My Statement Prior To Session
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Under our Constitution, anyone accused of a crime has right to see all the evidence against them, to face their accusers, and to call witnesses in their defense.
I have been falsely accused of being a “domestic terrorist” by a private investigator who never spoke to the principals involved in the incidents she described and relied instead on anonymous sources. Based solely on this investigator’s dossier, the Speaker of the House said I “engaged in an act of domestic terrorism.”
This is a lie.
The Speaker also said she forwarded the dossier to the FBI and the US Attorney’s office. I have heard nothing from either office in the month since she did so. In fact, the only contact I have had with the FBI I am deeply grateful for — this past year agents contacted me to warn me of threats against me and my family as a result of these continued politically motivated attacks.
If the Speaker actually believes what she says, that I am a “domestic terrorist,” she should respect the ability and proper role of prosecutors and federal law enforcement to make a charging determination. Elected officials who casually accuse others of crimes without waiting for prosecutors to charge (much less juries convict), all with an eye towards overturning the results of elections they disagree with, are an ugly and corrosive feature of our modern political landscape.
The only member of the House to ever be expelled in Washington State was after they had been afforded due process and convicted of a crime. You don’t have to agree with my political views to believe that anyone accused of a crime has a right to see all the evidence against them, to face their accusers, and to call witnesses in their defense. These rights are guaranteed by our Constitution. Any action by the Legislature based solely on the dossier and without affording me those basic rights undermines the very pillars of our Republic.
I look forward to continuing to represent the people of my district. I do so with a renewed sense of the importance of our Constitution’s protections for the powerless against the vindictiveness of the powerful.
“…no official, high or petty, can prescribe what shall be orthodox in politics, nationalism, religion, or matters of opinion.” United States Supreme Court in West Virginia Bd. of Ed. v. Barnette, 319 U.S. 624, 642 (1943).
Committee to Elect Matt Shea
P.O. Box 142180
Spokane Valley, WA 99214
Tax ID# 32-02433896
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I couldn’t agree more. As I see it the crime here is slander and waiste; Not “domestic terrorism”. The primary actions that the unprofessional, unsubstantiated, slanderous report reveals is a public servant serving his state, region and nation. Those who are penalizing Matt Shea for being involved in the happenings of his region should themselves be investigated. Spending well over 100,000.00 in taxpayer resources for this kind of garbage and unsubstantiated slander are the real crimes crimes here.