Kitzhaber resurfaces – FBI probe ongoing

by NW Spotlight

John Kitzhaber resigned as Oregon governor a little over a year ago, just one month into his historic 4th term.

Kitzhaber and former Oregon First Lady Cylvia Hayes were facing criminal investigations by the Oregon Attorney General, the FBI and potentially the IRS – in addition to a civil investigation by the Oregon Government Ethics Commission.

The day before Kitzhaber resigned, Nigel Jaquiss at Willamette Week reported that “Gov. John Kitzhaber’s office last week requested state officials destroy thousands of records in the governor’s personal email accounts.”

Willamette Week reported this week that the FBI investigation is ongoing.

Jeff Mapes, now at OPB, reported this week “In the months before his resignation, the Oregon Government Ethics Commission had launched an investigation into the pair, as did the state attorney general’s office. But both probes have been on hold while the FBI and U.S. Department of Justice investigate Kitzhaber and Hayes.”

The reporting this week was prompted by a re-emergence of Kitzhaber, who launched a Facebook page and video – and who did an interview with Mapes.

In the interview with Mapes, “Kitzhaber said he and Hayes are still engaged but haven’t set a date”. He was quoted in the interview “We’re obviously hoping to get past, obviously, the investigation.”

On the WHY for the re-emergence, Kitzhaber told Mapes “I am looking for a way to contribute,” and “I’m also trying to figure out what my career path from a financial standpoint is going to be. And as I said, I do think that will involve some consulting. And if you’re going to do some consulting, people need to know you’re alive and well.”

There was no reporting on what all the investigations are costing Kitzhaber in terms of legal fees, or how those fees are being paid.

A leopard doesn’t change its spots – Cylvia Hayes update

Cylvia Hayes very recently did her first public speaking since the resignation – at the Public Interest Environmental Law Conference in Eugene. At the Eugene conference, Hayes confirmed that she has restarted 3E Strategies (Ecology, Economy, Equity) and noted that she was doing “freelance writing for newly launched Issue Magazine”.

Hayes may have found a kindred spirit in the founder and editor of Issue Magazine, Kristy Sinsara.

Back in January, Nigel Jaquiss summarized the reporting of Bend Bulletin reporter Taylor Anderson on Sinsara’s background: “Sinsara pleaded no contest in Oklahoma City in 2007 to obtaining money under false pretenses; received a cease and desist order from the state of Nevada in 2010 for operating an unlicensed mortgage modification business; and was sued last year by Motley Crue singer Vince Neil, for whom she worked as a social media consultant.”

Sinsara’s background still doesn’t put her in the same league as Hayes, though.

Here’s what we reported on Cylvia Hayes’ background in Oregon Catalyst a little over a year ago:

Her skeletons started tumbling out of the closet last October when it was revealed that she had been paid $5,000 to marry an Ethiopian student for purposes of immigration fraud, a felony. That was followed by news that she had bought property on the Canadian border for an illegal marijuana grow operation in the past. Next came allegations that she had been using her role as a public official in the governor’s office to personally profit her private consulting business – allegations which ultimately led to Kitzhaber’s resignation. Hayes is also being investigated by the IRS for possible tax fraud for unreported income from a nonprofit that advocates for a “happiness index” instead of traditional economic measures like GDP.

Mind you, this isn’t the first “ethically challenged” behavior from Cylvia Hayes. Back in 2011 there were allegations that the Oregon Department of Energy improperly steered business to Cylvia Hayes’ environmental consulting company. She was conveniently cleared of wrongdoing by the Democratic powers that be.

More recently, there have been additional revelations that Cylvia Hayes bilked nearly $40K from a former PSU professor who was 46 years older than her, and that in 2001 she faced theft allegations involving a Central Oregon charity – which has made national news.