In this file photo, Raúl Labrador speaks to attendees of the Idaho Republican Party primary election celebration on May 17, 2022. (Otto Kitsinger for Idaho Capital Sun)
The Idaho State Bar is conducting an ethics investigation into Idaho Attorney General Raúl Labrador, following a complaint alleging an “adversarial relationship” with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare.
Former Idaho Department of Health and Welfare Director Dave Jeppesen, who retired in December, filed the complaint in June 2023. Jeppesen’s complaint alleges Labrador’s office has effectively denied the state health department — Idaho’s largest government agency — with adequate legal representation following legal conflicts and investigations into the agency, which the attorney general must legally represent.
The conflicts have strained the state health department’s operations and created “a hostile situation where trust and confidence has been destroyed,” the former agency director’s complaint alleges.
The Idaho Statesman first reported on the investigation .