Rep. Hoyle says she’s not under Fed investigation (Not true!)

Don’t Believe the Lies – Val Hoyle Is Under Federal Investigation for An Illegal Grant to La Mota Non-Profit That She Authorized, Supported, and Lobbied For
By Monique DeSpain for Congress

Eugene, OR —  Oregon Fourth Congressional District Candidate Monique DeSpain reacted to a TV interview in which Hoyle lied, claiming she is not under federal investigation for assisting La Mota’s non-profit ENDVR to receive an illegal federal grant. On January 29th, the US Department of Justice issued a subpoena to BOLI for “all records” related to the illegal grant ENDVR received, a grant for which email records show Hoyle was the “key organizer” of ensuring that it was awarded. A summary of the scandal engulfing Hoyle was also published by the Eugene Register-Guard this past weekend.

“Val Hoyle’s denials that she is under federal investigation directly contradict the facts as reported that clearly show that it is Hoyle’s BOLI communications with La Mota’s owners that have been subpoenaed that detailed how Hoyle supported, lobbied, and authorized an ILLEGAL grant of federal funds,” stated DeSpain. “Hoyle then spent 11 months hiding the key public records on her personal cell phone that has brought her activities to light, which are now the subject of the federal probe.”

“As a retired Air Force Colonel who conducted investigations in the JAG Corps for 20 years, I will clean up D.C. starting with Val Hoyle. That’s why I’m asking the voters to deploy me to Congress this November to bring my independent voice and finally get to work delivering bold, commonsense solutions for the struggling, hardworking people of the Fourth District.”

Here are the clear facts that prove Val Hoyle is under federal investigation:

• In mid-February, the Willamette Week reported that Federal Investigators had expanded their current investigation into La Mota and ex-Secretary of State Shemia Fagan to include Congresswoman Val Hoyle’s $500,000 grant to La Mota’s non-profit while leading BOLI.
• The subpoena reported by Willamette Week was issued just five days after DeSpain’s January 24th press conference launching com and her letter to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon Natalie K. Wight, calling on Ms. Wight to expand her investigation to include Hoyle and her activities.
• In April, a story published by the national news outlet The Daily Beast stated that the U.S. Attorney’s office had confirmed Val Hoyle was under federal investigation and published email and text correspondence detailing Hoyle’s central role in the issuance of the illegal grant being investigated.

More lies from Val Hoyle Debunked:

• Hoyle’s claim that she didn’t influence the grant is contradicted by email and text communications with staff and with La Mota owners showing that she “set the agenda,” was the key organizer, and personally lobbied for the approval of the illegal $500,000 grant to La Mota while simultaneously cashing in on campaign contributions.
• Hoyle’s claim that she was just pursuing important business apprenticeships like she was doing for any other Oregon business is contracted again by her unprecedented strong-arming of the reticent internal BOLI committee responsible for the grant approval while she dispatched staff to assist La Mota leadership with manipulating the committee and urging BOLI staff for to be “more instructive.” The grant was clawed back after Hoyle left BOLI in January of 2023 on the grounds that it was illegal to begin with.
• Hoyle’s claim that she had no idea that La Mota was corrupt or in bad standing as an employer is contradicted by public records and media reports that while the head of a state agency, BOLI, responsible for overseeing employers, La Mota was facing dozens of worker complaints pending before BOLI, and yet Hoyle wined and dined at the Portland City Grill in March 2021 with Cazares, which she initialed claimed to have no memory of, and, in August of 2021, wrote a letter of recommendation for the CEO. It was also of public record for years that La Mota faced liens for hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid federal, state, and local taxes, along with dozens of lawsuits from creditors.
• Hoyle’s claim that La Mota was just another company that she was helping is contracted by an investigative news report published by Willamette Week that laid out troubling text message exchanges between Cazares and Hoyle detailing their inappropriately close pay-to-play relationship. She even exerted influence to help La Mota secure a storefront in the District 4 town of North Bend, which was soundly rejected by the city government.
• Hoyle’s claim that an uninfluenced “3rd party” decided which of her text messages turn over when campaign records show her lawyer being paid $17,000 for this work by Hoyle’s campaign itself.
• Hoyle’s claim that all of her private cell phone communications would become public records is directly contradicted by BOLI’s official description that only records responsive to an established keyword search for official bureau business would retained.
• Hoyle’s claim that her lawyer had satisfied BOLI’s record production requirements is directly contradicted by a BOLI spokesperson’s statement that they “would have no way of knowing if all public records were provided to the agency” – records turned in the day after DeSpain launched her campaign to unseat Hoyle.
• Hoyle’s claim to have a similar relationship with other business owners is contradicted by her disclosure with Cazares to the FEC that she had received $2800 in contributions in unusual same-day increments in the very unusual form of four separate money orders.

Monique DeSpain is a retired U.S. Air Force Colonel, mother of twin boys, and public policy advocate who resides in Eugene, Oregon. She is the Republican nominee for Oregon’s 4th Congressional District, running to unseat incumbent Congresswoman Val Hoyle in 2024 and bring about a safer, more prosperous Oregon. Her campaign website is www.MoniqueForCongress.com