Wow, what a weekend! On Friday, we learned that New Hampshire House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt would be resigning his postion as state representative and majority leader on June 6. His resignation announcement also stated that he would be taking over as executive director of the newly created New Hampshire Legal Rights Foundation (NHLRF). The group was created by N.H. House Speaker Bill O'Brien, who oddly enough serves as the entity's vice president.

Things went to hell in a handbasket on Saturday when Rep. Brandon Giuda blew the whistle on D.J. Bettencourt for lying to the public about his graduation from the University of New Hampshire (UNH) School of Law. We learned Bettencourt never graduated nor did he complete the internship in Rep Giuda's law firm, as he previously suggested. This created a firestorm of articles, including the New Hampshire Labor News post "Scandalous Update on the Real Reason D.J. Bettencourt Is Resigning from His State Rep Position!" This revealed some very key information.

First, we found our that D.J. lied about his internship to UNH. He claimed to complete an internship when he only completed "one hour of legal work" (N.H. Union Leader). While this was scandalous enough, how the issue was handled is creating more controversy.

Next, we discovered O'Brien endorsed and helped perpetuate this lie to the people of New Hampshire. "In an interview with the New Hampshire Union Leader on Saturday, Giuda said he discussed the fabricated records directly with O'Brien and Bettencourt before the deception came to light" (Fosters). One need not be a rocket scientist to discover that Speaker O’Brien helped Bettencourt to cover up lies and distortions. Unfortunately, many in the news media appear to have turned a blind eye and deaf ear to this critical information.

This creates as many questions as it does answers. How deep was the speaker involved in this scandal? Did O'Brien, a lawyer himself, help a protege create the fabricated documents that were submitted to prove his work on the internship? These are questions that everyone should be asking.

Peter Schmidt, a state rep from Dover, told Fosters Daily Democrat: "I think there certainly are questions for the House and the public with regard to what degree of responsibility and complicity the speaker has in not revealing that a person of that high a position had been perpetrating a fraud."

There are other questions that deserve answers; Would we even be talking about this at all if Rep. Giuda had not come forward? Why did Rep. Giuda confront Bettencourt in the speaker's office? Why not just report him to the university directly? Why involve the speaker?

Mike Pride of the Concord Monitor wrote: "A liar and a cheat who holds a position of leadership taints the enterprise he leads. Voters are tolerant, but they're also smart. Given the chance, which there will be in November, they're likely to remember this corruption at the top—and maybe even some of the vile pettiness and mean legislation the team of O'Brien and Bettencourt fostered in Representatives Hall."

As you may know, on Monday Rep. D.J. Bettencourt officially resigned his position as state representative, effective immediately. This scandal has shamed him, Speaker O’Brien, fellow legislators, the community and those who uphold honesty and integrity.

This is just another example of Speaker O'Brien's failed leadership. The fact that he would allow Bettencourt to openly lie to the public makes you question his morals as speaker. We need to hold all of our legislators accountable. Speaker O'Brien especially. These are not the actions of someone who represents me or any of the people I know. We as voters need to make sure that we elect people who stand up for the truth and honor as representatives.

New Hampshire Labor News: Speaker O'Brien and D.J. Bettencourt Bring Shame to the New Hampshire House.