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Ex-GOP Operative in New Hampshire Indicted

Former Republican operative James Tobin has been indicted for making false statements to the FBI in connection with the bureau's investigation of a phone-jamming scheme in New Hampshire in 2002, according to court filings examined by TPMmuckraker.

Details to follow...

Update: Here's the indictment. It contains two counts, both related to making false statements to the FBI during its investigation into the New Hampshire GOP's effort to jam the phones of the Democratic Party on Election Day 2002.

It charges, in part:

"Tobin stated that when he first called Allen Raymond to discuss the phone-jamming scheme, Raymond and Charles McGee had already spoken with each other about the plans. In fact, as Tobin well knew, Tobin spoke with Raymond before Raymond was contacted by McGee, and Tobin requested that Raymond assist McGee with the plan."

McGee, the former executive director of the New Hampshire GOP, and Raymond, a GOP consultant, both were convicted and served jail time in connection with the scheme.

But Tobin's own 2005 conviction relating to the scheme was thrown out on appeal in 2007*.

Dane Butswinkas of the Washington law firm Williams and Connolly, who is representing Tobin, declined to comment when reached by TPMmuckraker. The Republican National Committee has in the past paid for Williams and Connolly's defense of Tobin.

And phone records released in Tobin's 2005 trial show that he made two dozen calls to the office of Ken Mehlman, then the White House's political director, within a three-day period around Election Day 2002. Mehlman has said none of the calls involved the phone-jamming incident.

According to a court document, each count is a felony with a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

*This sentence has been corrected from an earlier version.


16 Comments

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Wow! 6 years after the fact. Tell me, where is the incentive NOT to commit crimes like these?

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more like one year. after the relevant fact of his conviction being overturned.

and frankly if he had been tried, convicted, sentenced and jailed within six months of the phone jamming, i would be infinitely more concerned for the state of 'justice' in this country.

of course the rabble here in the tpmmuckraker comments section would probably be happy to forgo any of that bothersome due process. one gets the impression that pitchforks, hot tar, and/or an adequate length of rope would be the preferred tools of justice for some of you folks.

the news here is that doj is giving one more go at getting this turd convicted of something for his misdeeds.

and waiting six years before eventually ending up in prison is no less a deterrent for the wait.

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Justice delayed is justice denied...but still better late than never.

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You two aren't nearlt devious enough. This indictment is coming just in time... to receive a pardon.

Look to see a lot of 'un-named co-conspirators' indicted and pardoned in the next few months.

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I'm as devious as the next pervert but it took me so long to get logged in to the new system I didn't have time to think of any pithy comments.

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You better believe there's a pardon in this guy's future.

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This is excellent news for John Sununu

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Mukasey will be carrying a lot of water for Bush in the coming weeks, by providing and preparing cases he knows full well his boss will issue pardons for.

That's Mukasy's job, to provide cover for all the felons to be recycled into the GOP machine.

If only there were some way to delay Mukasey until after the Inauguration, we might have a real shot a Justice.

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Former Republican operative
Isn't that like referring to him as a "former capo in the Gambino family"? I mean, it may be true, but some deep transformation would have had to happen -- and I doubt the Republicans would still be paying his legal bills.
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I say put Mehlman on the stand, and see what his story is then. It is obvious that the R machine is built on lies, and these guys are happy to lie to anybody all day long...as long as they're not under oath.

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If a Republican lies to the FBI, does that still count as a crime?

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But Tobin's own 2005 conviction relating to the scheme was thrown out on appeal in 2007, and he was acquitted.

Wikipedia says he wasn't acquitted, his case was remanded for retrial. He's not off the hook quite yet.

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according to other posts, i believe tobin was acquitted earlier this year. the appeals court ruling in 2007 formed the basis of the subsequequent acquittal.

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I thought one of these guys wrote a tell all book and was even on Olberman's show touting it. Which one?

It would seem to me that given their druthers the RNC would be happier if this indictment came out on 11/5 instead of now. My guess is this pretty much sends Sununu's campaign and senatorial staff looking for jobs today instead of reporting for any more work from here on out.

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Raymond wrote a book, which was the subject of heated discussion at the cafe.

Raymond seemed to feel that the judge who convicted him had no right to lecture him on the morality of preventing people from casting a vote. He was willing to accept the fact that what he had done turned out to be illegal and was bummed that he had done something to harm himself and his family, but appeared to feel no real contrition about the act itself.

For whatever reason, the argument got vicious and personal and at least one regular poster hasn't come back, which is a shame.

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Wow, that's not the impression I got from Olberman's show. KO greeted him like the guy had seen the light and exposed the whole operation in the book. In hindsight I guess not, he was just hawking his book. If the only moral he learned is "don't get caught" that's pretty pathetic.

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