February 16, 2026
Not that most of the Freedom Caucus, which has a "get off my lawn" type of attitude, and which lives in a Southern fantasyland, seems to really care, or so it seems. I guess we'll see.
CHEYENNE—The Jackson man who wrote the campaign donation checks at the center of a growing controversy in the Wyoming Capitol says two were intended for the Speaker of the House and the former head of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus.Whether or not Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, or Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, received or accepted the checks could not be determined by press time. Neither lawmaker responded to requests for comment before publication.
And:
Freedom Caucus lawmaker Bear accepted controversial campaign check from activist; other legislators remain mum: Gillette Republican Rep. John Bear said he accepted a check from Bextel, but not on the House floor.
Bextel has said publicly that she was distributing lawful campaign checks on behalf of a Teton County donor, and that she did so in person because she knew she’d be in Cheyenne.It also happened two days before the reported recipients on the House side, among others, voted in favor of introducing a bill Bextel has championed.
I still very much doubt that this meets the criteria necessary to be considered bribery, but there is a bit of smoke there. Added to that, some of the cash recipients are not campaigning this year.
So what was that bill that the cash donor had an interest in? That's discussed here:
Wyoming’s ‘Checkgate’ is all about the Freedom Caucus’ political games - WyoFile: GOP activist who handed out money to lawmakers on House floor claims she’s leveling the playing field for conservatives, writes columnist Kerry Drake.
As stated in the article:
The incident became a news story on Wednesday during debate on an anti-affordable housing bill that Bextel was lobbying lawmakers to support. Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, questioned voting on House Bill 141, “Fifth Amendment Defense Act,” when one of its prime supporters was seen distributing checks to lawmakers on the floor two days earlier. But he did not name Bextel or any legislators who received checks.
While I've abstained from posing the text of bills on these threads this year, this one deserves a look:
Fifth Amendment Protection Act.
Sponsored by: Representative(s) Bear, Haroldson, Heiner, Knapp, Locke and Neiman and Senator(s) Hicks, Hutchings, Ide, Kolb, McKeown, Pearson, Salazar and Steinmetz
A BILL
for
AN ACT relating to cities, towns and counties; prohibiting cities, towns and counties from imposing fees or conditions related to housing on residential or commercial development as specified; specifying applicability; and providing for an effective date.
Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:
Section 1. W.S. 15‑1‑612 and 18‑5‑209 are created to read:
15‑1‑612. Prohibitions on fees and conditions related to housing on residential or commercial development.
No governing body of a city or town shall impose a monetary fee, nonmonetary condition or other concession related to the provision of workforce housing, unmet housing needs or affordable housing on residential or commercial development within the jurisdiction of the governing body.
18‑5‑209. Prohibitions on fees and conditions related to housing on residential or commercial development.
No board of county commissioners shall impose a monetary fee, nonmonetary condition or other concession related to the provision of workforce housing, unmet housing needs or affordable housing on residential or commercial development within the jurisdiction of the county.
Section 2.
(a) This act shall apply to all applications for permits submitted for residential or commercial development on or after July 1, 2026.
(b) Nothing in this act shall be construed to modify or impair existing contracts or obligations regarding residential or commercial development and the imposition of monetary fees, nonmonetary conditions or other concessions executed before July 1, 2026.
Section 3. This act is effective July 1, 2026.
So the money came from Teton County big bucks, which to at least some extent, must now want the servant class living in Teton County. Let them commute from Driggs, apparently.
Can't have that riff raff living in Jackson, now can we?
Every recipient of the cash donation should resign. . . but none of them will. The Legislature, for that matter, out to censure them by sidelining them for the remainder of the session. I.e., as they have to right to refuse to seat, they ought to send them to the benches and let them cool their jets at home this session.
And this does stink. A wealthy carpetbagger from Teton County gives checks to a carpetbagger from Teton County to pass out to certain favorites as a housing bill principally impacting Teton County (but also Natrona County) is debated.
I doubt the District Attorney from the 1st Judicial District will do anything with that. I don't think I would, but it looks pretty weird.
Senate panel advances bill to increase accountability for commercial registered agents: More than 830,000 LLC filings generated almost $60M for Wyoming last year, but secrecy raises concern about fraud, scams
That must keep his stamping fingers busy like crazy.
Speaking of buying votes, Lummis spoke at the legislature and spoke on Trumpbucks.
Lummis Announces Kraken Will Fund Trump Accounts For Every Wyoming Newborn In 2026
That's not buying votes, but Kraken is trying to buy good will.
Part of the problem is that data centers are driving up electrical demand like crazy. A sane country, that was doing this, would be building nuclear plants like crazy, but we're not sane right now. Instead, Trump is backing Dying Dirty Coal.
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