Breaking: Rawstory: NH Phone Jammer to Argue Bush Adm Approved

[leftyladyfrommo]

of scheme:

This should be interesting if it pans out.

http://www.rawstory.com

STORY IS OUT THERE NOW - NO LONGER JUST BREAKING.

[havocmom]

1. LOL Amazing crooks think THAT is any sort of defense

Broke law > go to jail. Don't care what Alberto and Harriet may have told you.

[Roland99]

6. But, but, but he's The Decider. If the President says so, it's not illegal

Ain't you learnt nuthin'?

[leftyladyfrommo]

11. Oh, I forgot all about that. Can't be illegal then.

[Roland99]

14. There you go. Good citizen!

[MissWaverly]

41. didn't he decide on releasing Plame info

he just said to release info not her name, so it's not like he said release her name. heh.
heh. heh.

[tanyev]

19. It's the final ace up the sleeve.

They will deny they know anything about it for as long as they can, but once there is too much evidence against that argument, out pops the "the President authorized it" argument. You wouldn't think it would fly, since the two arguments are in direct conflict with each other, but that's how things go nowadays.

[Jackpine Radical]

27. You misunderestimate them.

The earlier lies--I mean Inoperative Statements--were also authorized by the Pretzel King.

[tanyev]

47. I do not misunderestimate them.

I'm just saying that's how the "official" story line goes.

[Jackpine Radical]

48. My comment was sort of a rhetorical device, a lead-in to the notion

that the truth is whatever they want it to be. Actually, I know you don't misunderestimate them.

[blm]

2. Of COURSE Bush and Rove approved - they were GOP dirty tricksters for over

30 years. That's the greatest part of Bush's actual resume that the Corporate media refuses to discuss or detail.

Any POLITICAL action by Rove is hatched WITH Bush. Cheney handles all policy, but the politics is pure Bush.

[leftyladyfrommo]

4. I don't know. I would belive Rove - but I would think they would

keep this kind of stuff away for our esteemed prez.

I can't find out anything about this on any of the newswires - it may just be a rumor.

[emulatorloo]

7. Bush is in the thick of anything that is nasty and vindictive

Ex:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1558449

National Journal: Bush told Cheney To Go after Joe Wilson

[blm]

10. Bush was a POLITICAL STRATEGIST for many years working w/ Lee Atwater and

Karl Rove since the early 70s. That meant DIRTY TRICKS R US - nothing too dirty or too low for them.

Are you not familiar with the crap those two had pulled WHILE Bush was working with them?

[emulatorloo]

5. Bush just loved Lee Atwater - no doubt Lee taught him well!

<snip>

During that election, future president George W. Bush, the then vice president's son, took an office across the hall from Atwater's office, where his job was to serve as "the eyes and ears for my dad," monitoring the activities of Atwater and other campaign staff. In her memoir, Barbara Bush said that George W. and Atwater became "great friends."

<snip>

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Atwater

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

44. Did he teach him the deathbed

mea culpa?

Stay tuned.

[pacalo]

22. Of course they did. However...

In the footnote at the bottom of page 3, the last sentence reads: "It is not known, however, what involvement, if any, anyone at the White House may have had concerning the alleged scheme to "jam" phones on Election Day in 2002."

My balloon has burst. Again.

[emulatorloo]

3. kick n/t

[BeachBuckeye]

8. We'll have an interview on The Guy James Show today with Christy Setzer

Christy is Communications Director for the senate Majority Project which has been working hard on this case.

She will be on at 4:05 www.theguyjamesshow.com

[stop the bleeding]

9. can't believe that I am only the second nomination on this

this is HUGH folks - freakin huge I tell ya

[OregonBlue]

12. Done.

[leftyladyfrommo]

13. Let's hope so. But we may find out it's nothing.

But this would be really fun, huh?

[leftyladyfrommo]

15. GO OVER TO RAW STORY - THEY HAVE AN ARTICLE ON IT NOW

This may have feet!

[patcox2]

33. AND IT DOESN'T SAY WHAT THEY CLAIM!

Sorry, but the defendant never says that their was any white house involvement. The filing specifically says that the defense has no evidence of white house involevment.

[chill_wind]

38. THIS is what it says (footnote). "It is not known."

"It should also be noted that a convicted co-conspirator, James Tobin, is
alleged to have had telephone contact with the White House during the time period that the phonejamming scheme was unfolding. Larry Margasak, Phone Jamming Records Point to White House,
Assoc. Press, April 11, 2006.

It appears that Mr. Tobin may have had telephone contact with Ken
Mehlman and Alicia Davis in the White House Office of Political Affairs, during the time that the alleged scheme was unfolding. It is not known, however, what involvement, if any, anyone at the White House may have had concerning the alleged scheme to “jam” phones on Election Day in 2002."

*****************************************8
"It is not known."

Guess that's the whole point of this filing I linked to here. There is an interest in finding out what WH involvment there may have been:

http://www.senatemajority.com/files/MOTION_6_8_06.pdf

[Judi Lynn]

16. James Tobin has been desperate to avoid going to jail.

I think he's out on bail right now, pending his appeal, isn't he?

