NH GOP Plot to Jam Democratic Phone Lines Probed
The Associated Press
Wednesday 30 November 2005
Concord, N.H. - New Hampshire's Republican Party is fighting a subpoena from federal prosecutors for documents from the party's own investigation of a plot to jam Democratic phone lines on Election Day 2002.
Prosecutors want the materials for their case against James Tobin, a former national Republican campaign official who is scheduled to go on trial next Tuesday.
The subpoena demands papers and computer hard drives examined by lawyers the Republican Party hired to conduct a 2003 investigation of the jamming allegations.
Republicans say turning over the documents would violate attorney-client privilege. According to papers filed Monday in federal court, they are also leery of giving up computer files containing campaign strategy and other confidential political information.
The computer files "contained no information that appeared to be related to the phone-jamming allegations," according to an affidavit by lawyer Ovide Lamontagne, who oversaw the 2003 investigation. "The computer documents, however, do reflect (New Hampshire State Republican Committee) confidential and proprietary information, including election strategies, campaign analysis, organizational charts, and membership information."
In 2002, Tobin was political director of the national committee working to get Republicans elected to the Senate. He is accused of orchestrating the phone jamming plot, in which hundreds of computer-generated calls paralyzed Democratic get-out-the-vote and ride-to-the-polls phone lines in New Hampshire for more than an hour on Nov. 5, 2002.
That year, in a closely watched Senate race, Republican John Sununu defeated Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, 51 percent to 46 percent.
Tobin has pleaded not guilty to one charge of conspiring against rights, one count of conspiring to commit telephone harassment and two counts of aiding and abetting in telephone harassment.
Last year, Tobin served as President Bush's 2004 New England campaign chairman, but he resigned that October after the phone-jamming accusations surfaced.
Chuck McGee, former state party chairman, and Allen Raymond, former owner of GOP Marketplace, based in Alexandria, Va., have pleaded guilty. Both were fined and sentenced to months-long prison terms, and both have cooperated with investigators.
Link Here
Wednesday 30 November 2005
Concord, N.H. - New Hampshire's Republican Party is fighting a subpoena from federal prosecutors for documents from the party's own investigation of a plot to jam Democratic phone lines on Election Day 2002.
Prosecutors want the materials for their case against James Tobin, a former national Republican campaign official who is scheduled to go on trial next Tuesday.
The subpoena demands papers and computer hard drives examined by lawyers the Republican Party hired to conduct a 2003 investigation of the jamming allegations.
Republicans say turning over the documents would violate attorney-client privilege. According to papers filed Monday in federal court, they are also leery of giving up computer files containing campaign strategy and other confidential political information.
The computer files "contained no information that appeared to be related to the phone-jamming allegations," according to an affidavit by lawyer Ovide Lamontagne, who oversaw the 2003 investigation. "The computer documents, however, do reflect (New Hampshire State Republican Committee) confidential and proprietary information, including election strategies, campaign analysis, organizational charts, and membership information."
In 2002, Tobin was political director of the national committee working to get Republicans elected to the Senate. He is accused of orchestrating the phone jamming plot, in which hundreds of computer-generated calls paralyzed Democratic get-out-the-vote and ride-to-the-polls phone lines in New Hampshire for more than an hour on Nov. 5, 2002.
That year, in a closely watched Senate race, Republican John Sununu defeated Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, 51 percent to 46 percent.
Tobin has pleaded not guilty to one charge of conspiring against rights, one count of conspiring to commit telephone harassment and two counts of aiding and abetting in telephone harassment.
Last year, Tobin served as President Bush's 2004 New England campaign chairman, but he resigned that October after the phone-jamming accusations surfaced.
Chuck McGee, former state party chairman, and Allen Raymond, former owner of GOP Marketplace, based in Alexandria, Va., have pleaded guilty. Both were fined and sentenced to months-long prison terms, and both have cooperated with investigators.
Link Here
posted by Kangaroo Brisbane Australia at 11:27 PM
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