Former Wyoming GOP chairman Drake Hill, who is representing a Colorado law firm in a records lawsuit against Laramie County Sheriff Brian Kozak, donated $1,000 to the sheriff’s opponent in the Republican primary, newly released campaign finance records show.
Hill made the contribution on June 22. Hill’s spouse, Cindy Hill, a former Wyoming state superintendent of public instruction, also financially backed the challenger, Cheyenne Police Sgt. Eric Norris, with a $1,500 contribution on June 19. The report shows another $158 in-kind contribution — a non-monetary donation — from Drake Hill for food at a fundraiser.
Combined, the Hills’ support makes up more than 12% of the money Norris has raised for his campaign.
“The Hills reached out to me and said they wanted to support me because they found that my thoughts on how the sheriff’s department should be run were more along the lines of what they were looking to support,” Norris told WyoFile. “It was after we announced that we were going to run and started kind of talking about what our goals were, as far as focusing on crime rather than the next headline.”
In response to WyoFile’s message to both Cindy and Drake Hill inquiring about the donations, Cindy Hill shared a written statement specifying that her comments were offered “personally” and not on behalf of Hill Law Firm. She wrote that her and her husband’s support for Norris “has transpired from concern over recent events that I find shocking.”
On June 30, Drake Hill filed a lawsuit against Kozak alleging the sheriff and his office “engaged in the obstruction of justice by blocking access to critical evidence” in the ongoing Colorado immigration proceedings of a Mexican national detained in Laramie County.
The plaintiffs include a Denver, Colorado-based immigration law office, Lichter Immigration, and an investigator working for the firm, Laramie County resident Kevin Lewis, who are acting on behalf of the detained man, Mario Fabian Valenzuela Robles, in immigration proceedings that began with an April 23 traffic stop.
Cindy Hill described in her written statement that she and Drake Hill learned of Valenzuela Robles’ seizure on April 23 as they were walking out of the Anne Frank house in Amsterdam. “That was a moment that became frozen in time,” she stated. Lewis previously told WyoFile that Valenzuela Robles had worked on renovation projects at the Hill household.
“We began to learn of the seizures throughout Laramie County and the hundreds of Laramie County residents who had been seized,” Cindy Hill recounted. “We also delved into the 287(g) agreement and saw that, in our view, the terms of the agreement with I.C.E. are not being followed.”
After a July hearing, Kozak’s office handed over some records that the law firm had requested. At the request of the plaintiffs, the judge, Robin Cooley, told the sheriff’s office to perform a certified computer search for other records. She also ordered an “in camera” review of additional records the plaintiffs wanted. This review is a legal process in which a judge privately inspects records to decide if they can legally be released. Cooley later dropped the in camera review after the parties consulted and agreed that the concerned records “are, in fact, public records in that they are financial records and bear no confidential information.”
Cooley ordered that the defendants produce all writing, documents, communications, statements and digital records relating to Valenzuela Robles and file a verified report “detailing all steps” they took to comply with the order by Aug. 5.
But on Aug. 6, Drake Hill asked Cooley to hold Kozak in contempt of court, accusing him of failing to comply with the court’s order to provide records by deadline. “In the absence of a compelling explanation for their failure to comply with the clear terms of the Court’s Order, the Defendants appear to be in contempt, necessitating Plaintiffs’ action to force compliance,” Hill wrote.
The next day, Cooley set a hearing on the matter for Oct. 16. Laramie County Attorney Mark Voss, who is representing Kozak and his department in the case, soon after filed the verified report. “Any delay in the matter,” Voss wrote, was the result of the need for agencies to “conduct their normal activities” and the difficulty of sorting through a county email system that isn’t divided by agency.
An initial search produced 7,700 emails, according to Voss. “Given the minimal contact with Mr. Robles, it was abundantly clear that the majority, if not all of this, was entirely irrelevant to Mr. Robles’s detention and contact with the Sheriff’s Department,” Voss wrote. Subsequent searches “using different configuration of the search terms” reduced that number to 1,107. Those were whittled down to 200 emails, which Voss had to review to “determine whether or not any of them were relevant or responsive to the records request and the Order compelling and/or whether they contained privileged material.” Voss stated in the court filing that the search produced a small number of relevant records that would be provided to the plaintiffs.
In response to the contempt order, Kozak told a reporter at Cowboy State Daily that he believed the lawsuit was in part tied to the sheriff’s office’s investigation into the “Checkgate” controversy, a February incident that involved Teton County activist Rebecca Bextel handing out campaign checks to Wyoming Freedom Caucus members on the House floor two days before a vote on a bill she supported. Bextel is now running for governor as a Constitution Party candidate.
Kozak, who didn’t return WyoFile’s calls by publishing time, reportedly stated that there “appears to be a connection between Lewis and Hill through their involvement with Honor Wyoming and the Freedom Caucus, some members of which are reportedly subjects of the Checkgate investigation.”
Drake Hill has served as an attorney for Honor Wyoming, a conservative political group. Lewis, who was a staffer in Cindy Hill’s office when she was state superintendent, was once registered as a lobbyist for the organization. Bextel has also described herself as an “active volunteer” for the group.
“Neither Drake or I have been involved in what you are calling ‘check-gate’
controversy and know only what we have read in passing news,” Cindy Hill wrote in her statement to WyoFile. “Other than reading various articles, we have no more understanding or affiliation than the average reader.”
Kozak told a reporter at Cowboy State Daily that he hoped Cooley would “take appropriate action” if the lawsuit was “misleading or unethical.” If not, he said he would consider filing a complaint with the Wyoming State Bar himself.
Cindy Hill described Kozak’s comments as “intimidation efforts” that “are intended to shut up those who would disagree and to shut down any awareness of harm he continues to cause.” She said Drake Hill “will continue to do his work in the same honorable way he always does” and “will not be intimidated.”
Last year, Kozak signed three 287(g) immigration enforcement agreements with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. These contracts allow local, county and state law enforcement to act as an extension of ICE and conduct some immigration enforcement under the federal agency’s watch.
Cindy Hill said in her statement that she and her husband had “looked to see who was running against the current sheriff” and found that Norris was a candidate. Hill elaborated that she was “impressed” with his military service and law enforcement experience.
Norris previously told a reporter with the Wyoming Tribune Eagle that while he supports immigration enforcement efforts under 287(g) agreements, he’s concerned that other issues need more attention. “I’m not so focused on immigration and a headline,” Norris said after announcing his campaign.
“As far as the lawsuit, I haven’t had any real conversation with the Hills about anything there,” Norris told WyoFile. “The immigration stuff is completely separate from me. It doesn’t have anything to do with my campaign.”
Kozak reported raising and spending no money on his campaign.
Early voting is underway in Wyoming. The primary election is Tuesday.
I wouldn’t be surprised if Kevin Lewis’ comments on wyofile stories were used to prove kozak’s claims. He’s been a shill for the freedumb caucus on every one of his posts..