Freedom Caucus Leader Bear Accepted Check from Activist, Others Remain Silent

Gillette Republican Rep. John Bear, the former head of the Wyoming Freedom Caucus and chairman of a powerful House committee, acknowledged Monday that he accepted a campaign check from conservative activist Rebecca Bextel—but insisted it did not happen on the House floor.

Bear’s admission adds another name to the growing list of lawmakers tied to the “CheckGate” controversy that has consumed the Capitol since last week. Teton County donor Don Grasso told reporters Friday he wrote $1,500 checks to 10 Republicans with Freedom Caucus ties before handing them to Bextel, expecting she would mail them. Instead, Bextel hand-delivered the checks on the House floor after adjournment on the session’s first day.

Until Bear spoke, only Reps. Darin McCann, R-Rock Springs, and Joe Webb, R-Lyman, had publicly admitted to receiving checks on the floor. Bear said his check came elsewhere.

“I’m going to let the committee handle all that,” Bear told a reporter, declining to specify when and where he received it. He called the ongoing scrutiny “a smear campaign” and expressed disappointment that the checks had become “a distraction.”

The timing matters. Two days after Bextel distributed the checks, Bear sponsored and the House voted to introduce House Bill 141, which would curb affordable housing mitigation fees—a policy Bextel has championed. When Rep. Mike Yin, D-Jackson, raised the check incident on the House floor just before that vote, Bear and Speaker Chip Neiman, R-Hulett, rebuked him, accusing Yin of making unsubstantiated claims.

Bear said Monday he was caught off guard because he hadn’t received anything on the floor. “I would always assume nothing would happen on the floor,” he said.

Other named lawmakers remained tight-lipped. Reps. Christopher Knapp, R-Gillette, and Tony Locke, R-Casper, declined to confirm whether they received checks, citing the ongoing House investigation. Rep. Marlene Brady, R-Green River, who was photographed accepting something from Bextel, declined to comment. Last week she told a reporter she couldn’t remember what Bextel handed her.

Speaker Neiman and Reps. Gary Brown, R-Cheyenne, and Webb did not respond to requests for comment.

In the Senate, only Sen. Bob Ide, R-Casper, was named. He told a reporter last week he’d “rather not discuss anything at this point.”

The Laramie County Sheriff’s Office has launched a criminal investigation into possible bribery. The House has formed a seven-member investigatory committee, though its first meeting has not been scheduled. The Senate has unanimously condemned the practice and is drafting rules to ban campaign contributions during session.

Rep. Webb, who acknowledged receiving a check on the floor, said in a Sunday social media post: “I welcome the investigation and my conscience is clear.”

Yin, who first raised the issue, said he’s disappointed more lawmakers haven’t spoken up. “I think that drives to the point that money has a lot of power,” he said. “And when we’re in a state where campaigns don’t cost very much, $1,500 is a lot of money.”

The Teton County Republican Party has distanced itself from Bextel, saying she acted on her own and her conduct does not reflect the party’s posture.

Bear, when asked whether he’d received the check before or after rebuking Yin on the floor, did not specify.