McHenry's PAC Paid for Lay's Defense

According to Roll Call, a subscription-only Capitol Hill daily, Patrick McHenry used PAC funds intended for to pay for the the legal defense of Michael Aaron Lay, his former staffer and roomie convicted of voter fraud while living and working for him.

According to Wikipedia,

In the US, a political action committee, or PAC, is the name commonly given to a private group, regardless of size, organized to elect or defeat government officials or to promote or defeat legislation.

So, voter fraud is political action organized to elect government officials. So, it's all okay, right?

Here's a link.

Thanks, Boss. Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-N.C.) recently gave Michael Aaron Lay $10,000 to beat back voter fraud charges brought while the former campaign aide worked for the now-Member.

According to recent Federal Election Commission filings, McHenry gave Lay $5,000 out of his political action committee, More Conservatives PAC, in two payments during February and March.

The contributions were labeled “legal expense donation[s].” McHenry had given Lay another $10,000 in July 2007.

Last August Lay got a bizarre "deferrred prosecution" deal for the voter fraud charges. If he pays some fines, does some community service and stays out of trouble, prosecutor Locke Bell said he'd dismiss the charges, leaving the Tennessee Law School student free to pursue the bar.

No wonder Lay was smiling at his last court appearance. It all worked out pretty well for him, don't you think? He breaks the law, gets to walk, and doesn't even have to pay for his own lawyer. And Pat's pretty happy I'm sure. Remember, he needed every extra vote. That election was the one he won by only 86 votes.

Boy o boy, Pat. Things are getting uglier and uglier for you these days. I wonder what else are you hiding.

McHenry's chief consultant and voter fraud

Meet Douglas F. Stewart III, known as "Dee." He served as Congressman Pat McHenry's first chief of staff from January to May 2005. But he'd already started up a company called The Stewart Group. It's url was thestewartgrouponline dot com.

Funny thing, the week that McHenry's former housemate (and staffer) Aaron Lay was indicted, The Stewart Group Online disappeared from the internets tubes.

Another funny thing: Dee Stewart's connection to the McHenry voter fraud case isn't his only brush with questionable voter registrations. While the Lay case ended in a deferred plea, the other case still rests in the hands of Moore County District Attorney Maureen Kruger, the Gaston Gazette reported in May.

The Moore County Independent covered that story extensively but is no longer in business so I'm linking to the North Carolina Conservative's reprint of their article quoting the questionably registered voters and the candidate:

Pinehurst- A paid staff member of Joe Boylan’s May primary campaign said last week that she never intended to move to Moore County as a permanent resident but registered to vote here so she could cast a ballot for her boss. That could be a violation of state voting laws, elections experts say.

Reitler and Powell both got their positions with the Boylan campaign through connections with Dee Stewart, Boylan’s Raleigh-based campaign consultant. Stewart also served as campaign consultant for Congressman Patrick McHenry, first elected to represent the 10th Congressional district in the western part of NC in 2004. Some in the district have alleged that the McHenry campaign registered campaign workers from outside the state who were living temporarily in a Cherryville house owned by the Congressman during the race. According to the Gaston County Board of Elections, no challenges or official complaints were ever filed surrounding the allegations.

Reitler worked as a field operative for McHenry in 2004, but did not change her registration during the election. Powell is a political neophyte. The Boylan job was her first out of college, and came, she says, through a cousin who worked for Stewart’s consulting group. Reitler said the current scrutiny of her voting record reminded her of the allegations surrounding the McHenry campaign, which she called “silly.” She says her decision not to register to vote in the 10th District in 2004 shows that she acted legally when she registered to vote here late last year.

North Carolina Conservative wrote:

A confidential source, speaking on background, contacted NC Christian Coalition Chairman Donnie Young earlier this year. This source claims to have worked closely with persons involved in the McHenry and Boylan campaigns. The source has also been a candidate. He claims that certain persons volunteered to help his campaign, saying “We will poll to find out how many votes you need. Then, we will bring enough college students into your district, and register them to vote, so you’ll win.” The NCC contacted the source who spoke with Mr. Young, and he verified the information, saying “It wasn’t quite that explicit, but that was the general idea.” The source asked us to maintain his anonymity for fear of reprisal.

And for a guy who's worked for two congressmen (Robin Hayes and Patrick McHenry), who's appeared on every major television network, and who has worked for numerous North Carolina state legislature campaigns like Joe Boylan's, it's odd that when you google his name, not much shows up.

