O'Brien blasts Jasper for removing lawmaker with felony conviction from criminal justice panel
Former House Speaker Bill O'Brien has attacked Speaker Shawn Jasper over his decision to remove a lawmaker with a felony conviction from the House Criminal Justice Committee.
Rep. Albert “Max” Abramson, who moved to New Hampshire in 2004 as one of the first 1000 individuals to sign the Free State Project pledge, received a one-year suspended sentence in 2012 after he was convicted of a reckless conduct felony for firing a gun during a party at his home. The state Supreme Court rejected his appeal in 2013.
Friday afternoon, the speaker announced the Seabrook Republican will not serve on the panel that acts on legislation involving firearms, criminal sentencing and law enforcement.
O'Brien, who is embroiled in a contentious battle with Jasper for control of the Republican caucus, blasted the speaker and defended Abramson in an email to House Republicans, which he posted on Facebook.
O'Brien wrote that Jasper was wrong to reassign Abramson because Seabrook voters were aware of the conviction when they elected him. Abramson “was elected with a background wrong for Rep. Jasper but right for his voters,” wrote O'Brien.
“Now we don’t have a final fix on this representative’s issues,” O'Brien continued, “but one thing is clear, neither does Speaker Jasper. … [T]oday he once again demonstrated he will not stand with us when we need support.”
O'Brien concluded by asking the lawmakers to support a House rule change that will make him the Majority Leader. “The result is this representative was left – and you will be left if circumstances turn against you – without the protection that a Republican-elected leader of your caucus would provide,” O'Brien wrote.
O'Brien neglected to mention his own record. In his first year as speaker, a Nashua Telegraph report identified three instances of O'Brien removing lawmakers from committees over ideological differences:
April 6, 2011: Rep. Lee Quandt, R-Exeter, removed from House Finance Committee after opposing House GOP state budget and Right-to-Work bills.
April 17, 2011: Rep. Susan Emerson, R-Rindge, kicked off her committee for opposing budget and asking to increase spending. She claimed in private meeting O’Brien tried to bully her, a charge he and Bettencourt vigorously deny.
Oct. 26, 2011: Deputy Majority Leader Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson, bounced from Election Laws Committee after battling with chairman over Voter ID bill. O’Brien had removed Jasper from two other committees after a February dispute.
The following year, O'Brien removed Rep. Steve Vaillancourt from the Finance Committee after frequent clashes with the Manchester Republican. “Anyone who manages to stay on such a committee, in the O'Brien climate of hate and retaliation, is not doing his or her job,” Vaillancourt told the Concord Monitor.