“I don’t see a smoking gun, but I see some smoke here.”

Richard Burke, a member of the Oregon Government Ethics Commission, who voted along with three fellow Republican commissioners to continue an investigation into Democratic Gov. Tina Kotek’s since-abandoned plans to give her wife an expanded policy role in her administration. The probe won't be further pursued because the commission deadlocked 4-4 on the question. None of the commissioners said they saw proof that Kotek did anything wrong, but those who voted to investigate Kotek further said they wanted to provide Oregonians with more certainty. (Oregon Capital Chronicle — June 28, 2024)