JEFFERSON CITY — A ºüÀêÊÓƵ Democrat has been forced to move his belongings from an office suite on the Capitol’s first floor to a windowless basement hearing room after his colleagues censured him last week.
Rep. Wiley Price IV, D-ºüÀêÊÓƵ, told the Post-Dispatch the action by Republican leadership is part of an effort to force him to resign .
“Absolutely they’re trying to get me to resign,†Price said Monday. “There’s no question. ... Right now, all of my s- — is in Hearing Room 2.
“So right now I got the biggest office in the building. And that’s my attitude,†he said.
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The ethics probe found Price was in frequent contact with a Capitol intern in late January 2020, though the two have denied any sexual relationship. The committee found Price committed perjury by denying he contacted the intern. The panel also found Price threatened an assistant who reported Price told her of his relationship with the intern.
The ethics committee’s report said after the assistant reported Price last year, that “in order to prevent the possibility of further harassment or retaliation†against the assistant, Price was moved to a different office suite.
But Price said that this year, the aide ended up working in the same office suite as him.
House Speaker , R-Arnold, said in a letter Wednesday to House Minority Leader , D-Springfield, that Price’s most recent office move was “temporary†until “such time as your caucus assigns him (Price) an appropriate office location that provides a safe working environment for all House employees.â€
The censure resolution, approved on a 140-3 vote, removes Price from committees, bars him from having an intern and fines him $22,500 for investigation costs. It doesn’t specifically mention moving Price from his office.
Price on Monday blasted the findings of the bipartisan House Ethics Committee, which he said was based on hearsay from the ex-legislative assistant who reported the alleged relationship that Price and the intern denied.
“They’re doing all of this off hearsay,†Price said. “How come her story wasn’t under any scrutiny at all?â€
Price has said he had discussed firing the assistant in the days before she reported the alleged relationship. The report notes this, but says Price’s account contradicted the aide’s statements, and Price’s earlier statements, when he said he didn’t have a problem with the aide.
Price suggested Republican leadership couldn’t muster the 109 votes needed to expel him because of holes within the committee’s report. With numerous GOP defectors, an effort to expel Price only garnered 91 votes.
“Some people in the building know something ain’t right,†he said.
Rep. , R-St. Peters, was one of the GOP defectors. He said the vote was a “tough choice†because “certainly his acts warranted expulsion.â€
But Christofanelli said that with only one expulsion in the history of the House — more than 150 years ago — “there should be an extraordinary level of due process afforded to the accused.â€
He said GOP lawmakers only made the decision to expel Wednesday morning, hours before debate on Price’s fate was set to commence.
“He was afforded very little time to make his case against it,†Christofanelli said. “Under those circumstances I was not prepared to vote to expel him.â€
Christofanelli also wondered about hearsay given that the report was partly based on the aide’s account. He said that because he wasn’t on the committee and didn’t have access to all of the information it had, he wasn’t in a position to “second-guess†the panel’s conclusion, which was to censure Price.
“It wasn’t just a censure,†Christofanelli said. “There were a number of provisions in there designed to hold him accountable so I don’t think it was just a slap on the wrist.â€
Rep. , D-Kirkwood, was the only Democrat to vote to expel Price.
Phifer said expulsion is a high bar because in effect, removing a representative disenfranchises the voters of their district. But in this case, she said, the alleged harassment and intimidation was the most important factor.
“The reason I voted to expel is that I — as I look at my duty as a representative, I am there to represent my district,†she said. “But I also believe that I’ve got a duty to be a voice for people who don’t have power.
“And in this situation, there was indeed a person who doesn’t have power and it was the legislative assistant,†she said. “If you have a situation where a mandated reporter can be threatened and harassed and intimidated for doing her job ... we have a dangerous situation in the Capitol.
“To me, it would have been better for Representative Price not to be there,†Phifer said.