It's not like he's out of business. According to McHenry's campaign disclosures, Pat paid the Stewart Group $6,000 for "Development and Planning" every month for the last year.

Here's the current website "coming soon."

Here's the archives of The Stewart Group's webpages from December 12,2001 to April 23, 2007

Here's what Dee Stewart used to want people to know about him:

Dee Stewart is an experienced political strategist, prolific fundraiser and talented speaker. He lives in Raleigh, North Carolina and serves as President of The Stewart Group, Inc., specializing in campaign consulting, fundraising and public affairs.

Dee was born in Winchester, Virginia and was raised in Martinsburg, West Virginia, located in the Shenandoah Valley, a region where the Stewart family has lived since the early eighteenth century. He received his undergraduate degree in Government from Campbell University, located in Buies Creek, North Carolina. His honors included: Omicron Delta Kappa, Pi Gamma Mu, Dean’s List, Presidential Scholars, Student Body Treasurer, 1992 North Carolina Bush/Quayle Youth Chairman and State Chairman of College Republicans. Also, Stewart received a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Management from the Lundy-Fetterman School of Business at Campbell University.

After graduating from Campbell, Stewart was appointed National Youth Coordinator of the 1996 Phil Gramm for President campaign, based in Washington, DC. In addition to creating collegiate political organizations for Senator Gramm (R-TX) in seventeen states crucial to the presidential nomination process, Stewart managed the youth caucus turnout operation in Iowa that accounted for 10% of the total caucus vote of the campaign.

Stewart served as a Field Director of the 1996 Robin Hayes for Governor campaign, based in Raleigh, North Carolina. In the primary election, the campaign was victorious in 43 of 44 counties in which he oversaw grassroots operations for Representative Hayes (R-NC), thereby helping to provide the statewide primary margin of victory, 50%-46%.

In 1997, Stewart served as the Legislative Liaison of the North Carolina Automobile Dealers Association. In this capacity, he raised a record amount of money for AUTOPAC, the Association’s political action committee. In addition, by fostering relationships between dealers and legislators, he helped guide landmark legislation through the General Assembly that strengthened North Carolina’s motor vehicle franchise laws.

From late 1997 until early 1999, Stewart served as Finance Director of the North Carolina Republican Party (NCGOP). Through aggressive solicitation and prospecting, he retired the 1996 campaign debt (in excess of $300,000) in less than eleven months, while funding all fixed and variable expenses of the 1998 election cycle. In addition, Stewart organized the most successful NCGOP fundraising event on record, the Jesse Helms Silver Anniversary Tribute, which raised in excess of $100,000.

In early 1999, Stewart was named Executive Director of the Republican Party of Iowa (RPI), based in Des Moines. As Executive Director, he managed and coordinated the 1999 Iowa Straw Poll, which was the best-attended paid political event in American history, drawing over 40,000 Republicans. The event raised over $1 million for RPI, a record amount for any political fundraiser in Iowa’s history. In addition, he oversaw the 2000 Iowa Caucuses, which were attended by more than 88,000 Republicans at 2,131 precincts. During Stewart’s tenure, the Iowa GOP maintained its congressional majority and its majority in the State House and State Senate. Also, George W. Bush attained over 48% of the presidential vote, the most of any GOP nominee since 1984. Stewart held the post of Executive Director until early 2001, when he returned to Raleigh and founded The Stewart Group, Inc.

In 2005, Stewart served as Chief of Staff to U.S. Congressman Patrick McHenry of North Carolina. In this capacity, he was charged with hiring and managing a successful staff in the Congressman�s offices on Capitol Hill and in the Congressional District. He also developed and implemented policies and procedures that help the staff effectively assist Congressman McHenry.

Stewart has appeared on the CBS Evening News, ABC’s World News Tonight, NBC’s Today, CNN’s Inside Politics, MSNBC’s Equal Time, the Fox News Network, and C-SPAN.

He is married to the former Angela Joan Miller of High Point, North Carolina.

I guess the only question left is, why would someone work for years in politics and then all of a sudden remove any trace of existence from the public media?

About Pat's very special "Peeps"

Yesterday I started a series called "Pat's Peeps." It's about all the people Pat McHenry has surrounded himself with in the years since he graduated from Belmont Abbey College. They're an "impressive" crowd, as you will see.



