Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski walked off an interview platform Tuesday when asked a question about the ethics complaint against him.

The complaint is tied to the sex scandal involving former Oregon governor Neil Goldschmidt. Three years ago, Goldschmidt admitted sexually abusing a 14-year-old girl while he was mayor of Portland. The question Tuesday had to do with what Kulongoski knew about the rape.

Kulongoski has said he knew nothing of the abuse until it was made public three years ago. However, a former speech writer for Goldschmidt says he told Kulongoski about the abuse in the early 1990s, when Kulongoski was preparing to run for Attorney General. That speech writer said he's taken and passed a polygraph test proving he is telling the truth.

On Tuesday, KGW asked the governor's press people for a moment to speak with him before or after a news conference about a terror drill, but was told -- for the second day in a row -- that he was too busy.

During the news conference later Tuesday, KGW tried to ask Kulongoski about the ethics complaint.

"Governor, the state bar is reviewing a complaint that you lied to the public about the Goldschmidt abuse. Is that true?” KGW reporter Pat Dooris asked.

"Why don’t you go ahead and we'll have you direct that to Kristina,” a moderator interrupted.

“Thank you, but this is the only place the governor is available. They're not making him available anywhere today,” Dooris said.

At that moment, Kulongoski walked off stage, telling his staff, “Let’s go.”

A Department of Human Services spokeswoman said if Kulongoski knew about the abuse, he had a legal obligation to report it to police.

Revelations that ended the political career of one Oregon Governor now threaten another

Former Governor Goldschmidt's rape of a 14-year-old girl while he was mayor of Portland ended his public career.

KGW photo

In a letter to state regulators investigating Multnomah County Sheriff Bernie Giusto, Fred Leonhardt, a former speech writer for Goldschmidt, said that current governor Kulongoski lied to the public about his knowledge of the abuse.

In June of 2004, shortly after the allegations against Goldschmidt became public, Kulongoski told KGW he knew nothing of Goldschmidt's abuse. Kulongoski specifically denied hearing anything from Leonhardt, saying: "He never told me about… he never told me that,” said Kulongoski in the interview.

But Leonhardt says that was false. In a letter sent to investigators at the Department of Public Training and Safety, Leonhardt wrote that he told Kulongoski in 1991 or 1992 that Bernie Giusto had told him of the former governor's abuse of the babysitter.

Leonhardt wrote: "Kulongoski's response was, ‘it might be true’."

In the letter, Leonhardt says that he was at a Christmas party with Giusto in December 1994 where Giusto told him the sex abuse scandal was about to break in the newspaper. Leonhardt says he immediately warned Kulongoski, who was also at the party.

"I told him everything I had heard from Giusto no more than ten minutes earlier," wrote Leonhardt.

Leonhardt says he has subsequently taken and passed a lie detector test.

On Monday, radio talk show host Lars Larson sent a letter to the Oregon State Bar, requesting an investigation into whether Kulongoski, who is a lawyer, lied about having knowledge of Goldschmidt’s conduct and, if so, whether his Oregon Bar license should be revoked.

"If all of these other people are going to be held to account...I think Kulongoski should as well," Larson told KGW.

A spokeswoman for Kulongoski told KGW on Monday that the governor was unable to comment since he was busy preparing for a terrorism exercise to be staged in Portland on Tuesday.

"We are focusing on more serious issues than a complaint from a talk show host," said spokeswoman Patty Wentz.