TPM: NH Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) Pushes for Phone Jamming Investigation

NH Rep Pushes for Phone Jamming Investigation
By Paul Kiel - September 6, 2007, 5:11 PM
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004092.php


The New Hampshire phone jamming caper lives on!

In a letter to House oversight committee Chairman Henry Waxman (D-CA) today, Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) asks that the committee investigate. Not only is there evidence that the White House might have been involved in the jamming, Hodes writes, but there's evidence that Justice Department officials interfered in the prosecution. He wants the committee to "determine if a politically motivated plot did in fact obstruct justice in this case, and if so to take such steps as may be reasonable." You can read his letter here (http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/hodes-phone-jamming/). Democrats had earlier requested (http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/002839.php) that the Senate Judiciary Committee probe the matter.

==========================================
GOP Official Faces Sentence in Phone-Jamming
Democratic Lines Were Blocked in 2002 as New Hampshire Elected U.S. Senator
By Thomas B. Edsall - May 17, 2006; Page A10
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/05/16/AR2006051601712.html

...................

When voting began Nov. 5, McGee's plan worked like a charm. For two crucial hours, an Idaho telecommunications firm tied up Democratic and union phone lines, bringing their get-out-the-vote plans to a halt. The effort helped John E. Sununu (R) win his Senate seat by 51 to 47 percent, a 19,151-vote margin.

Well before Election Day ended, however, the scheme began to implode ....

Tobin, a longtime GOP operative, was later appointed New England chairman for the Bush-Cheney '04 campaign, but resigned when he became a subject of the federal criminal inquiry. On Dec. 15, 2005, Tobin, 45, was convicted of two counts of telephone harassment.

Former RNC chairman Ed Gillespie decided to pay Tobin's legal fees. "He was accused of doing something in his capacity as an RNC consultant, and we believed him to be innocent," Gillespie said. While the RNC had no contractual obligation, "it's the custom, not written anywhere, that you covered your people," Gillespie said.

Gillespie said he informed the White House, but did not seek formal approval, before authorizing the payments. Mehlman said that under his chairmanship, consulting contracts now explicitly declare that independent contractors must be prepared to pay their own legal costs in civil and criminal cases.

A Third-Rate Crank Phone Call
by emptywheel - May 20, 2006
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2006/05/a_thirdrate_cra.html


The Republican Party just spent $3 million to try to prevent a guy from serving 10 months of jail time for sponsoring crank phone calls. I'm speaking, of course, of James Tobin, who just got sent to jail (directly, do not pass go and do not get bail while waiting to appeal) for his role in jamming Democratic phones on election day 2002. As a point of comparison:

The RNC's legal fees exceed the $2.4 million spent by Sununu, the winner of the U.S. Senate race.

Or, for another point of comparison, a bunch of Neocon donors (but not, it should be emphasized, the Republican Party itself) plan to spend $5 million to make sure Scooter Libby doesn't do anything that might send Dick Cheney to jail. .............

In an ever smaller pool of co-conspirators, someone still has to do the job!

=================
Gillespie Squared
by emptywheel - August 16, 2007
http://thenexthurrah.typepad.com/the_next_hurrah/2007/08/gillespie-squar.html

Rove's bed is not even cold and already Ed Gillespie is crawling into it. .... Gillespie took over Dan Bartlett's duties after Bartlett unexpectedly left. That's a whole lot of irreplaceable that Gillespie has replaced.

Which leads me to ask, once again, why Gillespie?

The news reports rehearse several aspects of Gillespie's experience: head of communications for the 2000 recount, support for the Roberts and Alito nomination battles, lie and forgetfulness coach for Alberto Gonzales' appearance before Congress.

Somehow, though, news reports always miss one of the most important things Gillespie has done for the Bush Administration: overseeing the New Hampshire phone-jamming damage control.

Why bring back a guy who, when the Republicans were about to get caught for illegally tampering with an election, played the fix-it and firewall role perfectly (well, kinda). I'm speaking, of course, about the New Hampshire phone-jamming scandal, in which Gillespie took all responsibility for the decision to pay James Tobin's legal bills, even though it's fairly clear the White House (the same White House that Tobin had called repeatedly during his phone-jamming operation) bought off on the decision too.