Start with Scott G. Stewart (top center) harasser of women, bilker of the elderly. He worked for the Interior Department. You'll remember Abramoff and Steven Griles, I'm sure who basically ruled there to the detriment of the country. Just like Interior Secretary Gale Norton, Stewart has taken inappropriate employment with a company that does a lot of "bidness" with said department, Shell Oil.

But even before Pat moved in with Scott in 2001, his dear alma mater, Belmont Abbey has an interesting history of hiring a sex offender and then lying about knowing he was a sex offender. George P. Berthold was hired in 1997 (right when Pat was there) to run it's Theology Department. According to the Boston Globe:

Donna M. Morrissey, the spokeswoman for the archdiocese, said that church officials in Boston had notified the college and the Diocese of Charlotte "verbally and in writing" that Berthold had been accused of inappropriate physical behavior with adult seminarians when he was dean of the undergraduate college at St. John's Seminary in 1995.

Morrissey said the notifications were made before the college in Belmont, N.C., hired Berthold.

Morrissey, however, refused to make public any of the notifications. And neither she nor the college would release a copy of the 1997 letter from Cardinal Bernard F. Law that, according to Belmont Abbey, said Berthold's record was unblemished.

Told of Morrissey's statement, the college spokeswoman, Teresa Sowers McKinney, insisted again that the college was told nothing about Berthold's misbehavior. She repeated her earlier statement that Belmont Abbey would not have hired Berthold if it had been made aware of the allegations.

According to Donnie Young, other major campaign peeps, Willliam Duffy and Bernard Sullivan, are under investigation by the the FBI [or perhaps the SBI?] for Medicaid fraud.

The North Carolina Conservative's Judson Cox, writes that Florida shooter* Jason Drake (middle left) worked for McHenry. I have sources tying McHenry to Drake's alleged victim and Republican dirty tricks operator, gay Ralph Gonzalez* (lower right).

Michael Aaron Lay (upper left), a former staffer and housemate got deferred a plea deal on voter fraud. Deputy Field Director Brett Keeter (upper right) blew a point one three over Labor Day (and got a pat on the wrist).

There's even more at the North Carolina Conservative.

So, we'll be keeping you informed on the kinds of people Patrick McHenry does business with.

As he says on his House-provided website:



Click to enlarge. It's a screengrab of the McHenry's "Issue Page" labeled Sanctity of Marriage.

*For those of you who didn't follow those links for the Florida Gonzalez/Abrami/Drake murder/suicide story's details, I'll just sum up the political end of things for you:

Gonzales (as Georgia Republican Party Executive Director) has close ties to Ralph Reed and the dirty tricks that defeated Senator Max Cleland in Georgia. Never forget they employed the confederate flag wedge issue hysteria. Never forget that Ralph Reed took over the Georgian Republican Party using Abramoff-forced Choctaw "donations."

And never forget that Abramoff knows all these guys. (Ever wonder why McHenry defends Charles Taylor so often and vehemently?)

Ralph Gonzalez also worked as now-Representative Tom Feeney's campaign manager who created a smear site against his Democratic opponent, Clint Curtis. Gonzalez was also Feeney's campaign manager when he ran for Florida state house to become it's speaker. He stayed on as a strategist and spokesman. There the ethics scandal involving influencing software purchases. He's tied to another indicted legislator, former Rep. Sheri McInvale.

And here's a new tidbit I hadn't seen before from political hotwire

When Gonzalez filed an annual report for Strategum with the State of Florida Division of Corporations in January, 2007, Schnick was listed as one of his business partners. (Note: Todd Schnick is a name that you might remember if you believe the 2000 presidential election was stolen, and that said theft occurred in Florida.)

Major McHenry 04 funding fraudulent

Delay-related funding almost $200,000, nearly 20% of McHenry's campaign total

Also, two major in-district fundraisers reportedly under investigation for Medicaid fraud [scroll to bottom for this one]

Why McHenry's Delay-related chunk of funds was not covered during the 2004 primary season lies at the hands of the pathetic 10th District press and the Charlotte Observer's total incompetence. And the whole sordid story certainly makes you wonder about Pat's Republican opponents. Of course, Delay wasn't in trouble then.

And still, when the organization funneling so much money to NC's 10th district settled an FEC lawsuit last week, the Charlotte Observer failed to mention McHenry's faulty funding even then. When you think that the 85-vote 2004 margin of victory is already suspect by one, you have to consider that the local newspapers have something to gain by covering up negative McHenry-related news.

