Robert Hyde, ex-congressional candidate, appears for DUI charge

HARTFORD — Robert Hyde, a former Republican congressional candidate who gained national notoriety in the first impeachment of former President Donald Trump, briefly appeared Wednesday in court on drunken driving charges.

Hyde appeared Wednesday morning in state Superior Court in Hartford where his attorney requested a continuance to gain more discovery materials. Judge Kevin Doyle granted the request and Hyde is due back in court on April 5.

Hyde declined to comment about the case as he quickly exited the courthouse.

Hyde was arrested in Bloomfield on Jan. 15 when police said he was found intoxicated after crashing his pickup truck in a ditch on the side of Auer Farm Road.

A police report said his blood-alcohol level was twice the legal limit about an hour after police found him around 2:20 a.m. on Jan. 15. Police said Hyde smelled of alcohol and was slurring his words.

Video from the arrest obtained by Hearst Connecticut Media Group through a public records request shows Hyde stumbling as he walked up to an officer to give him his ID and again as he got into the back of a police cruiser.

“He’s drunk,” one officer said to another who responded to the scene, according to the video footage. “Yeah, he can barely walk to my car.”

After he was taken to the police station, Hyde can be heard saying he was “(expletive) wasted,” the video shows.

Hyde claimed an animal ran out into the street, first stating it was a deer before saying it may have been bear, according to the police report and video footage. Hyde said he struck the animal with his truck before ending up in the ditch, the report and video showed.

But he also admitted to drinking that night, claiming to have consumed as many as three drinks, the report stated.

He was charged with driving under the influence and failure to drive in the proper lane. Records show Hyde was freed on $500 bond after the arrest.

Hyde mounted an unsuccessful bid for the 5th Congressional District in 2020, seeking to unseat Democrat Jahana Hayes. He bowed out of the race amid pressure from fellow Republicans, but then attempted to run for the U.S. Senate against Richard Blumenthal last year. The attempt fizzled out at the GOP convention in May when Hyde won only four votes.

The Senate run came after Hyde was brought into the national spotlight by the Trump impeachment inquiry. Messages released as part of investigation showed Hyde had communicated with Lev Parnas, a Soviet-born businessman and associate of Rudy Giuliani. They suggested Hyde was involved in a surveillance effort against the former U.S. ambassador to Ukraine. Hyde, however, denied the accusation.