By PAULA TRACY, InDepthNH.org
CONCORD – Executive Councilor Karen Liot Hill, D-Lebanon, said Tuesday she will not vote on the renomination of Attorney General John Formella.
“Since the Republicans are continuously calling for AG investigations of my work, most recently emails I sent from my official email address advocating for my constituents’ right to vote, I will be recusing myself from the Attorney General’s confirmation vote to prevent even the perception of a conflict of interest,” she said in a statement Tuesday.
The vote is expected when the Executive Council meets next Wednesday, Sept. 17 at Saint Anselm College at 10 a.m.
Because this is a renomination, there is no expected public hearing on his nomination.
But the Executive Council does have scheduled a public hearing on the nomination of attorney Bryan Gould for Associate Justice on the New Hampshire Supreme Court, replacing the retiring James Bassett.
That hearing is set for 10:30 a.m. on Friday in the Executive Council chambers.
Liot Hill has been called upon by Republicans to resign saying she used her official position to solicit lawsuits targeting the state’s new voter ID law.
Republican Party Chairman Jim MacEachern asked Formella for an investigation calling it “taxpayer-funded electioneering.”
Liot Hill, the only Democrat on the five-member Executive Council which confirms governor’s nominations, said because she continues to be the subject of such attacks, which the Attorney General is being asked to investigate, she needs to not vote to avoid any appearance of impropriety. She has called the request for investigation “frivolous.”
New Hampshire House Deputy Majority Leader Joe Sweeney, R-Salem, has said he may file articles of impeachment if Liot Hill does not step down.