Last week the Citizens Club for Growth PAC paid $350,000 to settle an FEC lawsuit which

arose after the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee filed a complaint with the FEC in 2003 alleging that the group was violating federal election laws. After an investigation, the FEC concluded that the 527 was required to register as a political action committee because it was accepting contributions and engaging in activities intended to influence the outcome of federal elections.

According to FEC Schedule E report the Citizens Club for Growth had funneled the McHenry donations through an organization called Red Sea LLC:

Red Sea LLC
1111 19th Street NW
Suite 211
Washington, DC 20036

Purpose of Expenditure: tv air buy
This Committee SUPPORTS The Following Candidate: PATRICK TIMOTHY MCHENRY
Candidate ID: H4NC10047
Office Sought: House of Representatives
State is North Carolina in District 10
Date Expended = 08/12/2004
Amount Expended = $49790.00
Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $182440.7

Red Sea is an invention of a former communications director for the disgraced Tom Delay, Jonathan M. Baron.

This information is right there in the FEC's Schedule E for the Citizens Club for Growth PAC. From Sourcewatch when the lawsuit was filed:

"The Federal Election Commission filed a lawsuit Monday [September 20, 2005,] in U.S. District Court in Washington against the Club for Growth, the first case of its kind to arise from high-dollar fundraising during the 2004 elections. The pro-Republican group spent at least $21 million in the 2003-2004 election cycle. ... The FEC contends the club spent enough in federal races to require it to file with the commission as a political committee and to follow contribution and spending limits. It wants the court to fine the group and order it to comply with campaign finance rules." --Associated Press, September 19, 2005

So, at least $182,000 of McHenry's $923,975 came from an organization donating fraudulently.

And now former North Carolina Conservative Coalition Chair Donnie Young is reporting that two of Pat's fundraisers, two Gaston County businessmen, are under investigation for Medicare fraud.

Admin: the remaining material from this post has been deleted. May, 2008.

Pressure builds for Pat

If last week and the week before weren't bad enough for 10th District disgrace Pat McHenry, now a national and highly respected blogger Pam Spaulding has turned her internet attention to McHenry's involvement in the bizarrely underreported Florida murder suicide.

She's written the best overview yet and crossposted it at Americablog.

What with this last week's extreme DUI of his Deputy Field Director Brett Keeter. Then the subsequent two-week suspension without pay. But as MissM points out at BlueNC, why not wait until a verdict? Innocent until proven guilty and all that American patriotic stuff.

I wondered if a 31-year-old blows a point one three perhaps he should be fired. It's not like it's the first overindulgence of a young man, new to college or trying to recover from his first big break-up. But Robert P and lcloud at BlueNC make the find points that McHenry should be helping this guy get the therapy he needs. That we as democrats might want to practice what we preach and think in terms of rehabilitation. Good ideas, if we were dealing with people who could consider that others can change and improve. That, of course is the obvious solution. Just not likely.

Then, we have to look at the week before last, which might have led to this overindulgence of mind-altering substances in a staffer.

The week before last you learned that Pat might not live where he votes. That's potentially the fourth case voter fraud he's been tied to. And over the weekend, McHenry spokesman Aaron Latham tried to put that pesky old voter fraud/residency question to rest. Latham told the Gaston Gazette's Amanda Millard that Pat "lives in Cherryville. That's still his primary residence." But, he told her, McHenry splits his time between Cherryville and Hickory when he comes home on weekends. Boy, Pat, that's a lot of splitting. You live in DC, you split your weekend time between Cherryville and Hickory. You own the Hickory condo but your legal residence for voting is a house in Cherryville you don't own and that other people use. I wonder what the North Carolina laws regard as a legal residence. We'll have to find out.

And the one question still unanswered: how'd you get that financing for the Hickory condo. Since you're on the House banking committee, I think your banking deals (especially ones you've been trying to cover up) should be public record. After all, you were all excited about disclosing the people behind earmarks. What about disclosing the financing deal on an asset you haven't told anyone about. Because if the Hickory condo was your legal residence and as Latham told Millard, it's been this way for some time, you had plenty of time to update your bio and your website to say you live in Cherryville AND Hickory, not just Cherryville.

There are a lot of reports from the week before last that still have not been cleared up. Like Pat's involvement with recent murder victim Ralph Gonzalez of Florida and Georgia ethics issues (including ties to Jack Abramoff and vote manipulation. But the North Carolina Conservative told us that not only McHenry was also tied to Jason Drake, who police say was the shooter.

