EXCLUSIVE: NRCC Launches Tip Line For ‘Whistleblowers’ To Submit Allegations Against Embattled Freshman Dem

The House GOP’s campaign arm launched a tip line website Thursday, first shared with the Daily Caller News Foundation, where individuals can submit complaints against Democratic Rep. Val Hoyle of Oregon, who has ties to the marijuana industry in the state.

Hoyle, a freshman member of Congress, received campaign donations for her 2022 bid from several cannabis executives, including the embattled marijuana dispensary La Mota and an affiliated nonprofit. The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) previously released a video advertisement criticizing the congresswoman’s campaign contributions, and is now asking “whistleblowers” come forward to highlight other potential “scandals.”

“Val Hoyle has a history of shady practices and needs to be held accountable. Any whistleblower with knowledge of shady, corrupt or unethical activities by Val Hoyle can report them,” NRCC spokesperson Ben Petersen told the DCNF. (RELATED: NRCC Launches ‘Socialist Give Back’ In Response To AOC’s Campaign Donations)

Hoyle received a combined $5,800 from La Mota co-founders CEO Rosa Cazeres and Board of Directors Chair Aaron Mitchell in April 2022, and an additional $1,000 from Laura Vega, who co-founded the nonprofit ENDVR with Cazeres, during the same time period. Mitchell previously contributed $20,000 to Hoyle’s state campaign fund in 2021 when she was Oregon’s Commissioner of Labor and Industries, which the lawmaker insists was returned once she ran for Congress; there are no records that indicate she returned the other $6,800.

“Seeking campaign donations is not a part of the process I like, but when you have working-class people running for office, you can’t just write yourself a check. That means we have to rely on contributions to fund campaigns,” Hoyle previously said of the dispensary’s contributions, according to KOIN News. “We need a different system, which is one reason I support campaign finance reform. I’ve returned all campaign contributions from La Mota owners and won’t be taking any additional funds from them.”

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After the contributions, Hoyle oversaw a $554,990 taxpayer grant to ENDVR when she was Labor Commissioner, which the NRCC alleged was part of a “pay-to-play” scheme.” Labor Commissioner Christina Stephenson, who took over for Hoyle when she came to Washington, D.C., in January, cancelled the grant to ENDVR in late April after reports emerged of La Mota’s legal woes and millions in tax liens.

New revelations in the La Mota scandal emerged Tuesday when the Willamette Week reported Hoyle dined with the two executives in 2021 prior to making the half-million dollar grant. Hoyle previously said she couldn’t remember whether she met with them to discuss the grant, however the calendar note for the meeting read, “Rosa Cazara, La Mota re: Cannabis Apprenticeship.”

The FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating the dispensary after the now-resigned Secretary of State Shemia Fagan did contract work for them.

Hoyle was also involved in a lawsuit filed by the former head of the Oregon Civil Rights division, Carol Johnson, who alleged the former labor commissioner was cognizant and permissive of discrimination in her office, according to OPB News. The court ruled in Johnson’s favor Monday, and awarded her with $1.7 million.

The congresswoman holds one of the seats the NRCC is vying to flip red in 2024, along with 36 others, according to the committee’s website.

Hoyle did not immediately respond to the DCNF’s request for comment.

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