Former New Hampshire state representative charged with felony witness tampering, bribery
Recently-resigned New Hampshire State Rep. Don Leeman has been charged with felony witness tampering and bribery, the state’s attorney general announced Tuesday.
Former New Hampshire State Rep. Don Leeman
According to Attorney General Joseph A. Foster, the charges stem from New Hampshire’s presidential primary in February, in which Leeman may have committed voter fraud.
The first-term Republican state legislator, who represents a district comprising Rochester’s second and third wards, resides at a Rochester Housing Authority facility located in the city’s sixth ward, which is part of another House district.
During the investigation, which was launched in February, Leeman told state officials that his move out of his own House district was temporary, according to the Attorney General’s office.
Leeman told Foster’s Daily Democrat back in February that he had to move because the deterioration of his former apartment was negatively affecting his health.
“While this temporary place is not much larger than an office, it is definitely not going to be a long-term stay for me at this location,” he said at the time, adding he had been assured by state officials that it “would not be a problem for [him] to continue as a state rep.”
However, as the Daily Democrat reported, those same circumstances do not hold true for voting. While Leeman was allowed to continue to represent his district as long as he intended to move back, according to state and local laws, a citizen can only have one domicile, which they must confirm at the ballot box, for the purposes of voting.
Leeman said at the time he was experiencing difficulty finding a property in his old ward due to the winter season.
Fast-forward to Tuesday, investigators said that Leeman attempted to induce an employee of the Rochester Housing Authority into providing a letter falsely stating that he told the employee his move to the facility, Wellsweep Acres, was temporary. He is also accused of offering the same employee “a substantial donation” in exchange for expediting a move for Leeman to another RHA facility in his House district.
According to officials, Leeman voluntarily surrendered to Rochester police and was released on $50,000 personal recognizance bail. He is scheduled to be arraigned in court June 15.
Leeman resigned last Friday from the New Hampshire State House, investigators said, for “reasons unrelated to this arrest.” In March, Republican House Speaker Shawn Jasper dropped an effort to remove Leeman from his seat, after he reportedly proved to party leaders he had moved back to his district.
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