People have commented extensively on this website and elsewhere that Drake's ties to a gay porn murder in Pennsylvania have only one source. That source has a lot of people who hate him OR he's a lying, website-destroyer.

Either way, these questions are not dependent on tying Drake to other murders and the porn industry, are extremely relevant and remain unanswered:

1. What exactly are McHenry ties to high level murdered Republican dirty tricks consultant Ralph Gonzalez and of his alleged shooter Jason Robert Drake. And why has McHenry tried to hide his political past by stating on his website and official bio that he is either a real estate broker, a small businessman or in sales.
   


2. Why have the police given such premature and unprofessional comments to the media in this case?*


3. What is going on with the traditional media’s response to this news item. Google and see for yourself. Can you imagine them ignoring the murder of two prominent young gay Democratic operatives. Of course not.
   


4. Is the disinformation campaign about Drake initiated by a gay porn blogger or by McHenry's staff? The former makes not sense, the latter is sheer stupidity but IS muddying the waters somewhat. And is one more reason for questioning a traditional media's response. Who can ignore a story that includes a gay porn blogger? Come on.
   


5. Why have no media outlets in the 10th Congressional District will covered, much less done any research on this story.
   

*The police said August 23 that the murder/suicide was the result of a lover's triangle. On August 27 they told the Orlando Sentinel:

What prompted him to go in and commit that crime remains undetermined and may never be known," Picanzo said. "We have had so many different and conflicting statements from people.

Since when do the police say the crime motive will never been known this early in an investigation? It makes no sense.

Big Week for Pat Go Bye Bye!

Monday you learned that Pat might not live where he votes. Gee, that's what? The four cases of voter fraud he's been tied to. Either that or he's got an unreported asset and that begs the question, what is he hiding? How he acquired his Hickory condo or just the financing thereof?

Tuesday we posted and discussed McHenry's original financial disclosures from February, 2004. He has previously unreported ties to a local businessman and blogger. It reads like a trashy romance!

Wednesday was a break in things. No, it wasn't. This was the story. What IS with Republicans and their repressed sex drives?

Thursday it was all about dirty tricks and corruption. We had already learned on Friday that was Pat involved with recent murder victim Ralph Gonzalez of Florida and Georgia ethics issues (including ties to Jack Abramoff and vote manipulation. But the North Carolina Conservative told us that not only McHenry was also tied to Jason Drake, who police say was the shooter.

Drake has also been tied to accused murderer Harlow Cuadra, apparently works or runs an escort service or porn business out of Virginia Beach. It's all over the tubes that there exist lists of republican clients for a call-boy service and that Drake was threatening to expose them if Gonzalez didn't give him money to help pay for Cuadra's defense for a Pennsylvania murder.

The unconfirmed allegations make for interesting speculation. What we do know is that Ralph Gonzalez is tied to several scandals with loads of documentation and McHenry has buried his political past, white washing his ties to all kinds of nasty political operations. Wonder what we'll learn this coming week?

Stay tuned, folks.

Hey, Pat, where do you live?

So, Patrick, let's say just for argument's sake, that you didn't declare on your federal disclosure forms that Hickory condo (bought in 2005 and not reported then or since) because it is your personal residence.

(Not having to report a residence purchase or sale somewhat neuters the concept that taxpayers have the right to know if you got a sweetheart deal but I'll let that go for now).

Problem with that? According to the North Carolina State Board of Elections you've been voting from Cherryville the last three elections since you bought that property (and chose to exclude it from your disclosures.)



So, now we've got that pesky ol' voter fraud problem rearing it's ugly head. Which is worse? Voter fraud or lying in financial disclosures? Both are federal legal violations, right? But, the thing is you have other inconsistencies on your financial disclosures (I won't got into it now but does the address 4211 Pete Brown Rd. Ring any bells?)

McHenry's unreported asset confirmed

A Caldwell County Republican reported it last week. A 70-year old lady asked Pat about it in Lincoln County this week. Pat denied it publicly. "Not a word of truth in that article."

But public documents tell another story.

Last week Republican Dennis Benfield of Caldwell County wrote in the Hickory Daily Record that McHenry owned property which he did not list on his legally required financial disclosure statements.

And at the Lincoln County town hall, a 70-something woman named Farrie Blackburn politely asked McHenry about it. After a long stunned moment, McHenry said there wasn't a "word of truth in that article." She said she was sure that the figures were accurate, that she knew the author. Pat then required that all questions be submitted first in writing.