Which all suggests a guy like Gillespie could come in handy again, now that the Judiciary investigations have nowhere else to go but to Karl Rove, Scott Jennings, the recently-departed Sara Taylor, and the long-departed Harriet Miers (presumably some of the same folks who signed off on paying Tobin's legal bills). .... It will all seem so familiar to Gillespie.

Particularly given the multiple possibilities that Rove left three steps ahead of the sheriff, I think Gillespie's past work for the Administration may come in very handy.

Gillespie Can't Get Story Straight on Legal Bills
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000694.php


By Paul Kiel - May 19, 2006, 10:53 AM After the reams of bad press the Republican National Committee's gotten for covering millions in legal bills for anti-democratic felons, Ed Gillespie, the RNC's former chair, is attempting to fall on his sword and take the blame. But he keeps missing. The more he tries to explain that he alone is to blame for the decision, the more it becomes apparent that he had at least tacit approval from the White House. Here's his latest (http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=White+House+knew+of+payments+for+Tobin's+defense&articleId=e9385b57-a710-4d70-b7d3-fcb1c5d46a5c):

The former chairman of the Republican National Committee remembers telling someone at the White House that he had decided to have the RNC pay the legal defense bills for convicted phone-jamming conspirator James Tobin, but he can’t remember who. Ed Gillespie told the New Hampshire Union Leader yesterday he informed the White House after he decided to authorize payment. The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that Gillespie told its reporter that he had “informed the White House, without seeking formal approval, before authorizing the payments.” Gillespie told the Union Leader the two accounts were “consistent” because .............

The only way that Republicans can win now in NH is by cheating. I love the fact that it's turning blue.

Anyone have current status news on this civil action?

=================
NH Phone Jamming
NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATS MOVE TO DEPOSE FORMER RNC CHAIR GILLESPIE, TOP RNC, NRSC AND WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS IN PHONE JAMMING CASE
Submitted by Hilary Sargent on June 8, 2006 - 10:09am.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Senate Majority Project
Contact: Mike Gehrke 202-204-9054 or Christy Setzer 617-512-7572
Thursday, June 8, 2006
http://www.senatemajority.com/taxonomy/term/65?page=1


NEW HAMPSHIRE DEMOCRATS MOVE TO DEPOSE FORMER RNC CHAIR GILLESPIE, TOP RNC, NRSC AND WHITE HOUSE OFFICIALS IN PHONE JAMMING CASE

Dems seek White House phone records of Ken Mehlman, others

Today, the New Hampshire Democratic Party filed documents outlining a bold move in its legal strategy against the Republican phone jamming criminals. Based on evidence and testimony from the criminal trial of convicted RNC, NRSC and former Bush campaign official James Tobin, the NHDP asked the court to allow it to depose top Republican officials in Washington, D.C.

“You can run from New Hampshire, but you can’t hide in Washington, DC,” said Senate Majority Project Executive Director Mike Gehrke. “It looks like the multi-million dollar stonewall strategy of Ken Mehlman and the Republican National Committee is crumbling. Top Republican party officials will finally have to answer, under oath, whether they knew about the plan of national operatives to stop New Hampshire voters from going to the polls on Election Day 2002, and whether they helped carry out or conceal the conspiracy.”

Those named in the motion include former Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie, former White House political director (and current RNC Chairman) Ken Mehlman, and Terry Nelson, a top strategist in the political operation of Sen. John McCain.

Others who the New Hampshire Democrats are seeking to depose: .............

The NHDP asks the White House records custodian for the following:

o Identify who at the White House was assigned to a list of phone numbers. The phone numbers were all called by Tobin, John Dowd (then NHRSC Chair), Jayne Millerick (72-hour director, then NHRSC Chair), or the NHRSC.
+ 202-456-6173 (believed to have been assigned to Alicia Davis)
+ 202-456-6287
+ 202-456-2108
+ 202-456-7016
+ 202-456-3738
+ 202-456-2565
+ 202-456-8838
+ 202-456-5958
+ 202-456-7350
+ 202-456-6334
+ 202-456-7787

o White House phone records from 10/1/02 – 3/1/03 for all outgoing calls made by both Alicia Davis and Ken Mehlman.
o Cell phone records for both Alicia Davis and Ken Mehlman from 10/1/02 – 3/1/03.
o Identification of all phone numbers and/or fax lines in the White House Political Affairs office paid for by the RNC.

