‘This is a lie’: Rep. Matt Shea releases statement on investigation ahead of Washington Legislative session

Erin Robinson by Erin Robinson

SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. — Spokane Valley Representative Matt Shea maintains he has been falsely accused of being a domestic terrorist.

In a statement released Friday, just days before the upcoming Washington State Legislative session, Shea called the findings of a recent investigation into his behavior “lies.”

“I have been falsely accused of being a ‘domestic terrorist’ by a private investigator who never spoke to the principals involved in the incidents she described and relied instead on anonymous sources. Based solely on this investigator’s dossier, the Speaker of the House said I ‘engaged in an act of domestic terrorism,'” Shea wrote in a Facebook post.

In July, the Washington State House of Representatives ordered an independent investigation into whether Shea condoned political violence. The findings were released in a 180-page report in December.

The report was conducted by the Rampart Group and concluded Shea poses a “present and growing threat of risk to others through political violence.” Since the report’s release, several lawmakers, including Governor Jay Inslee and House Republican Leader J.T. Wilcox, have called on Shea to resign. Representative Cathy McMorris previously released a statement saying she supports and agrees with Wilcox’s decision.

RELATED: Rep. Matt Shea refuses to resign, but could he be removed from office?

Despite the calls, Shea refuses. He has been expelled from the GOP caucus and denied committee membership.

Fully removing a lawmaker from the Washington State legislature would require a two-thirds majority. Citizens can also remove an elected official, but it requires a certain amount of petitions signed by voters.

Lawmakers can also be removed if charged and convicted of a crime. At this time, Shea has not been charged with a crime.

Read Shea’s full statement here:

MY STATEMENT PRIOR TO SESSION:Under our Constitution, anyone accused of a crime has right to see all the evidence… Posted by Matthew Shea on Friday, January 10, 2020

Lawmakers will return to Olympia on Monday, January 13 for a 60-day legislative session.

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Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct a statement from Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

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