Former Speaker of the House David Gowan called out “a handful of opportunists,” on Tuesday after the Attorney General’s Office concluded its investigation into his travel practices. The Attorney General’s Office found that Gowan’s use of a state vehicle for possibly personal purposes “did not rise to the level of criminal conduct.”
Gowan had requested the investigation after news reports alleged that he had used a state vehicle for trips made as part of his run in the 2016 Congressional District 1 (CD1) race.
“Today’s report from the Attorney General’s office represents the end of a long and exhaustive process that began when I asked for a complete review of actions taken by my office. After more than a year, countless interviews, and an in-depth review of reams of documents, their finding that mistakes were made but any errors were unintentional and that no laws were broken is both predictable and welcome,” said Gowan in a press release.
“We can always learn through experience, and I am grateful for my time in House leadership and for all the experiences, opportunities and lessons it provided,” continued Gowan’s statement. “Subsequent administrations will also be able to benefit from these experiences in order to best prepare elected officials and their staffs for how to avoid making similar inadvertent mistakes. Nevertheless, I’m glad to finally put to rest this process, as well as the false accusations made by a handful of opportunists looking to settle a political score or score political points.”
While there is little doubt that Gowan had been targeted by political opponents, he was forced to repay the state $12,000 for travel expenses he incurred that were related to the congressional race.
The investigation found that “there was substantial disregard for determining whether state funds for per diem, mileage and official travel were paid pursuant to proper authority.” The investigator concluded, “…it appears that the violations were not undertaken knowingly or intentionally but were instead attributable to negligence — meaning that criminal charges could not be proven in court.”