PHONE JAMMING 101
New Hampshire Phone Jamming Library
http://www.senatemajority.com/node/227

Recent Media Coverage - New Hampshire Phone Jamming
http://www.senatemajority.com/recent_media_coverage.html

========================
While not up to date today, there are lots of links to follow from the above.

# John Conyers (D-MI) asks Attorney General to Appoint Special Counsel to Investigate Phone Jamming:
http://www.senatemajority.com/node/227

* On May 12, John Conyers (D-MI), the ranking minority member on the House Judiciary Committee, called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to appoint a special counsel to investigate the GOP New Hampshire phone jamming scandal.
o Conyers wrote: "A special counsel outside of the Department is needed, however, because there are possible connections between the plot and the White House, as well as potential federal electionlaw violations stemming from state Republican Party reporting of Native American tribedonations connected with Jack Abramoff, that have yet to be examined."
o The letter went on to say: "As you are aware, under the Department's regulations, you are required to appoint a special counsel when (1) a criminal investigation of a person or matter is warranted, (2) the investigation by a United States Attorney's Office or litigating Division of the Department ofJustice would present a conflict of interest for the Department,� and (3) it would be in the public interest to appoint an outside Special Counsel to assume responsibility for the matter. There is little doubt that all three factors are met in this case."
o Read the entire letter here. http://www.senatemajority.com/files/CONYERSLETTER_5_12_06.pdf

Phone-Jamming Records Point to White House
by Larry Margasak AP - April 11, 2006
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines06/0411-01.htm


Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show.

The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 — as the phone jamming operation was finalized, carried out and then abruptly shut down.

The national Republican Party, which paid millions in legal bills to defend Tobin, says the contacts involved routine election business and that it was "preposterous" to suggest the calls involved phone jamming.

The Justice Department has secured three convictions in the case but hasn't accused any White House or national Republican officials of wrongdoing, nor made any allegations suggesting party officials outside New Hampshire were involved. The phone records of calls to the White House were exhibits in Tobin's trial but prosecutors did not make them part of their case.

Democrats plan to ask a federal judge Tuesday to order GOP and White House officials to answer questions about the phone jamming in a civil lawsuit alleging voter fraud.

....................

Senators ask Ashcroft to let phone-jamming suit go forward
10/19/2004 = http://www.usatoday.com/news/politicselections/nation/2004-10-19-phone-jamming_x.htm

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — Two Democratic senators asked U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft on Tuesday to stop interfering in a civil suit over phone-jamming by New Hampshire Republicans during the 2002 elections.

U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and Patrick Leahy of Vermont wrote a letter demanding that the Justice Department, which is pursuing a separate criminal case, withdraw its request to put the civil case on hold for six months.

Lawyers for the Democratic Party were scheduled to take sworn testimony from Republican witnesses last week about a national GOP official who allegedly approved the phone-jamming operation.

At the last minute, Justice Department lawyers involved in the criminal case called and said they were going to ask for a stay. The GOP witnesses did not show up, despite a state court order requiring them to do so. ..........

Scandal of DOJ slow-walk of GOP scandal (NH phone-jamming)
by Betsy Devine
Tue Apr 03, 2007
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/22/17319/1010

Many new voices are now asking why the Federal investigation of the NH's 2002 phone-jamming scandal moved so slowly. (Paul Krugman called it a "slow-walk.")

How long should it take the US Department of Justice--and NH's Bush-appointed US Attorney Thomas Colantuono--to investigate phone-jamming? Just for comparison, in Virginia in 2002, a GOP official was indicted in April of 2002 for a phone-crime committed in March of 2002.

If you're new to this angle, or wondering where to dig further, this post would be a very good place to start.
Betsy Devine's diary :: http://betsy-devine.dailykos.com/ ::

If you want to look into this further, here are the fishiest bits in this whole fishy story: .............

