IT company Involta warned of Idaho lobbyist’s actions in Attorney General’s Office letter

In a rare occurrence, an Idaho deputy attorney general sent a warning letter to an IT service management company concerning its lobbyist’s actions.

The letter — which was sent from Deputy Attorney General Julie Weaver to Involta, an IT company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa — was obtained through a public records request to the Attorney General’s Office.

“I am writing to you to alert you to an to an issue that was brought to my attention concerning the action’s of Involta’s lobbyist, John Foster,” wrote Weaver in a Sept. 26, 2017, email to Involta.

According to the email, Foster requested a meeting with the Idaho Division of Building Safety regarding a data backup services contract. Idaho Division of Building Safety Deputy Attorney General Spencer Holm sat in on the telephone conference call.

Following the meeting, Holm talked to Weaver about some of the lobbyist’s statements, including “theories he held concerning avoiding a competitive solicitation for the data back-up services,” Weaver wrote in her email to Involta’s legal counsel.

Weaver pointed out that under Idaho law, “No officer or employee shall conspire with a vendor or its agent, and no vendor or its agent shall conspire with an officer or employee, to influence or attempt to influence the award of a contract, or to deprive or attempt to deprive a vendor of a contract.”

Weaver warned Involta that such a violation is a felony. Additionally, if Involta is found to have violated provisions of the state procurement act, it could be disqualified from submitting a bid on that contract for up to five years.

Foster and a legal representative from Involta said Weaver’s description of what happened on the call was inaccurate.

“The Division of Purchasing takes very seriously the Legislature’s declaration that it is the policy of the State of Idaho to engage in open, competitive acquisition of property,” Weaver wrote.

Weaver also issued another caution: “If the Division of Purchasing obtains credible evidence that Mr. Foster or any other person acting on behalf of Involta violates Idaho Code … it will report the information to prosecutorial authorities.”

Foster, a partner in Kestral West, denied the allegations.

“This story is fake news,” Foster said Thursday in a written statement to the Statesman. “Ms. Weaver’s information was incorrect, she never contacted me about it and nothing more came of it. The false accusations are being distributed by people who know them to be false, and my attorneys are actively reviewing legal actions and remedies.”

Involta’s attorney Randall Rings told the Statesman that the IT company is still Foster’s client.

“We did not think that was an accurate description of the conversation,” Rings told the Statesman.

“The content of Deputy Attorney General Weaver’s email speaks for itself and, as such, our office has no additional comment,” AG spokesman Scott Graf said in an email to the Statesman on Friday.

The Idaho Statesman also asked the Idaho Attorney General’s Office through a public records request if it had any other emails or letters sent to a lobbyist or a lobbyist’s client in the last two years pertaining to possibly illegal or unethical behavior.

The AG’s Office responded it did not.

This story was originally published December 14, 2018 at 11:09 AM.