Rehberg denies allegations of drunkennessBy ALLISON FARRELL Missoulian State Bureau and TED MONOSON Missoulian D.C. Bureau
HELENA - The broken and bruised ribs Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont., suffered after tumbling from a horse while on an official trip to Kazakhstan recently hasn't slowed him down, but talk about the cause of the accident has.
Rehberg, who said he was trampled by another horse after he slipped off the saddle while dismounting from his ride, has spent much time since then telling reporters he was not intoxicated at the time of the accident.
A widely circulated but anonymous e-mail, which appears to be written by someone within the U.S. Embassy in Kazakhstan, caused a firestorm in Republican political circles this week after the Washington, D.C., newspaper Roll Call quoted choice passages from it in a column Wednesday.
The e-mail says Rehberg and other members of the congressional delegation visiting Kazakhstan were drunk "the entire time" and also said Rehberg "made fun of the Kazakh national costume doing a 'Coneheads' routine from Saturday Night Live, over and over (including making beeping sounds like an alien) at an official delegation."
Rehberg denies the allegations of drunkeness and said he never mocked the Kazakh people. He also said he's never watched an entire episode of Saturday Night Live, and isn't familiar with the television show's skits.
"This (e-mail) is not true," Rehberg said in a phone interview. "I honestly, in the back of my mind, think this has to do something with my re-election effort. It just smacks of politics."
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