Mailbag: DOJ Still Looking for Mystery White House Investigation
Mike Gehrke - July 6, 2006
http://www.senatemajority.com/mailbag_doj_still_looking_for_mystery_white_house_investigation

Today, the Senate Majority Project received a non-answer to its Freedom of Information Act request for the results of a Department of Justice investigation that allegedly clears White House officials of any knowledge or wrongdoing in the case. .....

Nearly three months ago, a RNC lawyer told reporters that the DOJ had conducted an investigation ...... Robert Kelner, a D.C. attorney representing the RNC brushed aside the calls saying that the DOJ had already investigated them with an eye to bringing charges against White House officials: phone jammers to the White House at the time the plot was being hatched, cancelled and covered up.

"In regards to the White House calls, the Department of Justice had known about them for a long time, investigated those calls, and did not bring any charges."

We called on the White House and Department of Justice to release the results of the investigation. So far there has been no response from the Attorney General's office. Attorney General Gonzales has also failed to respond to letters from Senators Patrick Leahy and Edward Kennedy seeking answers about the DOJ;s investigations into the scheme.

.... After it was reported that the White House talked extensively with one of the leaders of the plot, Rep. John Conyers called for the appointment of a special counsel to resolve the matter. After all, Gonzales was the White House counsel at the time, and would have been placed in a position where he was in charge of investigating himself.......

I find it interesting to see all the players linked in this case, from the White House down to state Rs, plus the issue of election fraud, and the politization of the Justice department. This really ties in with the other investigations. What is different? Guilty pleas!

Of particular interest is how actors in the White House political affairs office (why that exists is a different issue) decided to pay for the defense.

There are a lot of unanswered questions in this scenario. Was this part of a nation-wide strategy of rigging elections, spanning various elections? We know Florida 2000 was stolen by illegally purging the voter rolls. Where and when else?

http://talkingpointsmemo.com/phonejamming.php

October, 2002

Sometime in October of 2002, Charles McGee, the Executive Director of the New Hampshire Republican State Committee (NHRSC), informs James Tobin - then the New England Regional Director of the Republican National Committee and Northeast political director for the National Republican Senatorial Committee - that he wants to hire a telephone services company to jam Democratic phone banks on Election Day. (Tobin's May 18, 2005 indictment)

October, 2002

Sometime in October of 2002, after hearing McGee's plan, James Tobin provides McGee with the contact information for Allen Raymond, a former colleague of Tobin's and president of a Virginia-based telephone services vendor called GOP Marketplace. Tobin "recommended that McGee call Raymond to seek his help with the described plan." (Tobin's May 18, 2005 indictment)

October 10, 2002

The Mississippi Choctaw, a tribal client of Jack Abramoff's, writes a $10,000 check to the NHRSC. Around the same time, the Agua Caliente tribe of California, also an Abramoff client, gives $10,000 as well.

...............

Abramoff, Scanlon, and the New Hampshire Phone Jamming
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000343.php
By Paul Kiel - April 11, 2006,

Was Jack Abramoff involved somehow in the New Hampshire phone jamming? New details discovered by TPMmuckraker.com strengthen the case..... now there are new details that show that two of Abramoff's business associates, Michael Scanlon and Ralph Reed, had both hired GOP Marketplace, the consulting firm hired to do the jamming, to do election work during the same year. According to a source close to the case, GOP Marketplace's work for Scanlon had related to the Lousiana Coushatta's election for tribal chairman. The Coushatta were an Abramoff client. Clearly Allen Raymond, who ran GOP Marketplace and who's since pled guilty to his role in the phone jamming, was tapped into Jack Abramoff's business circle. And the tribes' contributions to the New Hampshire Republican State Committee (NHRSC), which paid Raymond's GOP Marketplace $15,600 to execute the jamming, show Abramoff taking a curious interest in New Hampshire.....

the NHRSC deposited the contributions on October 28, 2002, eight days before Election Day, when the jamming took place. .... There is no clear reason why Indian tribes in Mississippi and California would have been giving money to the New Hampshire Republican Party, except at Abramoff's behest.

