Nevada GOP chairman says Carl Wimmer responsible for job confusion

SALT LAKE CITY — After days of finger-pointing surrounding Carl Wimmer's announcement that he was offered a post with the Nevada Republican Party, Nevada GOP chairman Michael McDonald finally had something to say:

Wimmer's remarks are "deplorable" he said in a prepared statement, after not responding to repeated requests for comment and clarification over two days. He said any blame for confusion rests solely with the former Utah lawmaker and he attacked Wimmer for his handling of the affair.

On Monday, Wimmer announced he had accepted a position as political director for the Nevada GOP. Soon after, McDonald told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that he had never spoken with Wimmer and had not approved his appointment as political director.

Wimmer held a press conference Thursday, in which he acknowledged never speaking to McDonald but said a series of emails had been exchanged between himself and Nevada GOP officials in which McDonald was carbon-copied. Wimmer said he had discussed the political director job with two party officials he wouldn't name and Jesse Law, whom he called the Nevada GOP's "acting political director."

McDonald said "Mr. Wimmer's tack to slandering me and/or the Nevada Republican Party in the press due to his poor judgement is bad form and I find it inexcusable that he has chosen to do it," he said.

McDonald said it was Wimmer's decision to publicly announce a job he didn't have and rejected Wimmer's labeling of the Nevada GOP as "nonfunctional." 

"Mr. Wimmer should be taking full responsibility for the gaffe and cease attempting to transfer blame to the Nevada Republican Party or its Executive Board," McDonald said.

Party officials on Thursday confirmed that Law is not a Nevada GOP employee and does not have hiring power. In his statement on Friday, McDonald described Law as a party volunteer and suggested the other individuals who spoke with Wimmer may have been representatives of Silver Bullet, LLC, a vendor that raises funds with the Nevada GOP.

"It is the responsibility of an applicant to actually talk to the employer (The Chairman) before moving to another state for a job that he 'believed' he had," McDonald said. "I take great offense to the personal attacks that Mr. Wimmer has launched against me and the Nevada Republican Party."

Wimmer responded to McDonald's statement on twitter, calling on the Nevada GOP chairman to release the email conversations he had with Law about Wimmer's appointment.

"I have genuine pity for (McDonald)," Wimmer said. "Covering mistakes with fabrications never works. I call on him to stop avoiding his mistakes. It's over."

E-mail: benwood@desnews.com