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The Democrats in the House of Delegates could gain another member after a Delegate-elect was arrested for terroristic threats. The Secretary of State’s office says with all the moving parts, it’s hard to tell what will happen.
Last week, delegate-elect Joshua De Soto, D-Berkeley, was arrested for allegedly threatening to kill other House members after a closed-door discussion about his credentials. Over the summer, a dragline investigation revealed De Soto lied about his medical practice, as well as working for the CIA, among many other things.
Members of the House of Delegates told WVPB that Republicans were considering a vote to remove him from the House due to the lies. Things reportedly escalated, and capitol police were notified Sunday, Dec. 8.
According to the police report, later that week De Soto allegedly threatened to kill other delegates. He was arrested on Dec. 12, and is currently in jail with a $300,000 bond.
Speaker of the House Roger Hanshaw told MetroNews Talkline that the House could consider removing De Soto from the elected position. Hanshaw said he would support removing De Soto.
De Soto won as a Republican ,but the day before he was arrested, Dec. 11, he switched his party affiliation to Democrat. Now, and in part due to a law passed by the GOP supermajority in 2018, it’s unclear who will replace De Soto if he is removed from office.
According to the Secretary of State’s office, De Soto’s party replacement depends on if the House of Delegates uses an exclusion process of removal or an expulsion.
If De Soto is sworn into office, then removed from office, the governor would have to appoint a Democrat to the House. However, if De Soto is removed before he is sworn in, then the Secretary of State’s office says the governor could assign someone to the House from any political party- or at least that’s the prevailing hypothesis.
“If Mr. DeSoto refused the oath, he never technically held the office. In that case, following the vacancy statute, the Governor would have to wait 15 days from the date of the vacancy, then appoint a person who’s eligible based on all requirements for the office but may be affiliated with any or no political party,” a representative from the Secretary of State’s office said in an emailed statement outlining numerous hypotheticals.
On the other hand, the office said a court could also determine that the position could need to be replaced by a Republican, specifically.
“Note, importantly, a Court could read the Code to suggest that the member should be a Republican because that is the party of the prior office holder. That would require a judicial determination and would depart from prior belief that the prior office holder’s political party is irrelevant to the vacancy statute,” the statement read.
All that to say, it’s hard to say at this time.
”This is a novel situation in recent West Virginia history. Current laws and our court cases do not provide clarity.”
The representative said the office is waiting to see what happens, to have more clarity.
“As you can see, this is an unsettled question of law and we must wait and see if, and in the event how, Mr. DeSoto is expelled or excluded from office. From there, depending on the means, the end will be easier to determine.”
