Special prosecutor sees no crime in alleged NEGOP break-in

Party sought review after some items went missing during leadership transition in 2022

LINCOLN, Neb. (Nebraska Examiner, Aaron Sanderford) — A months-long review of a Lincoln Police Department investigation into an alleged break-in during a leadership transition at the Nebraska Republican Party ended Wednesday with no charges.

Special Prosecutor Ryan Swaroff, a former Lancaster County prosecutor and now a private attorney in Lincoln, said her review found that the events immediately after a July 2022 leadership transition at the state’s top political party showed a “turbulent leadership handover,” not a crime.

“This handover resulted in the report by the new leadership of an alleged trespass and alleged theft of Nebraska Republican Party property by the prior leadership,” Swaroff wrote.

She said she reviewed the case, spoke with police and reviewed reports and emails from Tom Nesbitt, a private investigator the GOP hired after some items briefly went missing.

In a statement, she wrote that “charges cannot be filed in this case without stretching the limits of speculation as to intent and specific actions of those involved in this case.”

Swaroff was the second special prosecutor to review the reports since February, when Lancaster County Attorney Pat Condon, a Republican, requested an outside review of the investigation.

Nesbitt had argued that Lincoln police had made the wrong determination and said he had gathered and shared evidence with the first appointed special prosecutor, Tim Noerrlinger.

Swaroff replaced Noerrlinger in October after Noerrlinger took a job as a staff attorney for the Nebraska Commission on Public Advocacy.

The alleged break-in happened shortly after a new group took over the GOP from one tied to former Gov. Pete Ricketts.

The new state party leaders filed a police report in 2022 alleging a loss of about $1,000 in property and data from the party’s downtown Lincoln headquarters.

The police report listed missing items, including security cameras and files. The new team feared sabotage. Many people tied to the old regime had resigned or were replaced.

Nebraska GOP Chairman Eric Underwood has said party leaders had trouble accessing computer data and security footage. Nesbitt has said not all the missing files were returned.

People tied to the former GOP leadership team have said they kept only items owned by individual campaigns.

Underwood and the GOP did not immediately return messages seeking comment.