Rogers Denies Breaking Law, But Not Hiring P.I.We’re late to this, but Pat Rogers — the lawyer tied to the New Mexico GOP, who has been accused in a federal lawsuit of being behind a plan to intimidate voters — has denied that he broke the law.
“I have not violated any law and Mr. Romero has not violated any law,” Rogers said yesterday evening when reached by the Associated Press.
Rogers was referring to Al Romero, a private investigator. According to a lawsuit filed earlier this week by MALDEF, a group that advocates for the rights of Hispanics, Romero went to the homes of several Hispanic voters in Albuquerque to question them about their right to vote. The daughter of one of the women has said that Romero told her he was working for Rogers.
The visits were reported last week by TPMmuckraker and others.
Speaking yesterday to the AP, Rogers continued: “The lawsuit contains serious accusations that have no basis in law or fact. The suit is filed and advertised before the upcoming election for obvious purposes.” He did not elaborate.
It’s noteworthy that Rogers did not deny hiring Romero to contact voters about their eligibility — as he did not when asked last week by the New Mexico Independent.
Reached this afternoon by TPMmuckraker, Rogers declined to discuss the case, saying he was too busy working on the election.