Republican Rep. Ken Weyler of Kingston has resigned his position as Chair of the Fiscal Committee and said he was not aware of the bizarre statements about the COVID-19 vaccine and the Catholic church contained in the documents he sent to committee members.

Rep. Mary Jane Wallner, the ranking Democrat on the Fiscal Committee, said in a statement on Monday Weyler sent members of the committee a 52-page report full of misinformation about the COVID-19 vaccine. Weyler's claims led to calls for him to step down as chair from Gov. Chris Sununu.

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House Speaker Sherm Parkard in a statement posted by InDepthNH.org on Wednesday said he spoke to Weyler about his "deep concerns" regarding the content of Weyler's email and comments about the COVID-19 vaccine during hearings.

“He realizes his error in judgement and recognizes it has compromised his ability to lead the House Finance Committee and Joint Fiscal Committee both now and moving forward," Packard wrote. "We came to a mutual decision that the best thing for him to do was to step aside as chair of the House Finance committee. Since his chairmanship of the Fiscal Committee was statutorily dependent on his chairmanship of the Finance Committee, he will no longer be chair of the Fiscal Committee.

He will be replaced by Rep. Karen Umberger as chair of House Finance, and by statute will also serve as chair of the Joint Fiscal Committee.

Packard praised Weyler's "long history of service" to the state and is an "invaluable resource."

"His institutional knowledge is unmatched. He will continue to serve the people of his district honorably," Packard said.

"I apologize for not vetting this document more thoroughly"

Weyler in his resignation letter tweeted by NHPR reporter Josh Rogers said that he was not aware of the full content of the 52 page email he sent and hopes his resignation from the Fiscal Committee will put the focus back on issues.

"I wanted to share the first dozen or so pages containing data about COVID reporting methodology and I did not read the rest which contained conspiracy material and sections that are offensive to groups of people. I apologize for not vetting this document more thoroughly," Weyler wrote.

Sununu was pleased with Weyler's decision.

“I am glad to see Representative Weyler resign as Chair of the Fiscal Committee and look forward to working with the Committee on future state funding measures. As elected officials in positions of leadership, we must hold ourselves to the absolute highest standards," Sununu said in a statement.

NH Democratic Party chairman Raymond Buckley told Seacoast Current that Weyler should resign from the committees as well.

"If he had a sense of decency he should resign from the NH House too. Speaker Packard has failed the NH House. Trust and integrity must be restored in the institution of the House. Ken's behavior is a direct result of Sherm Packard's enabling the worst of his caucus to have a platform for their reckless and dangerous behavior," Buckley said.

Among the claims in the report sent by Weyler, according to Wallner:

  • Live creatures with tentacles are entering people's bodies via the vaccine
  • 5G technology is in the vaccine to control people's thoughts
  • The Pope and Catholic church are Satanists and Luciferians for supporting public health measures
  • The babies of vaccinated parents are born with pitch-black eyes and can stand and walk at only three months old.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH

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