In the state the Idaho, primary elections are open for anyone to vote in. In fact, Idaho does not even require a declaration of party affiliation when registering to vote. That all changed however, when the Republican party of Idaho sued the state to have a closed primary, meaning -- only registered Republicans can now vote in the Republican primary.
The lawsuit to close the primary cost a lot of money to pursue, but the Republican controlled legislature of Idaho came up with a creative solution to the problem -- bill the taxpayers for it.
According to Spokane, Washington's Spokesman-Review, Republicans in the Idaho state legislature rushed a bill through in the final days of the legislative session to pay the Idaho Republican Party $100,000 in attorney's fees and legal costs for a primary election lawsuit that it brought against the state and won. 81% of the Republicans in the Legislature are also members of the Idaho Republican Party. The Republicans additionally made a special effort to ensure that no matter what the outcome of the lawsuit, the cost would be paid by taxpayers. [...]
Democratic lawmakers were agog at the Republican Party's conduct. Sen. Elliot Werk, D-Boise said, “I have to point out, we’re paying $100,000 for the Republican Party to sue the Republican Legislature, defended by the Republican secretary of state, in order to close primaries in Idaho – I just think this is so bad it’s comical."
So basically -- the Republican Party sued the state, and then the state legislature voted to pay for the Republican Party's legal expenses.
Really.
Comical is one word you might use to describe the situation. Embezzlement is another.