Political scandal investigation of KS Rep. Capps now in hands of attorney general

An investigation into whether Kansas Rep. Michael Capps should be ousted from office for his role in a 2019 political smear campaign and an attempted cover-up has been handed off to Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett announced late Friday.

Capps is one of three Republican politicians said to be behind a video campaign that falsely accused Wichita Mayor Brandon Whipple of sexual harassment in a bid to boost the re-election chances of then-Mayor Jeff Longwell.

Capps remains in office but will relinquish his seat in January at the latest, having lost a bid for re-election to fellow Republican Patrick Penn.

He is the only state office holder who has been implicated in the scandal. State statutes are clear that district attorneys have the authority to move to oust local officeholders, but only the state attorney general can pursue ouster against a legislator.

Two other officials — City Council member James Clendenin and former Sedgwick County Commissioner Michael O’Donnell — are both under Bennett’s jurisdiction.

O’Donnell resigned Nov. 13 after Bennett said he planned to pursue ouster proceedings against him.

Capps was previously connected to the smear campaign against Whipple through Wichita Eagle reporting that linked one of his businesses to a New Mexico shell company used to promote the ad and a domain name associated with the smear video. The money for the campaign was funneled through a charity owned and controlled by Capps called the Fourth and Long Foundation.

With Capps between sessions and O’Donnell having resigned, Clendenin, who raised money used on the ad campaign, is the only one of the three actively governing. He previously said he thought the money would be used for a billboard campaign, not the video.

He appears poised to fight to keep his council seat if Bennett attempts to remove him from office, unlike O’Donnell who stepped down a week ago rather than face ouster proceedings.

“Regarding the final individual (Clendenin) who has been the subject of this ongoing investigation, investigators conducted another interview this week,” Bennett said in an email Friday. “The Office of the District Attorney plans to have information ready to release to the public next week.”

The ouster effort arose after Clendenin, Capps and O’Donnell were secretly recorded by Matthew Colborn, the young video entrepreneur hired to produce the false ad targeting Whipple.

That recording captured the three politicians plotting to lay blame for the widely-criticized ad on former Sedgwick County Republican Party Chairman Dalton Glasscock, a close friend of O’Donnell and his former campaign manager.

The ad featured young actresses, posing as aggrieved Capitol interns who’d been victimized by sexual harassment.

In reality, the allegations used in the ad were lifted from a Kansas City Star/Wichita Eagle story detailing complaints against Republican senators. Whipple, a House Democrat,wasn’t involved.

Bennett announced that he was investigating Clendenin, Capps and O’Donnell on Oct. 26, after the Colborn audio was released by Colborn’s lawyer.

Whipple is suing Clendenin, Capps and O’Donnell for defamation and civil conspiracy.

Colborn, who had been linked to the video by Eagle reporting, was the only original defendant in Whipple’s lawsuit.

He was dropped after agreeing to testify truthfully and providing his evidence that showed Clendenin, Capps and O’Donnell masterminded the scheme.

Under state law, prosecutors don’t have to prove criminal wrongdoing in an ouster proceeding but do need to show that the official “willfully engage(d) in misconduct while in office.”

The only penalty in an ouster proceeding is removal from office.

Capps and Clendenin did not respond to requests for comment. Schmidt’s office was closed and a spokeperson was not immediately available Friday evening.

This story was originally published November 20, 2020 at 6:02 PM.