Federal prosecutors today (Thursday) stepped into the phone jamming civil suit that New Hampshire Democrats have brought against the New Hampshire GOP.
New Hampshire Public Radio's David Darman has more.
Federal prosecutors have asked a Hillsborough County Superior Court judge to hold off Democratic depositions of a Republican official.
Democrats to reveal the identity of a yet unnamed Bush/Cheney official who may have been involved in jamming phone lines at Democratic party headquarters during the 2002 election.
Federal prosecutors are also conducting a criminal investigation into the matter.
Ovide Lamontagne is a Manchester attorney representing the Republican State Committee.
He says the request keeps the name from becoming publicly known, which is proper given a federal investigation is under way.
and the government knows who these indivuals are who that individual is. the government is in position to complete this prosecutorial function. and its not for the democrats to do that.
The Hillsborough county judge overseeing the case had ruled that the deposition could go forward when the Republican Party had tried to stop it.
Only the U.S. Justice Department's intervention has so far kept it from happening.
Kathy Sullivan is New Hampshire's Democratic Party chairman.
She says the timing of the federal intervention troubles her.
the federal government did not step in yesterday, when the hearing was taking place in this matter. the federal government did not step in until after the judge ruled in our favor. they did not step in until 40 minutes before the deposition was about to start.
The Republican Party's former executive director, Chuck McGee, pleaded guilty to the illegal phone jamming scheme.
He resigned when the matter first came to light.
McGee faces sentencing in December.
But Democrats want to identify anyone else within the Bush/Cheney campaign who was involved.
They say that identification needs to happen soon, so that person can be fired before election day in November.
Democrats are heading back to court to try and reinstate the deposition.
A judge must once again decide whether it can go forward.
