STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Three members of the SG Executive Branch are being investigated for impeachment after a senator filed a complaint against their actions Tuesday.

Senator Michael Johnson called for an investigation for impeachment for SG Attorney General Tom Green, SG Deputy Attorney General David Brickhouse, and Justin Hall, SG chief of staff and student body presidential candidate, at a Senate meeting Tuesday evening.

Green is accused of going through SG presidential candidate Gregory “Butters” Morgan’s computer and files, which is against election rules. Morgan is also SG’s director of student life & development.

Green is also accused of incompetence for hiring another attorney general, “implying that (he) may not be up to the job that is normally handled by one Attorney General and one Deputy Attorney General,” wrote Johnson to Senate Pro Tempore Nicole Randazzo in a memo, the formal name of the document that calls for impeachment.

Accusations involving Brickhouse concern his work in SG when he was chief of staff in the summer and fall of 2007 and in his current position as deputy attorney general.

Brickhouse is accused of illegally firing three executive branch employees last fall and covering up information pertaining to the Barclay Harless incident, during which the former president resigned following allegations of improper conduct in SG offices.

Brickhouse is also accused of lying at his recent confirmation by contradicting statements made by student body President Garin Flowers in reference to the firings in 2007. He is also accused of going through the computer and files that belong to Morgan, who is also one of the three people he allegedly illegally fired in the fall.

Hall is accused of covering up the allegedly illegal firings in the fall. Also, he is accused of covering up wrongdoing because he endorsed Brickhouse for his new position, and Brickhouse is accused of lying. Hall is also accused of inappropriately handling accusations of misconduct involving Brickhouse and Green when they were allegedly found to have gone through Morgan’s computer, according to the memo.

Morgan said that he reported Brickhouse and Green to his supervisor for going through his computer, but that he had nothing to do with their impeachments.

“I didn’t expect this to happen,” he said. “There definitely needs to be consequences, but I can’t say what they need to be.”

Some senators said that the accusations against Brickhouse were made too late, and that things that happened in the fall need not be discussed.

Johnson said, however, that there was no time last semester to voice these concerns because Brickhouse quit right after the firings. Now that he is in SG again, there is an opportunity to take action, he said.

An impeachment committee was formed for each of the accused. Senator Dan Shelnutt will serve on all three committees. Senators Ralph Reid and Bruno Di Portigliatti will serve on the Brickhouse committee. Charles Sherrard and Benjamin Brown will serve on the Green committee. Peter Baker and Kyle Goyens will serve on the Hall committee. Each committee will independently decide whether the claims warrant investigation.

“The timing could be questioned,” said Brown of impeachments. He said he wants to “clear the innocent and bring light to the guilty.”

Baker said that it’s wonderful to be on an impeachment committee.

“The sacrifices we make are great but our greatest job is in reciprocity,” he said.

Shelnutt said that he will not treat Hall differently than the other two in question, despite Hall’s presidential candidacy.

“The committee will not put into focus any campaign,” he said.

Senator Cordell Chavis, who is running for vice president with Nathan Davison, said that he is unsure about Brickhouse.

“I think he is extremely shady,” he said.

Chavis also said that he thinks Green is a neutral individual and that he just got “swept up” into this impeachment.

“He’s very capable, very unbiased,” he said.

David Armstrong, SG’s adviser and business manager, said that this is a serious issue and it should be handled carefully.

“This involves their reputation and their employment,” he said.

Green, Brickhouse and Hall have not been impeached and will continue to serve in their respective positions.

Flowers said that he was shocked with the impeachment proceedings.

“I didn’t expect to hear these allegations,” he said. “I hope these charges were brought up in the interest of students.”