The Legislative Ethics Committee has postponed its decision on the case against House Speaker Gene Chandler.
House Speaker Chandler has been accused of taking gifts worth more than $250 from lobbyists and political action committees with a vested interest in statehouse business.
New Hampshire Public Radio's Dan Gorenstein has more.
NHPR's series on Gene Chandler's fundraising earned the 2004 Sigma Delta Chi Award for Radio Investigative Reporting from the Society of Professional Journalists.
The Ethics Committee has decided to delay any further decision for two reasons.
One- the full committee was not present.
Two- the materials the Committee requested from Speaker Chandler were delivered late.
The documents were expected to arrive sometime prior to Monday's 9 am meeting.
Instead the package arrived in the middle of the hearing.
Despite the holdup, acting Ethics Committee Chair Ned Gordon says the process will move forward.
"We have made the effort to gather the information necessary, the committee feels to vote on bringing formal charges. We feel we have all we need at this time."
Of particular interest was whether the Friends of Gene Chandler Committee was a committee at all.
Or was it just a vehicle for Chandler to generate cash?
The documents show that Speaker Chandler had sole control of the money raised.
The Ethics Committee also received copies of bank statements from Chandler's checking account.
According to the receipts, most checks went to a gas station/convenience store near his North Country home, and to a Concord hotel.
Of particular interest was whether the Friends of Gene Chandler Committee was an independent entity or merely a vehicle to deliver Chandler money.
Another significant piece of information came from Secretary of State Bill Gardner.
Chandler and his supporters have maintained that the Secretary of State told the Friends Committee it did not have to report contributions.
But in a letter written before Chandler ever even held a corn roast, Gardner wrote that the individual who receives the net proceeds from a fundraiser has to file annually.
For Ethics Committee Chair Shawn Jasper, who has recused himself from the Chandler case, the letter only is just another nail in the coffin.
"Had the speaker looked at the law, and read this letter there is no reasonable question he was responsible for the filing."
But whether Speaker Chandler had to file or not, the primary question the Ethics Committee is considering revolves around how much Chandler got, and whom it came from.
Ovide Lamontagne, Chandler's attorney, argued that the Speaker did nothing illegal.
And what's more, Chandler, he says, is no the only one doing it.
But beyond that, Lamontagne faults the law as confusing and rife with inconsistencies.
For example, one law says that no elected official can take any money from a person with an interest in statehouse business.
But the ethics guidelines say an elected official can take up to $250 from that same person.
"This is an opportunity to correct the system, and make adjustments that are going to be necessary not only for a more efficient, clearer system, but one the public is aware of."
The Ethics Committee has tentatively scheduled a meeting for Monday the 29th.
The Committee is expected to vote then on whether to bring formal charges against the speaker.
For NHPR News, I'm DG.
