Washington House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon is accused of appearing intoxicated during a late-night Appropriations Committee meeting, prompting questions from lawmakers.
House Majority Leader Joe Fitzgibbon (D-West Seattle) was drunk during a House Appropriations Committee held Wednesday night. Video of the meeting shows Fitzgibbon offering final remarks on the proposed budget. His speech is slurred and slower that usual, his hair disheveled, and his eyes glassy.
“I made a poor choice last night by drinking alcohol before we had finished our work for the day,” Fitzgibbon explained in a statement to The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM. “I am disappointed in myself and take responsibility for that poor choice. It won’t happen again, and I’m committed to completing my work this session without alcohol.”
Washington lawmakers, on both sides of the aisle, have long faced accusations of being drunk on the Capitol campus.
According to four Republican lawmakers in attendance, Fitzgibbon was slurring his words at times, and was “clearly drunk.” Three asked to remain anonymous since they work closely with Fitzgibbon the committee.
“He was drunk. Very out of character. I think that’s what was most surprising,” one Republican lawmaker told The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM.
A second source who attended the meeting said of Fitzgibbon: “He’s sitting there, slurring his words, his eyes darting all over the place. He’s obviously hammered.”
“I would just say he was very happy last night. He was sleeping, quite a bit [during the meeting]. Definitely he was… lets just say someone said they weren’t sure if he’d pass a field sobriety test,” a third lawmaker explained, though noted that they did not smell alcohol. “I would say yes, he was definitely inebriated I think. I’ve never seen him like that before.”
State Rep. Michelle Valdez, formerly Caldier, who was also in attendance, told The Jason Rantz Show on Seattle Red 770 AM that she believed he was drunk and was heard slurring his words.
https://seattlered.com/jason-rantz/wa-democrat-drunk-alleged/4116879
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