K & R

:kick:

AP: Former GOP Chief Funded Dirty Tricks Firm
By Justin Rood - April 28, 2006
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000496.php

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Phone_Jamming_Barbour.html

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, a former Republican Party chairman, arranged the startup financing for a GOP telemarketing company implicated in two criminal cases involving election dirty tricks. . . . Barbour's investment company arranged a quarter-million dollar loan to GOP Marketplace in 2000 ... the loan gave the investors a stake in the company.

Does that mean Barbour profited off the dirty tricks campaigns? Also interesting: The company's founder, Allen Raymond, once worked for Barbour at the Republican National Committee, according to the AP article. Raymond's now serving a three-month prison term for jamming phones in New Hampshire on election day 2002. His company was implicated in an earlier scheme in New Jersey to make harrassing phone calls to voters.

========================
http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000528.php
Barbour Had Controlling Interest in Phone Jamming Firm
By Paul Kiel - May 3, 2006, 10:55 AM Last Friday, the AP reported (http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Phone_Jamming_Barbour.html) that GOP big-wig Haley Barbour was one of the investors in GOP Marketplace, the consulting firm central to the New Hampshire phone jamming. But a closer read of the company's founding documents shows a much deeper connection than Barbour admitted to the AP. He had direct control over the company's management. ...........

Rep. Hodes asks for phone jamming probe
By JOHN DISTASO
Senior Political Reporter
Thursday, Sep. 6, 2007
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Rep.+Hodes+asks+for+phone+jamming+probe&articleId=fd15fc77-28ff-47c0-8359-65ca11f01451

Democratic Rep. Paul Hodes is seeking a congressional probe of whether the White House and federal justice department were involved in a "politically motivated plot" to delay and obstruct justice in the state Republican phone jamming scheme of Election Day 2002.

.... James Tobin, who put McGee in touch with Raymond, had his 2005 federal jury conviction on two telephone harassment charges 10-month prison sentence overturned earlier this year by an appeals court. A new trial is scheduled for December in Concord to address issues raised by the appeals court.

.... Democrats say the conclusion of the federal criminal probe and a related state court civil suit against the state GOP left unanswered whether White House officials had a role in the scheme and whether the justice department purposely delayed seeking Tobin's indictment until after 2004 elections.

In March, state Democrats asked for a congressional probe amid a furor about the firings of eight federal prosecutors by then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. ....

"suspicious ties between the phone jamming conspiracy and the White House, as well as delays in prosecution and improper interference by the United State's Attorney General's Office in the criminal prosecution undertaken by the U.S. Attorney of New Hampshire."

Hodes, who is a member of the committee, asked Waxman to have the committee "determine if a politically motivated plot did in fact obstruct justice in this case."

US attorney scandal and NH phone-jamming
by Betsy Devine - Mar 10, 2007
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/11/0835/06745

Hey--what about the US Attorneys who didn't get fired? Paul Krugman is asking (http://bocaguy.blogspot.com/2007/03/department-of-injustice.html)--and it's a good question.

Check out the US Attorney in charge of the NH phone-jamming, Thomas Colantuono (http://betsydevine.weblogger.com/2006/05/03). Does Gonzales give prizes for slow response to Republican dirty tricks? It took Colantuono's people more than a year before the FBI questioned their top/only suspect in the NH phone-jamming, a crime by Republicans.

But in other matters, Colantuono could move fast. Just before the 2004 elections, he moved fast to block Democrats from questioning phone-jamming suspects--and fast again to file corruption charges against a NH Democrat.

In 2006, right after the Democrats' landmark electoral victory, Colantuono also moved fast to shut down his phone-jamming enquiries, making a guilty plea deal with the last defendant (http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/11/17/20834/122) that gave the Feds nothing and the Republicans everything. Let me back this sordid story up with more detail.