Below you'll see a segment of the Catawba County assessment for the property, linked here. Also below you can see the page of assets from his 2006 report linked here. It's owned by McHenry and it just ain't listed in his report.



And in blue map above you can see land layout (it's a condo so he owns only a fraction of this parcel of property.

In the assessment from January 1, 2007 there are other assessments going back to 1997. Even if they were under a previous owner, I'm going to go ahead and assume he owned it December 31, 2006, which makes it omitted from the 2006 financial disclosure documents filed May 15, 2007.

UPDATE: Thanks to Greg Flynn at BlueNC whose computer obviously is more patient with the Catawba County Register of Deeds, here are the facts from their website:

The condo was put up for sale Monday February 28th 2005 "at public auction at the Catawba County Courthouse door, when and where Patrick T. McHenry became the last and highest bidder for the said land at the price of $139,949.25". The deed is dated April 27th, 2005. The "mail to":" address listed for Patrick T. McHenry is C/O Williams Law Firm, Hickory. The related Deed of Trust was not signed by McHenry personally but by Jason J. Deans with Power of Attorney. However the POA on record does bear his signature with the characteristic flourish. The borrowed amount is $132,950. The current tax value is $143,300

On a more amusing note, in 2006, McHenry bought the house where he lived with convicted illegal voter Michael Aaron Lay in 2004. It's the Cherryville property on the form. He lists it as rental property.

I have to say it sure makes me wonder if he didn't acquire it as the Lay investigation heated up! I've seen those CSI shows where trace evidence of who knows what shows up years after the alleged misconduct . . .


But back to the numbers, you know, hard facts.

For the year 2006, McHenry reported these figures: from $342,000 to 930,000 in assets, from $160,000 to 365,000 in debts, and from $33,300 to 100,000 in income outside his Congressional salary. So, his self-reported net worth was $177,000 to 565,000. That makes the $140,000 condo somewhat of a significant oversight.

For 2004, he reported assets from 250,000 to 755,000, debts from $50,000 to 100,000 with income from assets of $206 to $16,200 and his former state legislator income of $20, 658. Don't trust my addition. Here are the documents.

Posted at BlueNC and Scru Hoo.

Charlotte Observer buries Lay story

Posting the voter fraud plea deal of a Congressman's former housemate and staffer Michael Aaron Lay as "breaking news" at 1:52 a.m. By mid-morning it was off the front page. What did McHenry pay your for that kind of treatment or are you all just friendly folk?



(When I figure out how I'll do one of those balloon things to make the wording bigger but not the whole photo.)

Lay could have record expunged, practice law

Can anyone confirm? [see updates below-ed.]

If McHenry roomie, staffer, and alleged felon Michael Aaron Lay fulfills the requirements of his plea deferment deal, it can be like it never happened. That's what I've been told but I can't quite believe it.

May we all be blessed with Locke Bell as our prosecutor, eh?

What a nice guy. I wonder if McHenry is giving him back his donation. Hey, Locke, would you return my phone calls, please?

The photographer got giggled for this shot of DA Bell, but you can still get the idea. Happy defense lawyer (center) looks on while perpetrator, in black, and prosecutor make nice. It's sweet.

UPDATE: This is what the Hickory Record is reporting, a guilty plea but he can sit for the bar.

HICKORY -- A former campaign worker of U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry pleaded guilty to two counts of misdemeanor election fraud Thursday.

Michael Aaron Lay, 26, must serve 100 hours of community service and pay a $440 fine. He will be on probation for six months. If he meets those criteria, the charges will be dismissed.

The plea agreement entered in Gaston County Superior Court addressed felony charges that alleged Lay voted illegally in Gaston County in the 2004 primary and primary runoff elections. Lay pleaded instead to “two attempts to do voter fraud,” said Thom Goolsby, Lay’s attorney.

Lay was not available for comment Thursday, but Goolsby was pleased with the case’s quick resolution. Lay was charged in May and indicted by a grand jury last month.

Goolsby said Lay, who graduated from the University of Tennessee’s law school this year, can now sit for the North Carolina State Bar exam in February.

UPDATE NUMBER TWO: Because the charges were reduced to misdemeanors, that's why our young man can still do the legal thing. I guess that's how they convinced him (since Monday) not to fight the charges.

Also note that the Charlotte Observer (who actually had the nerve to call 16-hour-old news in the next county "breaking," along with the Hickory paper posted this in the wee early hours so it would be buried by early-morning news the next day . . .

