Lawrence testifies in Hughes ethics case

The House Ethics Committee picked up speed Friday on the second day of closed-door hearings into allegations made against Rep. Greg Hughes racing through testimony from at least six witnesses.

Hughes, R-Draper, is accused of offering former GOP lawmaker Susan Lawrence $50,000 in campaign contributions in her unsuccessful 2006 bid for re-election if she would change her vote on school vouchers.

He has filed his own ethics complaint against his chief accuser, Rep. Phil Riesen, D-Salt Lake, saying Riesen improperly leaked details of that and other allegations to the news media.

The committee, which met for the first time on the complaints Wednesday, didn't finish taking testimony from Lawrence until midafternoon Friday. She was the first of some 55 witnesses on a list released earlier this week.

Asked by reporters about the time it was taking to hear the complaint, Hughes attorney Thomas Karrenberg suggested the process was un-American.

"I'm a Vietnam vet. I've been shot at for this country. ... If they can't do it 'fastly,' it is not American," he said. "I'm not just talking as a lawyer. I (expletive) mean it." Karrenberg then questioned whether Riesen or others involved in the process had ever put their (expletive) "on the line."

Lawrence didn't enter the committee room until 1:30 p.m. because the committee apparently spent the morning debating procedural matters.

Karrenberg said the committee was considering his request that they consider each of the six charges against his client separately, announcing their decision on each before proceeding to the next.

"We basically think that's the only fair way," Karrenberg said. He later expressed frustration that he had not been told whether the committee had ruled on his request. Karrenberg told reporters that he and Hughes were only allowed in the hearing during witness testimony, not during deliberations.

Hughes was called to testify shortly after the committee finished with Lawrence. GOP political consultant Jeff Hartley; Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield; Rep. Kevin Garn, R-Layton, and a Democrat, lobbyist and former lawmaker Blaze Wharton, also testified.

Garn said he told the committee that he heard from Rep. Sheryl Allen, R-Bountiful, this summer that there could be a complaint filed against Hughes. Garn said Allen did not say then what the allegations were, but assured him she would not support making them public close to the election.

Allen participated in a Sept. 30 meeting with House Speaker Greg Curtis, R-Sandy, where the allegations were discussed, reportedly to pressure Curtis into backing ethics reform. Allen, who is expected to be a witness, did not sign the complaint against Hughes.