Two other women reported encounters with von Ehlinger

This story has been updated from its original version to fix incorrect information.

BOISE — New information released Monday indicates at least two other women reported having encounters with Lewiston Rep. Aaron von Ehlinger earlier this year that made them feel “uncomfortable.”

The reports raised enough red flags that another representative was asked to counsel von Ehlinger about the dangers of flirting or “maybe being too polite” with House staff.

Both incidents were reported to House leadership prior to March 11, when a 19-year-old House intern alleged that von Ehlinger forced her to engage in unconsensual oral sex following a dinner date.

Von Ehlinger has vehemently denied the intern’s accusations, and has now submitted three polygraph reports supporting his contention that the sex was consensual.

Information regarding the two other women came to light during a preliminary investigation by the House Ethics Committee, which received a formal complaint about von Ehlinger following the March 11 report.

The committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday to consider the complaint. It released the full case file Monday, including copies of a Boise Police Department report and transcripts of the committee’s interviews with von Ehlinger, his accuser and other parties.

Von Ehlinger was appointed to office last year, following the death of Rep. Thyra Stevenson, R-Lewiston.

House Republican Caucus Chairwoman Megan Blanksma, R-Hammett, told the committee she was approached earlier this year by a female lobbyist. The woman, who was not named, said she’d initially encountered von Ehlinger during the special legislative session last August.

“She felt as if he followed her toward the bathroom and felt very uncomfortable with as close as she was, (like) he was trying to get to her,” Blanksma said.

The woman encountered von Ehlinger again during a legislative reception earlier this year. She said she tried to keep her distance, but he allegedly kept following her.

“She felt really uncomfortable,” Blanksma said.

Von Ehlinger wasn’t directly asked about either incident. However, during a follow-up interview with the committee, he was asked if anyone had ever told him the attention he gave them was unwanted.

He mentioned asking a House staffer about going hiking and possibly having lunch together. She’s married, but doesn’t wear a wedding ring. She later emailed him, letting him know she was married and that she felt “uncomfortable spending time just the two of us.”

He replied, saying “thank you very much for the clarification. I was not aware you were married,” and wishing her a great weekend.

Blanksma said the lobbyist asked her not to share her the story with other members of House leadership. However, based on their conversation — as well as “rumors” about another, unconfirmed incident involving a House staffer — she asked Rep. James Holtzclaw, R-Meridian, to have a conversation with von Ehlinger.

In 2017, two women complained that Holtzclaw had made them feel uncomfortable by making “mildly flirty” comments and asking about a Snapchat photo app.

Blanksma said she hoped, given Holtzclaw’s experience, that he could encourage von Ehlinger to “be mindful of his behavior” and how it might be misconstrued.

The Ethics Committee also interviewed Holtzclaw. He initially declined to talk, saying he knows how unconfirmed allegations “can hurt and destroy a man. Whether they’re true or not.”

However, after the committee clarified that it only wanted to hear about his conversation with von Ehlinger, he said he’d spoken with him twice — once very casually during the special session, and a second time more candidly sometime around mid-March.

“I was asked by Rep. Blanksma to speak with him because there were rumors or whatever that maybe he was being too polite,” Holtzclaw said. “I had first-hand knowledge of how being overly nice to someone could perhaps be misconstrued.”

During their second conversation, he said, he basically told von Ehlinger point-blank that making flirty comments or dating legislative staff was “off limits.”

Blanksma said von Ehlinger “confronted” her following that second conversation, wanting to know why she’d asked Holtzclaw to talk with him. She said she was trying to help him out by giving him some perspective on how situations can arise.

“He made a comment about how, well you know, he was a single, tall, blond, good-looking guy and, you know, sometimes people take things the wrong way,” Blanksma said.

During its follow-up interview with von Ehlinger, the committee wondered if he thought it was appropriate to ask a staff member out on a date, despite the informal warning he’d received from Holtzclaw last summer.

“I did find it to be appropriate, because I thought if anyone had an issue with it they would let me know,” he said. “The matter would be closed, (as happened with) the staff member who emailed me, letting me know she was married.”

Since learning about the ethics complaint, von Ehlinger has taken three polygraph examinations regarding the intern’s allegations and his own statement about what happened.

All three exams were conducted by Clifford “Chip” Morgan, a retired detective and polygraph examiner for the Boise Police Department.

Among other questions, Morgan asked von Ehlinger if, during his sexual encounter with the woman, he’d picked her up and carried her into his bedroom, as she alleged, or if he’d sat on her chest and forced her to engage in oral sex, or if she ever indicated “verbally or non-verbally,” that she didn’t want to participate?

In each case he replied, “No.”

Von Ehlinger was also asked if the woman told him “she could make your life a living hell,” or that she’d vaped marijuana while at the Statehouse?

He replied “yes” to both questions.

Based on the polygraph results, Morgan concluded that von Ehlinger was being truthful in all of his answers.

However, Ethics Committee Chairman Sage Dixon, R-Ponderay, noted that the committee isn’t charged with determining whether a criminal act took place. Its role is to decide whether there was conduct unbecoming a member of the Idaho House of Representatives.

The committee’s role “isn’t to determine necessarily whether there was an improper action on your part,” he told von Ehlinger. “It’s not whether you were unjustly accused, but the entirety of the actions and how that reflects upon the body.”

Following the public hearing, the committee could recommend that von Ehlinger be reprimanded, censured or expelled, or that the complaint be dismissed. The full House would then vote on the recommendation.

Spence may be contacted at bspence@lmtribune.com or (208) 791-9168.