Evidence Mounts of White House Ties to New Hampshire Phone Jamming Scheme

[marmar]

from AlterNet's PEEK:




Evidence Mounts of White House Ties to New Hampshire Phone Jamming Scheme

Posted by Matt Corley, Think Progress at 5:33 AM on December 21, 2007.

In his new book, a GOP consultant alleges that the scandal goes “to the top of the Republican Party.”



On the morning of election day 2002, repeated hang-up calls assaulted six phone lines tied to the New Hampshire Democratic Party. Three Republican operatives, including consultant Allen Raymond, eventually ended up in jail for their involvement in the phone jamming scheme. A fourth, former RNC offical James Tobin, will begin a second trial in February.

In his new book, Raymond alleges that the scandal goes "to the top of the Republican Party" because "the Bush White House had complete control of the RNC" and there was no way such a risky tactic wouldn't have been "vetted by" Tobin's "high-ups":

"The Bush White House had complete control of the RNC, and there was no way someone like Tobin was going to try what he was proposing without first getting it vetted by his high-ups," Raymond wrote in How To Rig an Election, a book set for publication next month. "That's if Tobin, rather than one of his bosses, had even thought of the ploy himself - which seemed unlikely."

Phone records obtained in a civil suit brought against the NH GOP by the NH Democratic Party show that "Tobin made 22 calls to the White House political office in the 24 hours before and after the jamming" while the Republican National Committee has paid over $6 million in legal fees for Tobin.

Yesterday, McClatchy reported that "senior Justice Department officials" delayed prosecuting Tobin "until after the 2004 election" as part of an effort to protect the GOP "from the scandal until the voting was over":

However, the official, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, told McClatchy that senior Justice Department officials slowed the inquiry. The official didn't know whether top department officials ordered the delays or what motivated those decisions.

The official said that Terry O'Donnell, a former Pentagon general counsel who was representing Tobin, was in contact with senior department officials before Tobin was indicted.

Marcy Wheeler notes that Tobin's lawyer, Terry O'Donnell, is also "Dick Cheney's long-time personal attorney."

House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-MI) wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey today, requesting documents and answers about the case.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/71313/

[Bitwit1234]

1. Shame, we all know rove was involved.

but when it comes to real proof, the deleting and shredding took care of that. AND the FIRE....so convenient.

[Blackhatjack]

2. This is one corrupt scandal where there is irrefutable evidence AND a first person witness...

That just might be a winning combination when it comes to exposing the politicization of the DOJ and misuse of government authority by White House officials.

Rove DESERVES to be buried for at least one of the many dirty tricks he has pulled over the years.

[marmar]

5. Agreed.

n/t

[NorthernSpy]

3. ain't no rules, ain't no vow, we can do it anyhow...

Jammin', jammin', Jammin', jammin'...

Jammin' in the name of the Lord!



Tobin dragged his pastor to court and put on this big churchy act -- all to persuade the jury that they shouldn't convict him.

They didn't buy it.

Funny how conservatives who complain about "those criminals" and their "endless appeals" always change their tune when THEY get convicted of something, and then start launching endless appeals of their own.


Man, I sure hope he doesn't get to weasel out of this.

[Kansas Wyatt]

4. Rove was also sitting in front of a bank of computers on election night....

And the media claimed that only he knew how the election was turning out.

Well Hell ya, when he was the one in charge of flipping vote counts.