Maybe the pressure is building as local Democrats are coming closer to some answers:

Dems want to depose ex-RNC chief in phone jamming civil suit
June 8, 2006

CONCORD, N.H. --State Democrats are digging for more information about the Election Day 2002 plot that jammed get-out-the-vote telephone lines.

They are asking a judge to force former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie and other national GOP operatives to answer questions under oath, according to court papers.

State Democratic Party officials say they are making deposition requests based on evidence from the criminal trial of former Bush campaign official James Tobin, of Bangor, Maine, who was sentenced last month to 10 months in prison on charges he helped plan the phone jamming. Tobin was convicted in December of two felony telephone harassment charges. He was acquitted of a third, more serious charge, of conspiring against voters rights.

Democrats are suing New Hampshire Republicans to find out how far up the chain of command the phone jamming plot reached, which tied up Democratic and a nonpartisan get-out-the-vote and ride-to-the-polls phone lines for more than an hour on Nov. 5, 2002, before Republicans called it off. The motion includes a request for White House phone and cell phone records.
(snip/...)

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/06/08/dems_want_to_depose_ex_rnc_chief_in_phone_jamming_civil_suit/



Election meddling, phone jamming, Republican James Tobin

[dweller]

46. well, oh crap.

"how far up the chain of command the phone jamming plot reached"


how's his heart?

jus checkin' / sayin'

dp

[fearthem]

17. Maybe that's why they are making a big deal out of terror plot in NYC....

another diversion tactic.

[JudyM]

23. Yes, they have a bunch of these ready to pull out whenever convenient. nt

[Vidar]

18. Promising K&R.

[MelissaB]

20. Link to story:

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Man_indicted_in_election_day_phone_0707.html

:kick:

[patcox2]

21. "It is not known what involvement any at the White House may have had."

Thats what the actual "motion" says (its not a motion, just a notice of affirmative defenses). It does not say what Rawstory's headline says it says.

Its hype, as usual.

[chill_wind]

39. But there IS a motion to get WH staff & other depositions

ie Alicia Davis and WH custodian of records for the Exec Office of The President

RS didn't link to it, and he only mentioned Ed Gillepsie, but the thing is here:

http://www.senatemajority.com/files/MOTION_6_8_06.pdf

It is NOT the non-story- simple "hype" that you called it- that you keep insisting it is, and nowhere does the Hansen filing say "there is no evidence" of WH involvement, which you also keep asserting. It says "it is not known."

And that appears to be the point of the above Motion of 6-8-06, for apparantly rather good reason-- To find out.

[chill_wind]

24. The motion seeks to depose Gillespie

per the boston.com link:

"The motion dated Wednesday seeks permission to depose Gillespie, who in conjunction with the White House, signed off on the RNC decision to foot Tobin's legal bills, according to court documents. Democrats also want to question Alicia Davis, former deputy to current RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman when he was political affairs director in the White House. Mehlman has said he and his staff did not talk to New Hampshire Republicans about a phone jamming plot."

I am loving it!

[Vinca]

25. Hmmm - if it had been Democrats blocking Republican lines,

do you think there would have been a serious Congressional investigation? At least it's in the court record, for whatever that's worth. (Spine check for Democrats in the Senate and House.)

[Nothing Without Hope]

26. ***PERMALINK & EXCERPT FROM RAW STORY ARTICLE***

http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Man_indicted_in_election_day_phone_0707.html

(snip)

Phone records show hundreds of phone calls from the New Hampshire Republican Party and convicted phone jammer James Tobin to the White House Office of Political Affairs during the time the scheme was being planned and carried out.

The Republican National Committee, which shelled out millions to defend Tobin, has said it is "preposterous" to suggest the calls involved phone jamming.

According to AP, "The phone records show that most calls to the White House were from Tobin, who became President Bush's presidential campaign chairman for the New England region in 2004. Other calls from New Hampshire senatorial campaign offices to the White House could have been made by a number of people."

A liberal political action group, Senate Majority Project, also uncovered that GOP Marketplace, which subcontracted out the hang-up calls to Hansen’s Mylo Enterprises, was partly owned by Mississippi Governor and former RNC Chair Haley Barbour.

{snip}

[The Backlash Cometh]

28. Oh, my God! OH MY GOD! Not just a smoking gun, but fingerprints

too!

[patcox2]

31. You didn't read it, did you? RS exaggerates like this often.

There is actually no evidence whatsoever of whitehouse involvement, read the affidavit, it says the guy knows nothing about the White House's role.

[The Backlash Cometh]

43. We're getting close, I can feel it.

Yes, I read the article. The phone logs say a lot. Certainly very promising.

[TexasLawyer]

29. Love it!!!

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

:popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn::popcorn:

[chill_wind]

30. AP/yahoo story from April 2006 + Record of WH Phone Calls (pdf file)

The link below points to yahoo for the story (which no longer has it)
I remember the story regarding the phone calls from that time-frame when it broke, however.

