Prosecutors gave Rep. Enid Greene, R-Utah, a Halloween treat Thursday afternoon: an announcement that she won't be criminally prosecuted for any involvement with the illegal tricks of her ex-husband, confessed fraud artist Joe Waldholtz.
But prosecutors left her with one scary thought - the Federal Election Commission is continuing to investigate illegal activities by her 1992 and 1994 campaigns, and she could still face civil fines and penalties from it.In a prepared statement Friday, Greene said she's relieved but not surprised by the U.S. attorney's announcement. "I'm relieved that this legal nightmare has finally ended and that my family's name has been cleared. This has been a torturous year and I'm thankful for the help and unending support from my family, friends, colleagues, staff and team."
"I'm so thankful this is over," Greene's father, D. Forrest Greene, said in the statement. "My wife and I are proud of our daughter and for her strength throughout this ordeal."
In an interview, the congresswoman said she couldn't say if the long delay in clearing her name was politically motivated or not. She said she "made the only decision I could" when she decided last spring not to run for re-election. The investigation took a year as it was, and if she had been a candidate the U.S. attorney wouldn't have made the announcement clearing her name before the election, she said.
Eric H. Holder Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, issued a short press release late Thursday afternoon saying the investigation "into alleged criminal conduct by Rep. Enid Greene was closed today and no criminal charges are being filed against the congresswoman."
Kevin Ohlson, spokesman for Holder, said prosecutors also sent Greene's attorney, Charles Roistacher, a letter formally notifying Greene that she would face no charges. Ohlson said the letter and the press release "were not identical, and I can't comment on the contents of the letter beyond that."
Greene said that she would not release the letter addressed to Roistacher. She said the prosecutor made "gratuitous, unfounded statements of opinion" in the letter and if the government releases the letter, "I will look at my legal remedies." In short, if the government makes the letter public, Greene may sue.
While the U.S. attorney release said Greene faces no criminal charges, it did not go the extra mile - as Greene likely would have desired - to say prosecutors found no evidence of wrongdoing or her aiding Waldholtz's bank, tax and campaign fraud.
Waldholtz had hinted broadly that he would implicate Greene as an accomplice when he agreed to a plea bargain in June for lesser charges in exchange for a guilty plea and agreeing to fully tell a grand jury and prosecutors about his crimes.
However, prosecutor Craig Iscoe acknowledged last month that Waldholtz was useless as a witness after he did not contest allegations that he used his freedom while awaiting sentencing to abuse heroin, write bad checks, steal credit cards and forge drug prescriptions.
Because of those allegations, Waldholtz's bond was revoked last month and he was sent to the District of Columbia jail - where he has remained since. He is scheduled to be sentenced (after two delays) next Thursday.
The plea agreement Waldholtz signed in June carefully sidestepped whether Greene - who decided not to seek re-election and divorced her husband because of the scandal - knew about and helped his crimes. That had left her in legal limbo for months. In his statement, Forrest Greene said he's saddened that the state of justice in America "has become a system of tremendous delay and where a person is presumed guilty until proven innocent."
At the time, prosecutor William Lawler III told reporters he was unsure if Enid Greene was involved and planned to investigate - especially in the areas of tax and campaign fraud.
In the tax area, Waldholtz pleaded guilty to assisting in filing a false tax return - a return that Enid Greene filed individually in 1993 - by giving her stock (which didn't exist) on which he claimed a long-term loss. It wiped out the tax liability on gains she had from the sale of other stock. Greene has said she didn't know the stock he "gave" her was bogus.
Greene's campaign committees could still face problems with the FEC. In the campaign area, Waldholtz admitted illegally funneling $1.8 million obtained from Greene's father into her 1994 campaign.
Greene has said she thought the money was for a legal swap of assets with the couple - but the assets "traded" turned out not to exist. However, her father said he thought the money given was a loan, which would have made it an illegal campaign source in violation of federal donation and loan limits.
Questions had also arisen over a 1992 arrangement - without involvement by Waldholtz - in which Greene funded an unsuccessful campaign that year with money her father provided in advance of buying back a house he had earlier given her.
The sale and title transfer were not completed until long after the election - but Greene described it as a "sale of an asset over time."
Federal Election Commission staff have said that might have been an illegal loan in violation of federal donation and loan limits - but that the FEC itself would have to determine that.
Holder's press release noted Thursday that the close of his investigation "does not affect the ongoing investigation by the Federal Election Commission" into Greene's campaigns in 1992 and 1994.
While the FEC normally refers any criminal cases to the Justice Department, it handles its own investigations that seek civil fines and penalties for campaign violations. And Greene's campaigns have admitted that many occurred but blames them on Waldholtz, who was his wife's campaign treasurer.
While FEC spokeswoman Kelly Huff said she cannot even confirm or deny the FEC is investigating Greene - or where that probe stands - it has been no secret such probes have been ongoing. In fact, Greene herself filed a complaint with the FEC against Waldholtz and asked it to look at her campaign finances.
The FEC routinely refuses comment on any investigations until a case is closed and the FEC either finds no reason to believe an allegation, dismisses it or imposes civil penalties.
Greene and Roistcher said Friday that in the past if the FEC found wrongdoing by a campaign staff person, done without the candidate's knowledge, that it has fined the staff person, not the candidate. In any case, said Roistcher, even if the FEC found violations - "which it won't" - then Greene's campaign, not Greene herself, would be called to task for them.
Said Greene: "I can (now) get on with building a life for my daughter and myself."
She said she's selling assets awarded her in the divorce, paintings and jewerlry bought by Joe Waldholtz, and with those funds will pay off all of her debts, like attorney and accountant fees. She hopes to be debt-free by the end of the year.
For now, Greene said she's staying in Washington, D.C., to work with the National Republican Congressional Committee and will oversee any vote recounts required after Tuesday's election. While Utah will always be home to her, Greene said she couldn't say now if she will move back to the state, stay in the Washington area after finding some permanent work or what she will end up doing after leaving office at the end of the year.