LJWorld.com

Topeka — Lt. Gov. Mark Parkinson, a longtime friend of Attorney General Paul Morrison, said Friday that he didn't know about the sex scandal that is forcing Morrison from office until shortly before it became public.

Parkinson added that if he or other Democrats had known about Morrison's extramarital affair with a subordinate, Morrison would not have been recruited to run for attorney general in 2006.

Morrison switched parties in October 2005 to run as a Democrat, and Parkinson, a former GOP state chairman, became the co-chairman of his campaign four months later while still a registered Republican. Parkinson then switched parties in June 2006 to become Gov. Kathleen Sebelius' running mate.

The lieutenant governor said nothing during his 20-year friendship with Morrison suggested Morrison was capable of having an affair, even an allegation of sexual harassment in the early 1990s against Morrison. Parkinson was one of Morrison's attorneys in two federal lawsuits arising from that allegation.

The state Republican Party's leaders have noted Parkinson's role as Morrison's attorney and have said that he therefore knew Morrison had serious character flaws. Morrison plans to step down Jan. 31, and Sebelius will name a replacement to fill the last three years of his term.

'It's a human problem'

State GOP leaders have questioned whether Parkinson failed to warn prominent Democrats about Morrison because Parkinson and others wanted to see Attorney General Phill Kline, a conservative Republican, unseated. Before switching parties, Parkinson was a moderate Republican.

"Infidelity is not a Democratic problem. It's not a Republican problem. It's a human problem," Parkinson said during a telephone interview Friday. "For either party or any politician to try to use this for political advantage really underestimates the intelligence of Kansans. Kansans know that this a pervasive problem in our country."

But Christian Morgan, the state GOP's executive director, said Parkinson's statements about Morrison are inconsistent. Morgan also noted that Parkinson also has been inconsistent about Sebelius, saying Parkinson was critical of her before running with her as a Democrat.

"We're going to go ahead and take him at his word, but he does have a history of saying one thing and then another," Morgan said.

Harassment allegations

During last year's campaign, Kline raised the past allegations against Morrison as an issue.

The woman's accusation of harassment stemmed from what she said was a drunken advance by Morrison in a bar late in 1990. She filed two lawsuits in 1992, but both eventually were dismissed.

Parkinson said he's limited in discussing the case because, as Morrison's former attorney, he must respect the privacy of their conversations.

"What I can say is that there was never a claim in that case that Paul had an affair with the woman involved or that he ever kissed or touched her," Parkinson said. "The behavior alleged in that case and the behavior that we now know Paul is capable of are entirely different."

Parkinson said he was disappointed and shocked by Morrison's acknowledgment of his affair and by the details contained in the allegations by the woman involved, Linda Carter. But he said he's not going to abandon Morrison as a friend.

"Politically, it might be convenient to do that. We see politicians throw their friends under the bus all the time. I won't do that," Parkinson said. "If I can somehow help his family, I will do that with no embarrassment."

Morrison acknowledges the affair but denies Carter's allegations of harassment and professional misconduct. She has said the affair began in September 2005, when Morrison was Johnson County district attorney and when she was the office's director of administration.

Carter's account

Carter's account was detailed in a signed statement obtained by The Topeka Capital-Journal, which broke the story Dec. 9.

According to her account, it continued for two years, while Morrison ran for attorney general and after he was elected. Carter stayed in the district attorney's office after Republicans picked Kline to replace Morrison in the county job.

Carter also alleges that Morrison tried to get her to provide sensitive information about Kline's activities and, when their relationship soured, threatened to ruin her chances of finding a new job.

Kline plans to appoint a special prosecutor, and Carter filed a civil rights claim in November with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

Meanwhile, Parkinson said his friends - including Morrison - know he takes a dim view of infidelity. He said his parents' marriage was broken up by an affair his father had with another woman.

Records request denied

Parkinson said Morrison contacted him before The Capital-Journal's story broke to let him know "some things were coming."

"All of my friends know that infidelity, for me, is completely unacceptable, never excusable and not something I'm not willing to sit around and talk about and affirm," he said.

Harris News Service has reported it obtained a transcript of testimony Carter gave to an investigator in Kline's office on Nov. 1, with a Kline assistant and court reporter present.

On Friday, the district attorney's office denied an open records request from The Associated Press for a copy of the written record of Carter's testimony.

Spokesman Brian Burgess said such a document would be closed under the law because it would be part of a criminal investigation or deal with personnel matters.

"This office is not confirming or denying the existence of any records pursuant to this specific request," Burgess said.