(The Center Square) — New Hampshire Republicans want to conduct an impeachment inquiry of Democratic Executive Council Member Karen Liot Hill in response to claims that she abused her authority by encouraging a lawsuit against the state over its voter ID requirements.
A resolution filed by House Deputy Majority Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, claims that Liot Hill “negligently and improperly placed her personal or partisan objectives above her constitutional and fiduciary obligations to the state” and calls for a legislative impeachment inquiry to determine whether she should be removed from office.
Sweeney’s resolution alleges that Liot Hill used her government email account and the authority of her office “to facilitate and encourage litigation against the state of New Hampshire’s duly enacted election laws by recruiting potential plaintiffs and referring them to a partisan out-of-state law firm.”
Under the state Constitution, executive councilors can be impeached by the House and tried by the Senate for “corruption, malpractice, or maladministration,” the legislation notes.
But Liot Hill fired back at the impeachment effort in a press conference Thursday, where she rallied with her supporters and criticized Republicans for pushing the resolution.
“Impeachment is for misconduct. It’s not for disagreement,” she said in remarks. “And using it against lawful speech is not accountability. It, in fact, threatens free expression for all of us.”
The embattled councilor noted that an investigation conducted by Attorney General John Formella’s office found no violation of state law or ethics in response to a complaint from the New Hampshire Republican Party based on allegations from a conservative news outlet that she used her official position to solicit lawsuits targeting the state’s new voter ID law.
“That review is complete, and the conduct was cleared as lawful,” Liot Hill said. “Despite that, some elected officials are continuing to pursue an impeachment inquiry, not because I did something illegal or unethical, but because they disagree with what I said.”
Following the rally, the state GOP officials pushed back on Loit Hill’s assertions that the DOJ findings exonerated her from any wrongdoing.
“This was a deliberate abuse of power, ” former House Speaker and RNC Committeeman Bill O’Brien said in the statement. “The New Hampshire Department of Justice found that Councilor Liot Hill used her position in an improper way that created risk for the state. That is a serious breach of the trust Granite Staters place in their public officials.”
O’Brien said Liot Hill’s conduct reflects a broader pattern of lapses in judgment, including two prior DUI convictions and a pending investigation into her campaign’s finances.
“Public office does not grant a license to hand out favors or advantages to political allies,” he said. “In New Hampshire, where ethical conduct in government matters deeply, voters expect accountability when the DOJ finds conduct to be improper and risky, not slippery excuses and cynical spin.”
