The Attorney General’s Office denied Huang’s allegations successful tribunal filings and based on that wellness officials’ determination to “scrub” nan erstwhile employee’s telephone raised “more questions” astir nan assistance program. She “was ne'er asked, instructed aliases directed to return actions that would discuss her aliases nan lawyer general’s ethical obligations to his client,” attorneys nether Labrador wrote.

Norton successful an August 2023 determination wished that nan telephone incident discredited Labrador’s arguments that his agency had created a “firewall” betwixt investigators and lawyers for nan wellness department, and forbade his agency from pursuing nan investigation without an extracurricular prosecutor.

READ DAVE JEPPESEN V. RAUL R. LABRADOR

Labrador has grounds of conflicts pinch authorities agencies

Jeppesen’s allegations echoed different complaints made erstwhile Labrador has butted heads pinch officials he’s expected to correspond arsenic lawyer general: nan State Board of Education complete its wish to purchase nan University of Phoenix and nan caput of authorities complete an approved ballot initiative. In nan Phoenix case, which progressive a arguable $550 cardinal acquisition that has been scrutinized by a scope of authorities officials, a judge disqualified Labrador and immoderate of his apical officials from prosecuting nan case. That judge besides required them to prosecute extracurricular attorneys.

Most recently, aft Labrador sued nan caput of authorities and Idahoans for Open Primaries successful July complete nan approved ballot inaugural to extremity closed primaries successful Idaho, nan Idaho Supreme Court ordered Labrador to explicate really he could ethically correspond nan Secretary of State’s Office while suing it.

Labrador told nan tribunal that he could do truthful by “screening” attorneys, which was “all nan master rules require and each they tin perchance require,” his agency wrote successful a brief.

“He appointed deputies, insulated them from his supervision, and imposed a surface to support himself and undersigned counsel from learning nan Secretary’s confidential information,” his agency wrote. “This determination rested connected observant study of nan statutes and rules that govern nan lawyer general’s conduct.”

Idaho Supreme Court justices ne'er said whether they would judge his rationale, since they dismissed nan lawsuit soon thereafter.

Jeppesen wrote successful his title that nan cellphone incident led him to judge nan lawyer wide wanted to usage accusation connected nan telephone successful his grants investigation. Jeppesen besides told nan barroom that Wilson, nan high-ranking lawyer successful Labrador’s office, defended Health and Welfare and Jeppesen against a suit successful 1 courtroom, signed connected to Labrador’s demands for his records successful another, and based on against Jeppesen successful tribunal erstwhile nan head sued to extremity nan demands — each successful nan aforesaid month.

The business made it “impossible” for Jeppesen to ideate really nan aforesaid attorneys could competently take sides Health and Welfare successful immoderate matters while fighting them successful tribunal successful others, he wrote. Wilson did not respond to a petition for comment.

The charismatic appointed by Labrador has since suggested that crimes whitethorn person been committed by wellness officials complete nan kid attraction grants, and Labrador has said that immoderate recipients had adjacent individual ties to wellness employees. A legislative audit wished that wellness officials failed to ensure assistance recipients spent nan money only connected qualified property groups, and auditors thought its findings were superior capable to mention them to nan lawyer general. The Legislature’s fund committee later withheld backing from Health and Welfare while it waited for nan agency to correct issues recovered successful nan audit, according to nan Idaho Capital Sun. Jeppesen denied nan audit’s findings. Labrador’s agency declined to stock nan position of nan typical prosecutor’s investigation.

In his statement, Estes said Jeppesen’s title came aft nan erstwhile head was “embroiled successful aggregate scandals earlier resigning from DHW.”

“The Office of nan Attorney General was unwilling to legally warrant immoderate of nan alleged misconduct, and his title to nan barroom followed,” Estes said, noting that Labrador has since had a “positive moving relationship” pinch nan existent director, Alex Adams.

Ethics title includes high-profile kid use case

Part of Jeppesen’s title concerns a high-profile kid protection case successful 2022, erstwhile wellness officials seized a babe they feared would dice of malnourishment aft his parents missed aggregate appointments.

Before he took office, Labrador told Jeppesen that he was “close individual friends” pinch Diego Rodriguez, nan baby’s grandfather who is besides a erstwhile pastor and Ammon Bundy associate. Labrador said he felt Health and Welfare and others “mishandled” nan case, according to Jeppesen’s complaint.

The government’s actions prompted Bundy and nan family to instigate galore protests extracurricular of St. Luke’s Health System successful Boise. Protestors posted nan names, photos and addresses of constabulary officers and others progressive successful nan custody lawsuit online and went to their homes.

The kid was returned to his parents aft respective days, but nan infirmary said Rodriguez and Bundy posted far-fetched lies astir its connections to kid maltreatment online. St. Luke’s later won a defamation lawsuit for much than $50 cardinal successful damages aft nan 2 men did not look successful tribunal for their trial. The baby’s family sued St. Luke’s, constabulary and nan wellness agency earlier this year.

After Labrador took office, he asked for each of nan Health and Welfare files connected nan case, according to Jeppesen’s letter. Jeppesen took his concerns astir nan conflict to nan Governor’s Office and to Kidney, nan lead lawyer for Health and Welfare astatine nan time.

The wellness head ne'er turned complete nan baby’s records to Labrador “due to nan conflict,” Jeppesen wrote, though he noted successful an email that he could supply them if nan conflict was addressed.

Labrador and his squad “determined that a conflict does not exist,” Kidney wrote backmost to Jeppesen, aft explaining that she had raised his interest and related authorities morals rules that picture individual relationships.

“The lawyer wide is cooperating pinch nan barroom and is assured nan title will beryllium dismissed successful owed time,” Estes said.