Phone Jamming Scandal Gets Hearing in US House

In 2002, then Governor Jeanne Shaheen was facing then Representative John E Sununu for one of New Hampshire’s US Senate seats.

As New Hampshire Democrats were gearing up their election day get out the vote effort in Manchester, Republican operatives began jamming their phone lines.

That much is clear.

Four people have been convicted of the crime and three have served time.

The case of the fourth, James Tobin, a high level republican activist, is on appeal.

The state's Republican Party has settled a civil suit with the state’s Democratic Party for one hundred and thirty five thousand dollars.

But Congressional Democrats doubt the federal investigation was done properly.

Second District Democrat Paul Hodes told a judiciary subcommittee the US Justice Department failed from the beginning.

HODES2-LEAST
:14 "At the very least the DOJ had a conflict of interest in investigating this political scheme and should have appointed a special prosecutor. The questions surrounding phone jamming warrant an unbiased complete investigation which we have not had."

Allen Raymond served three months in prison for helping arrange the phone jamming scheme.

And he says he believes his assignment was approved by top officials in the Republican Senatorial Committee Campaign.

RAYMOND3-ATTORNEYS
:07 "unusual programs never saw the light of day without a thorough vetting by committee attorneys."

The day of the scandal the White House received twenty two phone calls from people involved in the scandal.

New Hampshire Democrats say that’s evidence the Bush Administration was in on it.

However, Raymond says he has no reason to believe that.

RAYMOND1-WHITE HOUSE
:05 "I cannot link the New Hampshire phone jamming scheme in any way to George Bush's White House."

Questions have arisen about the Justice Department's investigation.

Paul Twomey (Two-mee) represented New Hampshire Democratic Party in its civil suit.

He told the Administrative Law Subcommittee that the Justice Department was a road block to his investigation.

TWOMEY1-SLOW
:10 "The Department of Justice has slow walked this case and stretched it out so that there has never been a time when we could get the answers and the full answers as to what went on."

Republicans deny any wrong doing by the administration.

Utah Representative Chris Cannon is the ranking Republican on the Administrative Law Subcommittee.

He asked why Democrats didn't investigate the phone jamming in two thousand seven – when there were no elections.

CANNON1-OLD
:15 "These cases are old news. The courts and the Department have already dealt with them, to pick them up now as we head towards the
2008 election makes me wonder if this hearing isn't more about election year politics than genuine oversight."

But subcommittee Democrats say the investigation is about Congressional oversight of the Justice Department.

Virginia Democrat Bobby Scott.

SCOTT1-DOJ
:12 "Although these incidents occurred years ago we have been stymied in conducting meaningful oversight on these issues due to the departments refusal to meaningfully respond to requests for information."

Judiciary Committee Chairman John Conyers says his committee isn't letting up any time soon.

CONYERS2-LAWYERS
:17 'We're going to continue an investigative investigation and as lawyers take our experience to anywhere it may lead and including subpoenas for the relevant documents."

The Justice Department refused to send any representative to testify before the committee.

John Sununu won that 2002 race against Jeanne Shaheen by about 20 thousand votes.

It is estimated the phone jamming affected fewer than a thousand phone calls.

When asked about the House investigation Sununu said he had no comment.

Shaheen and Sununu are facing off again in November.

For NHPR News, I'm Matt Laslo in Washington.