Va. GOP settles wiretap case

[WMliberal]

The Republican Party of Virginia and four other defendants have agreed to pay 33 current and former Democratic legislators almost $750,000 to settle an eavesdropping case that has bedeviled Republicans for more than two years...

...The five defendants named in the civil suit are Matricardi, the Republican Party of Virginia, Gary R. Thomson, former chairman of the state GOP, Wilkins and Tucker.

Matricardi pleaded guilty in 2003 to intercepting a wire communication, a felony. He was sentenced to three years of probation and lost his law license for five years. He admitted to taking notes and recording part of the phone calls...


the Rethugs took the deal reported yesterday in WaPo.
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031779528917

[WMliberal]

1. too bad, I'd love for this to have gone to trial.

Having Kilgore explain during the middle of his campaign next year, why he as attorney general, dragged his feet on the case to help out his cronies.

[kegler14]

2. I'm very disappointed

with the state Democratic Party for settling this. They needed Kilgore up on the stand explaining exactly why he didn't stop the second instance of wiretapping. In public. They can still hammer him some with his deposition, but what they really need was a public trial.

[WMliberal]

3. a public trial would have been worth more than

$750000 to the party.