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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>From today’s (August 15, 2004) Spokesman Review –<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>------------------------------------------------------------------------<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden Goes Own Way Amid GOP Tide <o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:place w:st="on"><st1:City w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>Boise</span></font></st1:City></st1:place><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>, UI
scandals among high-profile controversies<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Betsy Z. Russell<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Staff writer<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>August 15, 2004<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on"><font size=2
face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'>BOISE</span></font></st1:place></st1:City><font
size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:Arial'> –
Lawrence Wasden hasn't turned out to be the attorney general many expected.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The quiet, little-known, longtime deputy in the attorney
general's office has been in office only a year and a half, but he has made
waves by doing everything from prosecuting the mayor of <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Boise</st1:place></st1:City> for corruption to successfully closing
a campaign finance loophole that had benefited the governor.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden, like Gov. Dirk Kempthorne and former Boise Mayor
Brent Coles, is a Republican. But he's clashed at times with GOP leaders in the
Legislature and the executive branch as he pursued what he described as his
duty.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"I know he's ruffled more than a few feathers,"
said Steve Shaw, a political scientist at <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Northwest</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Nazarene</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>
in <st1:City w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Nampa</st1:place></st1:City>.
"Given the almost monopolistic kind of political power the Republicans
have, they think of themselves as a team. … He's obviously upset some of
the folks on the 'team.' "<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>The clashes have even led to rumors of a primary challenge
when Wasden comes up for re-election in 2006, but he's unfazed.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"Will I have a challenge in the primary? I don't know,
but let me tell you right now, I'm running for re-election, and I'm going to
keep doing exactly what I'm doing right now," Wasden said in an interview.
"And I guess people will have to make a choice."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Two former <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Idaho</st1:place></st1:State>
attorneys general give Wasden high marks thus far.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"He's doing what he needs to do as the attorney
general," said former GOP Attorney General Jim Jones, who will become an
Idaho Supreme Court justice next year. "There are often a lot of misconceptions
about what the attorney general does. He runs on a political ticket … but
on the other hand you have a responsibility to the people that goes way beyond
any political obligation you may have to the party."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Jones added, "You often are in a situation where if you
do your job as you're supposed to, you get sideways with either the Legislature
or the executive. That's just part of the job."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Tony Park, a Democrat and former <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place
w:st="on">Idaho</st1:place></st1:State> attorney general, said, "He's had
the backbone to stand up to the people that I know are bringing enormous
pressure on him to do things differently. I've been there and done some of
that, so I know the kinds of political pressures that can be brought to
bear."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Here are some of the high-profile issues Wasden's dealt with
so far:<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>• Shortly after taking office, he prosecuted Coles,
who is a fellow member of the Mormon Church, and several aides in a political
corruption scandal that ended the mayor's career.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>• Wasden has aggressively pursued the <st1:Street
w:st="on"><st1:address w:st="on">University Place</st1:address></st1:Street>
scandal involving a failed <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType>
of <st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Idaho</st1:PlaceName> satellite campus project in <st1:City
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Boise</st1:place></st1:City> that drained
millions from the university, though his office has bowed out of the criminal
prosecution of the case citing a conflict of interest. He pressed unrelentingly
for an extensive state-commissioned report on the debacle to be made public,
and it was, to the embarrassment of many politically powerful people across the
state.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>• During this past year's legislative session, Wasden
joined with Secretary of State Ben Ysursa and House Speaker Bruce Newcomb, both
Republicans, to sponsor legislation closing a campaign finance law loophole
that had allowed Kempthorne to skirt contribution limits while using excess
campaign funds to cover everyday expenses such as meals, flowers and haircuts.
