Update: The New Hampshire Legal Rights Foundation announced Tuesday that it has severed its relationship with former Rep. D.J. Bettencourt. The foundation had recently named Bettencourt as executive director.
N.H. House Majority leader DJ Bettencourt has resigned from office, and acknowledged he misled UNH law school about working as intern for a fellow GOP lawmaker.
DJ Bettencourt’s resignation comes two days after the the Salem republican abruptly announced he would leave the legislature next week to take a job with a conservative legal advocacy group with ties to House Speaker William O’Brien and The Free State Project.
Bettencourt said his new duties would conflict with his responsibilities as a lawmaker. The 28-year-old also noted he was getting married.
But Bettencourt’s timetable and explanation changed when Rep. Brandon Giuda (Chichester-r) threatened to go public with 11 weeks of falsified reports Bettencourt submitted to the UNH School of Law to document purported internship in Giuda’s office.
After downplaying the matter to the NH Union leader on Saturday as “a dispute over my independent studies, ” Bettencourt released a statement confirming that he misrepresented working for Guida. Bettencourt also apologized and said he will continue working to resolve his situation with UNH Law School . Under the schools code of conduct, Bettencourt could face expulsion.