Phone-Jamming Records Point to White House
(LARRY MARGASAK, Associated Press)

<…>
White House political affairs office — between Sept. 17 and Nov. 22, 2002. Two dozen of the calls were made from 9:28 a.m. the day before the election through 2:17 a.m. the night after the voting. There also were other calls between Republican officials during the period that the scheme was hatched and canceled. rosecutors did not need the White House calls to convict Tobin and negotiate the two guilty pleas.

<…>

Virtually all the calls to the White House went to the same number, which currently rings inside the political affairs office. In 2002, White House political affairs was led by now-RNC chairman Ken Mehlman. The White House declined to say which staffer was assigned that phone number in 2002.

link: http://news.outsidethebeltway.com/2006/04/phone-jamming-records-point-to-white-house/

This story refers to ROVE fund-raising in NH:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Senate Majority Project
Contact: Mike Gehrke 202-204-9054 or Christy Setzer 617-512-7572
Monday, June 12, 2006

ROVE RETURNS TO THE SCENE OF THE CRIME
Inspiration for Republican Corruption and Divisiveness Welcomed by NH Republicans


New Hampshire Republican State Chair Wayne Semprini has told the Associated Press that as much as half the proceeds of tonight's event will go to help pay legal costs associated with the 2002 phone jamming. Semprini has also ironically said that dealing with the phone jamming is siphoning off money that could be used for legitimate election efforts.�

Unexplained as of yet is the fact that communication occurred not only between the Office of Political Affairs at the time the plot was being planned, carried out and scrapped, but also communication between the New Hampshire state party and Rove's own office at the time the plot was being planned.

more: http://www.senatemajority.com/node/375

See also In Manchester, Rove mum on phone-jamming scandal

By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter
Tuesday, Jun. 13, 2006

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Rove+mum+on+phone-jamming+scandal&articleId=1a0383d0-1437-4117-b0f6-2f4a235c7ede


Record of WH Phone Calls (pdf)
http://www.senatemajority.com/files/ALL_WHITE_HOUSE_CALLS.pdf

********************************************************************

A good run-down of events and all the spagetti-like GOP groups of entanglements current thru may 06 at sourcewatch:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=2002_Election_NH_%22Phone_Jamming%22_Case

[chill_wind]

35. And here is the 11-page Motion seeking depositions 6-08-06 ( pdf)

I found it at this site, which has been following this closely:
http://www.senatemajority.com


They want to get depositions from Chris Cupit, Alicia Davis, Ed Gillepie, Darrell Henry, Chris Lacivita, Terry Nelson, the custodian of records for the Exec Office of the President, and the custodian of records for the US Chamber of Commerce.

http://www.senatemajority.com/files/MOTION_6_8_06.pdf


They are also looking for the WH custodian of records to identify who owned 11 unidentified phone numbers in the call list.

Stock up heavy on the popcorn, oh yes.

[Whoa_Nelly]

32. Messing with voters' rights

Why can't this be impeachable? This is so totally fucked up!!! And so completely and deliberately NOT upholding the Constitution and the responsibility of POTUS.

Fuckwads!!!!

Sure hope it does pan out!!!!


on edit:

Also ABUSE OF POWER!

Have I mentioned lately how much I despise these thugs in the WH? :grr:

[brentspeak]

34. Raystory headline is misleading

From the Rawstory article (my bold):

"Mr. Hansen may assert that the government, or an agent therof, actually induced the offenses with which Mr. Hansen is charged, and was not otherwise prediposed to commit," Hansen's lawyer Jeffrey Levin writes.

"Mr. Hansen may asserts (sic) the defense of "derivative entrapment" in which the government uses a private party as its agent," Levin adds.

[Roland99]

37. Maybe he's hedging his bets. Dishing dirt vs. a lighter sentence, perhaps?

[Divine Discontent]

36. my rich aunt....

will make an excuse that all politicians do this, and this one person just must want to stir up trouble to get in the news...

I'm not shitting you.


their supporters (all 30% of them) would defend bush & cheney sacrificing their children at the altar if they said it was to save humanity....

gull-able!



www.cafepress.com/warisprofitable <<<--- check it out!

[stepnw1f]

40. Of Course Bush and His People Were Involved

anyone who doesn't think so is either a Bush dope or just plain naive.

[Nothing Without Hope]

42. Here's a pdf file of the motion filed by the defense attorney

It's at the Raw Story site for the article.

http://www.senatemajority.com/files/HANSEN_AFFIRMATIVE_DEFENSES.pdf

(The Raw Story site for the article is here: http://www.rawstory.com/news/2006/Man_indicted_in_election_day_phone_0707.html)

[chill_wind]

45. More analysis of the list of possible legal strategies - link

Phone Jammer to Argue DC Officials Approved

http://www.senatemajority.com/node/425

"Not all GOP operatives are as quiet as James Tobin. The next phone jamming trial - for the former President of Idaho-based Mylo Enterprises - looks to be a whole different story.

Unlike Tobin, Hansen's defense is not being financed by the Republican National Committee. Rather, it is being paid for by the taxpayers.
Hansen is being represented by Jeffrey Levin, Assistant Federal Public Defender in the New Hampshire Federal Defender's office.

Check out more on all of this at
Senate Majority Project Phone Jamming Library.

http://www.senatemajority.com/node/227