Does Lay's deferment mean not guilty?

So Patrick McHenry's former staffer, aide, and roomie Michael Aaron Lay took a "deferred prosecution deal."

The deal? Six months unsupervised probation, during which time he must complete 100 hours of community service, $240.50 in court costs and a $250.00 community service fee, for a grand total of $440.50.

If Lay does all that, District Attorney Locke Bell says he will voluntarily dismiss the charges. I don't know what that means as to passing the NC bar, if he never was charged is he not guilty?

Is Patrick and his pimp Jason Deans now going to say that it didn't happen, that this "poor Christian boy" had no choice?



Cross posted at BlueNC and Scrutiny Hooligans.

Lay accepts community service deal

This morning at approximately 10:15 AM in Courtroom 4D, Gaston County Courthouse, Michael Aaron Lay, aide to Rep. Patrick McHenry, accepted a deferred prosecution deal for registering and voting illegally in North Carolina for the 2004 Republican primary election and runoff.

The terms were as follows: 6 months unsupervised probation, during which time Mr. Lay must complete 100 hours of community service. He must pay $240.50 in court costs and $250.00 community service fee, for a total of $440.50.

If Mr. Lay completes these obligations satisfactorily, District Attorney Locke Bell will voluntarily dismiss the charges.

Mr. Lay was represented by attorney Thom Goolsby of Wilmington.

Gaston paper cherry-picks McHenry-related voter fraud case

Today's Gaston Gazette is happy to tell you that

Former McHenry campaign worker could have election fraud charges resolved today.

What they don't tell you is that Michael Aaron Lay already turned down a plea deal on Monday. I have no idea why newspapers pick and chose which news to tell you. The only thing I can think is that if they had printed this yesterday or the day before, perhaps interested parties could have witnessed the trial.

Any other suggestions?

For more on Michael Aaron Lay's voter fraud case with its ties to Patrick McHenry as both roommate and staffer look here and here and here and here and here.

McHenry staffer Lay turns down deal

This is from a confidential source and has yet to be confirmed:

Republican D.A. Locke Bell offered Michael Aaron Lay a "deferred prosecution" deal, which means that if he did some community service and didn't get into trouble for a year the charges would be dismissed.

Apparently Mr. Lay is a "true believer" and Mr. Lay's attorney told Mr. Bell where to shove his deal. So barring further developments Mr. Lay should appear in Courtroom 4C on Thursday before Superior Court Judge Tim Patti for his arraignment.

For more on Michael Aaron Lay's voter fraud case with its ties to Patrick McHenry as both roommate and staffer look here and here and here and here and here.

Lay trial set for Monday

Monday, Aug. 6 - No time given

A court hearing continues for Michael Aaron Lay, a 2004 election campaign worker of U.S. Rep. Patrick McHenry, who faces charges of election fraud, Gaston County Superior Court, Gastonia. Contact: 704-852-3100.

Thanks to Jerimee.

Jason Deans: who is he?

A few weeks ago, McHenry campaign spokesman Jason Deans told reporters:

“This is the culmination of a three-year smear campaign against Congressman McHenry, his campaign workers and supporters,” said Jason Deans, a spokesman for McHenry’s political campaign. “This case is much like the Duke lacrosse case in that a politically motivated district attorney sought an indictment against a young man without even granting him an interview.”

What kind of individual person equates a case of voter fraud to a rape case? It's absurd.

Anyone know anything? Emails (using the clickable green EMAIL US at left) will be taken in confidence if requested.

McHenry mentor Rove to be investigated for politicizing the gub-mint

Big shock, I know.

Think Progress has a good write-up on it. It's probably too much to hope that Pat himself is implicated. But he learned at this man's feet. So, we should all probably be on the lookout for similar activities on Pat's part.

Eighteen agencies have been asked by the Office of Special Counsel to preserve electronic information dating back to January 2001 as part of its governmentwide investigation into alleged violations of the law that limits political activity in federal agencies.

The OSC task force investigating the claims has asked agencies, including the General Services Administration, to preserve all e-mail records, calendar information, phone logs and hard drives going back to the beginning of the Bush administration. The task force is headed by deputy OSC special counsel James Byrne.

After all, Rove has been behind the making of all kinds of allegations of voter fraud while the only indictment on voter fraud has been a protege of our dear Pat's . . .

The real story of voter fraud

While Pat's former roomie and staffer stands accused of illegally registering to vote, it's very, very interesting that of all the people in the whole wide world to be obsessed with voter fraud, we find one gentleman whom Pat admires above all others: Karl Rove.

