Gordon Unlikely to Be Expelled

Word on Smith Hill is that Representative Daniel Gordon, despite his extensive legal problems, is unlikely to be booted from the General Assembly.

Minority Leader Brian Newberry and Minority Whip Joseph Trillo have suggested the legislature turn its rarely invoked power to expel against Gordon, a fellow Republican. But insiders say there is concern about the precedent it might set.

If Gordon is expelled, what happens if two other members of the legislature in legal trouble, Leo Medina and Robert Watson, are convicted of the charges against them?

Just about everyone on Smith Hill hopes Gordon will make their lives easier by resigning. But his rhetoric suggests otherwise. And the Hill has little leverage. He is a Republican, so the Democratic leadership has no pre-existing relationship with him and can't apply much pressure. And the tiny GOP had booted him from the House Republican caucus even before the latest revelations. The antagonism, there, gives GOP leaders little pull with Gordon.