OLYMPIA, Wash. — A state representative violated the House of Representatives' respectful workplace policy when she named several employees who were identified anonymously in a prior investigation into her conduct, according to a report released Monday.

The Washington House of Representatives opened a second investigation into Rep. Michelle Caldier, R-Gig Harbor, in late December, after she shared with reporters the names of several witnesses involved in the prior probe that found she had a "pattern" of bullying and abusive behavior.

The findings released Monday concluded Caldier's actions were retaliatory against the employees whose names were redacted from public view.

The investigator, Kathleen Haggard, said Caldier "lashed out at the witnesses not only by disclosing their names, but by portraying them as political operatives. In doing so, she may have damaged their careers." Further, Haggard wrote, Caldier did not have a "credible reason" for releasing the names and could have made her point without doing so.

Caldier's appeal in the initial conduct investigation is still pending, according to chief clerk of the House, Bernard Dean, who said that a final decision was deferred while the second investigation was underway.

Caldier previously told The Seattle Times that she "in no way" meant to retaliate by naming some of the people in the report, and that she intended to link the investigation to her decision to leave the House Republican caucus in late 2022. The first report, she has said, was inaccurate and an act of retaliation soon after she left the caucus for not accommodating her vision loss and because of how she was treated by former leadership.

After the initial investigation was released, Caldier sent a emailed statement to about a dozen reporters, including at The Times. After emailing reporters with the information, Caldier inquired with Dean about releasing the names, who told her that doing so could constitute retaliation, according to emails provided to The Times at the time.

A couple days later, Caldier was informed about the new House investigation.

Caldier, reached by phone Monday, said she crafted her December statement with her lawyer and that they believed it did not violate the respectful workplace policy.

"The dynamic between telling somebody who has more power than you in a caucus room, that they're a terrible person, is a very different dynamic than a state representative saying those same words to an intern," Caldier said, restating that she was "the one getting retaliated against."

...continued

©2024 The Seattle Times. Visit seattletimes.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.