The bill passed, and Kempthorne signed it, saying, "It would be difficult
not to."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>• When GOP legislative leaders urged Wasden to appoint
a special attorney to challenge the voter-passed Indian gaming initiative,
Wasden refused, saying his duty as attorney general is to defend <st1:State
w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Idaho</st1:place></st1:State>'s laws, not
challenge them. The decision earned him harsh criticism from Senate Majority
Leader Bart Davis, <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">R-Idaho</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">Falls</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"He has had an amazing number of high-profile issues,
and has been, I think, very independent and very clear in doing what he felt
was his job," said <st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Boise</st1:PlaceName>
<st1:PlaceType w:st="on">State</st1:PlaceType> <st1:PlaceType w:st="on">University</st1:PlaceType></st1:place>
political scientist Jim Weatherby. "I suspect there'd be a lot of people
who would give him very high marks for independence, which is somewhat rare in
this one-party state."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden said, "It is true we have had a number of very
intense and high-profile matters to deal with."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>But he said he's just doing his job.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"I have a role to play, which is a role that's
sometimes at odds with other folks, and they get distressed and upset about
it," Wasden said. "My job isn't to worry about that. … What I'm
doing is fulfilling my duty in my role as attorney general."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden notes that he knew some of the people involved in the
<st1:place w:st="on"><st1:PlaceName w:st="on">Boise</st1:PlaceName> <st1:PlaceType
w:st="on">City Hall</st1:PlaceType></st1:place> corruption scandal. "But
my decision to go forward wasn't based upon political party, religious
affiliation, my personal knowledge, friendships, or any of those kinds of
things," he said. "That isn't the issue. The issue is did I take an
oath, did I have a job to do? And the answer is yes."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>He said some have misunderstood his decision on the gaming
initiative. As he made clear in his election campaign, Wasden opposes all
gaming.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"But the fact of the matter is what I personally think
isn't relevant to this issue," he said. "The people made the choice,
it's the law, and my duty is to defend it."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden followed an unusual career path to the attorney
general post – one that was largely inside the attorney general's office.
After a brief stint in private practice and a year and a half as a deputy
county prosecutor, he went to work for the attorney general's office in 1989 as
a deputy attorney general representing the state tax commission. He later held
positions including deputy chief of staff and chief of staff.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>All of <st1:State w:st="on"><st1:place w:st="on">Idaho</st1:place></st1:State>'s
recent attorneys general had partisan backgrounds, serving in the Legislature,
running for other elective office or working for politicians, Weatherby said.
"I don't know how far you'd have to go back to find someone as closely
associated with that office."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Park said, "The attorney general's office by its very
nature is a highly political office, and ambitious young men and women go for
it. So it is unusual to see someone from within actually run for it and get
elected."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden had a tough fight to win election, first in a
four-way Republican primary and then in a general election face-off with
prominent attorney and Democrat Keith Roark. Wasden said his long service in
the office gave him some advantages.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"The transition for me was pretty easy," he said.
"I picked up my papers at one desk, I walked through a doorway, I sat down
at another desk and transition was completed."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>But he doesn't claim to do things exactly like his
predecessor, Al Lance, for whom he served as chief of staff.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"In the last year we have taken a different
direction," Wasden said. "It's just kind of me expressing through my
office my ideas."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden notes that he was Canyon County Republican chairman
and vice chairman. "Some people have said I'm politically naive," he
said. "I understand the political consequences, but I am more compelled by
my duty and my oath, and let the political chips fall where they may."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Jones said, "Historically, attorneys general around the
country have not fared well in primary elections, but … you have an
obligation to the people. And you've got to take that responsibility fairly
seriously, and sometimes it's going to get people upset with you from your own
side of the fence.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"I think he's been doing that," Jones said of
Wasden, "and I'm kind of proud of him. I hired him in 1989 to work at the
tax commission, and he's worked his way up through the ranks. He hasn't been a
showboater, he's been very conscientious."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Wasden, 46, said he's "not out here trying to make
everybody mad."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"But when you have an obligation, then you fulfill that
obligation without regard to the personal consequences," he said.
"That doesn't mean that you're naive and don't recognize that there will
be consequences."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>Both Shaw and Weatherby said Wasden's independence is
unlikely to get him defeated in the next primary and may, instead, help him
with voters. However, Shaw said it could affect his chances in a future race
for a position that's more highly partisan, if he were to seek another office.<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'>"I'm just a normal person," Wasden said. "And
I really am trying as hard as I can to just do the right thing. … I take
that very seriously."<o:p></o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 face=Arial><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
font-family:Arial'><o:p> </o:p></span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:
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