RNC phone-jamming lawyer spills disturbing beans
by Betsy Devine - Mar 17, 2007
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/3/18/02630/0363


Scarily revealing is the oh-so-subtle promo (pdf http://www.cov.com/files/Publication/72182424-2fe2-4626-af94-7f3e94d5ff28/Presentation/PublicationAttachment/417d318f-eeeb-40b4-88c3-85089046bd1e/704.pdf) for DC white-shoe lawfirm Covington and Burling co-authored by one of the many high-priced DC lawyers who worked for the RNC on the NH phone-jamming, one Robert Kelner. (http://www.cov.com/biographies/detail.aspx?attorney=11446&morepubs=true Quotes etc. below the fold.)

Phone-jamming fans may recall that Kelner let slip some embarassing info (http://betsydevine.com/blog/2006/04/13/damn-good-question/) to a TV station in NH--making it clear that the RNC's defense lawyers were fully informed about DOJ investigations into the phone-jamming's White House connection, although said investigations were kept a deep secret from Democrats.

Kelner's remark inspired a Freedom of Information Request (http://www.senatemajority.com/node/221) to the DOJ (pdf http://www.senatemajority.com/files/DOJFOIA.pdf), filed on April 18, 2006 but not yet answered by the DOJ.

BLOGGED BY Brad Friedman ON 4/10/2006
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=2679


2002 GOP Election Phone-Jamming Convictions Leading into White House...
Convicted Republicans Hired, then Fired from Bush/Cheney '04 Made Dozens of Calls to WH 'Political Office' Just Before and During '02 Election

More on the Phone-Jamming charges against (so-far) Republican officials. The matter now seems to be reaching into the White House as reported by AP (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060410/ap_on_go_pr_wh/election_phone_jamming):

WASHINGTON - Key figures in a phone-jamming scheme designed to keep New Hampshire Democrats from voting in 2002 had regular contact with the White House and Republican Party as the plan was unfolding, phone records introduced in criminal court show.

The records show that Bush campaign operative James Tobin, who recently was convicted in the case, made two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day 2002 .....

.............."

Read the full story (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060410/ap_on_go_pr_wh/election_phone_jamming) for many more details, but it should be noted that the White House hired Tobin to work their North-Eastern regional campaign in 2004 even after they already knew he was under investigation for the 2002 charges. He was only asked to leave his '04 post once the reports of the '02 investigation became public knowledge.

(Hat tip to RAW STORY. http://www.rawstory.com/)

2002 New Hampshire Senate election phone jamming scandal
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2002_New_Hampshire_Senate_election_phone_jamming_scandal

Needs updating now.

He was on the poo list for not supporting impeachment or the Conyers/Kucinich health care bill.

the Dems could call the witnesses by their prisoner numbers :rofl:

We need to drag a series of prisoners into hearings, like Congressman Ney, Abramoff ..... to communicate more of this Culture of Corruption to the media.

Hodes Requests House Investigation into White House and DOJ Involvement in Phone Jamming Case
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
http://www.democracyfornewhampshire.com/node/view/4617

“I am asking that the Oversight Committee investigate whether a politically motivated plot subverted justice in this case”


WASHINGTON, DC—Congressman Paul Hodes submitted a letter today to the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, of which he is a member, requesting that the Committee investigate whether the White House was illegally involved in New Hampshire’s 2002 phone jamming scandal and whether the Department of Justice purposely mishandled the subsequent investigation.

“Voting is our most sacred right,” Congressman Hodes said. “If anyone, let alone the federal government, has obstructed our right to free and fair elections, it is critical that it be known.”

Records cited in the Congressman’s letter show that:

1. Twenty-two phone calls were exchanged between New Hampshire Republican officials and the White House Office of Political Affairs from 11:20 a.m. on Election Day 2002 to 2:17 a.m. the next morning, the period during which the phone jamming occurred.

2. The Republican National Committee paid over $2.5 million in legal fees resulting from criminal charges filed against the defendants.

3. John Durkin (counsel for the Republican criminal defendants) was told by a DOJ prosecutor that all decisions in this case had to be approved by the Attorney General himself, a highly unusual requirement which blocked all progress on the case and delayed the conviction of James Tobin, Regional Political Director for the National Republican Party, until after the 2004 Presidential election.

Rep. Paul Hodes (D-NH) Letter Requesting Phone Jamming Investigation
09-06-2007

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/docs/hodes-phone-jamming/