I had to laugh when I heard state legislators advise their colleagues last Thursday to keep politics out of an investigation concerning a conservative activist who gave checks to some far-right Freedom Caucus members on the House floor. Opinion Sure, what could possibly be political about t hat scenario? Wyoming’s “Checkgate” controversy set off a firestorm in the Legislature that has sparked separate investigations by the House and Senate, plus a criminal probe by Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak. Does anyone think this bombshell story, which is playing out amid the Legislature’s budget session, won’t be on the minds of Wyoming voters when they head to the polls for the Aug. 18 primary? Many voters were dismayed two years ago when their mailboxes overflowed with explosive, often inaccurate campaign material, but the opportunities for finger-pointing and accusations will likely be even greater with this imbroglio. Rebecca Bextel, a GOP fundraiser in Jackson and state committeewoman for the Teton County Republican Party, handed out campaign checks on the House floor after adjournment on Feb. 9, the first day of the session. 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. The Freedom Caucus immediately pounced on Yin. Rep. John Bear, R-Gillette, chair emeritus of the Freedom Caucus and HB 141’s sponsor, said Yin was “making accusations of an individual that cannot be substantiated, and that accusation is offensive to this body.” House Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, also objected to Yin’s claim and asked him to substantiate it. Yin declined to “present anything here” and added he does not “do props in the Legislature.” Rep. Rachel Rodriguez-Williams, R-Cody, the Freedom Caucus chair, officially protested Yin’s claim. She charged that he made a defamatory statement. I’m guessing that Rodriguez-Williams now regrets her comment that any check passing on the House floor “essentially would be bribery and unethical.” Initially, Bextel had nothing to say to a reporter who asked about the checks except a rude “it’s none of your business.” But after the House voted 50-11 to introduce Bear’s bill, she told Yin, while he was being interviewed by a reporter, that she planned to sue for defamation. Bextel went on Facebook later and called Yin a “sore loser.” While she defended herself, Bextel’s account confirmed what Yin said was true: She gave checks to lawmakers on the House floor. She even wrote that she had “saved paper envelopes and [the] carbon footprint” by delivering them at the Capitol. Then came the blockbuster news: A photo published Wednesday night by WyoFile and the Jackson Hole NewsGuide showed Bextel on the House floor, handing a check (which we later learned was from Don Grasso of Jackson) to Rep. Darrin McCann, R-Rock Springs. The photo was taken by Rep. Karlee Provenza, D-Laramie. Appalled by what she witnessed, she picked up her phone and documented it. “The optics is bad, I agree, absolutely,” McCann said on Thursday, before Povenza’s motion to have a special committee investigate the matter was unanimously adopted. McCann said he welcomed the probe. “I did nothing wrong. I did not accept any bribe or anything like that. If this were to happen at a motel, we wouldn’t be having this conversation,” McCann said. “It happened on this floor, and I made a mistake.”  While Bextel described the checks as campaign donations, no one is an official candidate until the filing period starts May 14. On Friday, WyoFile and the Jackson Hole NewsGuide reported that Grasso wrote checks to Neiman, Bear and McCann, plus Reps. Marlene Brady, R-Green River; Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne; Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette; Tony Locke, R-Casper; and Rep. Joe Webb, R-Lyman. All voted for HB 141. Grasso also said he wrote checks to Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, and former GOP Rep. Mark Jennings of Sheridan, who plans to run again in House District 30. With the exception of McCann and Webb, it’s not known if others received checks or whether any were distributed on the House floor. In the photo, Brady is holding what appears to be a check, but she didn’t directly answer questions about what it was. Rebecca Bextel during the 2026 Wyoming Legislature budget session in Cheyenne. (Mike Vanata/WyoFile) The House’s seven-member investigatory panel appointed by Neiman needs to find out what the House speaker and Bear knew about the checks Grasso wrote to them before they challenged Yin’s claim. I hope that the investigations will quickly determine if there have been any violations of state law or if they constitute House misconduct, because Wyomingites of all political stripes want answers now and they deserve the truth. To at least partially remove what several lawmakers called a “stain” on the body, both chambers need to pass laws or adopt rules to prevent this from ever being repeated. Banning campaign donations while legislators are in session, as 28 other states do, would be a great start. Bextel is not an official lobbyist, but she is a credentialed member of the press as co-owner of a new media outlet called The Open Range Record with David Iverson of Cowboy State Politics. On Thursday night, Iverson interviewed his business partner live on their website. Bextel refused to back down. In fact, she said she was doubling down. I hope she doesn’t triple down when she testifies, or we’ll be hearing even more of this malarkey: “Let’s be honest. I think what’s really going on here is I’ve helped set an even playing field with the conservatives on the financial playing field,” Bextel said. “The Wyoming Caucus and these Democrats, dark money, George Soros candidates, they raise a lot of money for these candidates.  “You know who gets outfunded every time?” she added. “The Freedom Caucus, the people’s candidates.” Bextel said the people complaining would object to any check being written to a Freedom Caucus candidate. Yes, those Democrats — all six of them in the 62-member House — have really created an uneven playing field. And as for the Freedom Caucus being outfunded, that’s not what happened ahead of the 2024 primary, when the group considerably outraised the more traditionalist Wyoming Caucus. When Freedom Caucus members and Bextel inevitably launch their “we’re getting picked on” defense at the hearings, let’s remind them that the caucus failed Wyomingites last year by going home without passing a budget. If the group wants to stay in power, its members should resist playing political games with this investigation.  Trying to pin blame on Yin, who did his job and thankfully brought this conduct out in the open, is something voters will easily see through. When Freedom Caucus leaders’ tough talk about defamation and procedural protests blew up, it became clear the wheels are falling off their clown car. Next time, I hope Bextel springs for some envelopes and stamps. She’s an unpaid fundraiser, so why not hit a flush Freedom Caucus supporter up for some postage money? The post Wyoming’s ‘Checkgate’ is all about the Freedom Caucus’ political games appeared first on WyoFile . ...read more read less