O’Brien Outspoken in Defense of Birther Outburst

New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O’Brien defended House members who disrupted a state Ballot Law Commission hearing last year saying they were “convicted in the court of public opinion” on false charges. He accused Attorney General Michael Delaney of publicizing details of an “alleged crime” in an effort to “denigrate three state representatives and, by extension, the New Hampshire House of Representatives.”

An investigation by the head of State House security concluded the lawmakers did not violate any laws when they threatened BLC chairman Brad Cook and confronted Assistant Attorney General Matthew Mavrogeorge. Mavrogeorge had feared for his safety and called capitol security from a locked office following the confrontation.

The three lawmakers, Reps. Harry Accornero, Susan DeLemus and Al Baldasaro, attended the Ballot Law Commission hearing in support of a complaint filed by Birther Queen Orly Taitz who attempted to keep President Obama off the ballot for the New Hampshire presidential primary. The fracas erupted after the commission ruled against the Birther complaint.

Rep. Susan DeLemus, a freshman Republican from Rochester, acknowledged raising her voice when speaking with Mavrogeorge and issued an apology afterward. DeLemus, who is clerk of the House Election Law committee, told authorities she thought Mavrogeorge was longtime Secretary of State Bill Gardner.

Huh?

Keene Sentinel: Thugs in the State Capital

The Keene Sentinel looks back at the near-riot by New Hampshire legislators that followed the failed ”birther” challenge heard by the Ballot Law Commission. The blame, say the editors, begins with the “goonish behavior” by House leadership that now pervades the legislature.

The principal revelation from this day was not about birthers. Instead, it was about apparently accepted behavior in Concord — a goonish behavior about which some representatives have complained but which until now had never been caught on video for all to see on the Internet. …

Before this episode, it was difficult to imagine anyone giving the birther movement an unsavory name. And, it was difficult to imagine anyone in a position of responsibility giving the state of New Hampshire a thuggish name. But the nine Republican representatives at the hearing, led by Al Baldasaro of Londonderry and Harry Accornero of Laconia, did both — convincingly, schooled as they apparently are in the ways of the new Legislature.

Quote of the Day: Not Going to Wear a Mask

“I’m A, not going to wear a mask and B, still going to go to Laconia to visit my mother.”

— Brad Cook, Ballot Law Commission Chairman, responding to Rep. Harry Accornero who threatened him saying, “You’re going to have to face the citizens of Laconia. You better wear a mask.”

State Police to Investigate N.H. State Reps

Yesterday, House Speaker Bill O’Brien sent an email to state House Reps. Harry Accornero, Susan DeLemus and Al Baldasaro informing them that the Director of State Police, Colonel Robert Quinn, will be conducting a review of their behavior during Friday’s Ballot Law Commission hearing.

“[Attorney General Delaney] is concerned over how members of the House conducted themselves during and following the hearing, as well as for the safety of a member of his office who attended the meeting in an official capacity.”

Friday, the Ballot Law Commission conducted a hearing to investigate a complaint filed by Birther Queen Orly Taitz that attempted to keep President Obama off the ballot for the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary. Nine GOP lawmakers joined the complaint, including Reps. Accornero, DeLemus and Baldasaro.

After the hearing ended with the Ballot Law Commission rejecting the complaint, the three House members were videotaped berating and threatening members of the commission and the Attorney General’s staff. [Video Credit: Granite State Progress]

The complete text of Speaker O’Brien’s email follows below the fold.

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State Reps Behaving Badly

Over on Blue Hampshire, Kathy Sullivan has been keeping everyone up to date on the latest antics from our esteemed Republican state representatives — and it ain’t pretty.

As I discussed earlier, four representatives Harry Accornero (R, Laconia), Laurence Rappaport (R, Colebrook), Carol Vita (R, Middleton) and Lucien Vita (R, Middleton) had joined a complaint filed by Birther Queen Orly Taitz to keep President Obama off the ballot for the 2012 New Hampshire presidential primary.

Update: Five more GOP state representatives joined the complaint: Laurie Pettengill (R-Glen), Al Baldasaro (R-Londonderry), Moe Villanueve (R-Bedford), Susan DeLemus (R-Rochester) and William Tobin (R-Sanbornton).

After the hearing ended with the Ballot Law Commission rejecting the complaint, the room erupted and, according to the Taitz’ own account, Rep. Accornero threatened the chairman.

Everybody jumped to their feet. They were screaming and yelling and saying, “Traitors! You’re traitors! You have no decency! You have no honesty! You’re committing treason!” It was huge. Cameras were rolling, and they had to call security. (Rep.) Harry Accornero started yelling at to the chair of the committee and the corrupt attorney, and the attorney, Brad E. Cook, said, “Representative Accornero, you are out of order.” And Accornero said, “No, you are out of order; you are committing treason. You have to face the people of the state of New Hampshire, and you better not get out of the house without a mask!”

Not to be outdone, Rep. Carol Vita jumped into the act:

I’ve never seen anything like it. People were so mad that I thought, “In another minute, they’re going to bring a rope and start hanging them all.” Representative Carol Vita kept getting right in the face of the assistant attorney general; she was yelling and screaming at him.

Update: Taitz corrected this account. “There were some errors in the article. the female state Representative, who yelled and screamed at the attorney general was not Carol Vita, but Sue DeLima [sic].

But there’s more.

In a Facebook post first reported on Huffington Post, state Rep. Jason Antosz (R-Epping) made light of the attempted-assassination charges against the man who allegedly shot at the White House.

“An Idaho man accused of firing two shots at the White House exterior last week has been charged with attempting to assassinate President Barack Obama or his staff. Are Your Kidding me? The Obama family according to sources was not even in Washington. It was a lucky shot via driving by on Pennsylvania Avenue. The president has the safety security in our history, it’s near impossible to kill a U.S. President with today’s secret service protocols and vehicle technologies.”

Rep. Antosz later apologized in this email to members of the House: 

It was not my intention to advocate or defend the actions taken by the shooting suspect. … Since the comment I have learned more after recent days, and feel the charges of attempted assassination were most appropriate in this case.

At least Rep. Antosz apologized. Not so for Reps. Accornero and Vita.