From TruthDig.com:

WASHINGTON—It is time to stop referring to the “fired U.S attorneys scandal” by that misnomer, and call it what it is: a White House-coordinated effort to use the vast powers of the Justice Department to swing elections to Republicans.

This is no botched personnel switch. It is not even a political spat between the fired U.S. attorneys and Bush administration officials who deemed some of them insufficiently zealous in promoting the department’s law enforcement priorities. Connect the dots and you see an insidious effort to corrupt the American electoral system. It’s Watergate without the break-in or the bagmen.

The emerging picture is one in which widespread Republican claims of “voter fraud”—unsubstantiated in virtually every case examined closely by law enforcement officials, local journalists, state elections officials and academics—were used to stymie Democratic-leaning voter registration groups and create a taint around Democrats. The Justice Department’s own statistics show that only a handful of people were convicted of voting illegally since it began a “voter integrity” initiative in 2002. Its top election crimes official, a career prosecutor, has told the U.S. Election Assistance Commission that the proportion of “legitimate to illegitimate claims of fraud” hasn’t changed.

The “voter fraud” claims that White House political adviser Karl Rove promoted before last year’s congressional elections were in battleground states such as New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin with closely contested races. He also has complained about alleged fraud in hotly competitive states such as Washington, Florida and Missouri. Curiously, states where elections often are decided by wide margins—New York, for instance—don’t turn up on his lists.

According to McClatchy::

WASHINGTON - Only weeks before last year's pivotal midterm elections, the White House urged the Justice Department to pursue voter-fraud allegations against Democrats in three battleground states, a high-ranking Justice official has told congressional investigators.

In two instances in October 2006, President Bush's political adviser, Karl Rove, or his deputies passed the allegations on to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales' then-chief of staff, Kyle Sampson.

Sampson tapped Gonzales aide Matthew Friedrich, who'd just left his post as chief of staff of the criminal division. In the first case, Friedrich agreed to find out whether Justice officials knew of "rampant" voter fraud or "lax" enforcement in parts of New Mexico, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and report back.

Here's the research on the likelihood that Karl's concerns about voter fraud are justifiable:

The Fraud about "Voter Fraud"

In an effort to downplay charges that the Bush administration engaged in blatant political manipulation of the Justice Department in firing eight U.S. Attorneys for failing to be adequately “loyal Bushies,” right-wing activists have posited that the reason these federal prosecutors were fired was that they failed to prosecute or investigate rampant voter fraud. Attorney General Gonzales claimed, “The president recalls hearing complaints about election fraud not being vigorously prosecuted.” However, the facts demonstrate that the dismissed prosecutors diligently investigated claims of fraud, and found no evidence to prosecute any crimes. Indeed, the evidence, including statements from Republicans and administration officials, indicates that voter fraud is not a significant problem in our elections.

In 2002, the Bush Justice Department launched the “Voting Access and Integrity Initiative,” which directed Justice Department attorneys, including those in the U.S. Attorneys’ offices, to prioritize investigations of alleged voter fraud. Despite being a top priority, the initiative resulted in only 24 convictions for illegally voting nationwide from 2002 to 2005, compared to the hundreds of millions of votes cast during that period. Republican former U.S. Attorneys and other Justice Department officials agree:

* Former U.S. Attorney John McKay of Washington stated that he conducted a “very active” review of allegations of voter fraud in the 2004 gubernatorial election in Washington, and testified under oath that “there was no evidence of voter fraud or election fraud.” When the Republican Party in Washington brought its own suit regarding this election, the judge rejected every claim, stating that he found no evidence of fraud.
* The long-time director of the Justice Department’s Election Crimes Branch, Craig Donsanto, concurred with McKay that no federal crimes had been committed in that election. Furthermore, he has stated that “the number of election fraud related complaints has not gone up since 2002.”
* Former U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico, who was one of only two U.S. Attorneys to start a voter fraud task force in 2004, stated that, “After reviewing more than 100 complaints of voter fraud, I felt there was one possible case that should be prosecuted federally. … As much as I wanted to prosecute the case, I could not overcome evidentiary problems. The Justice Department and the F.B.I. did not disagree with my decision in the end not to prosecute.”
* Even FBI Director Robert Mueller concurs. At a Senate hearing on March 27, 2007, Senator Charles Schumer asked, “Since 2001, have there been any FBI investigations related to election fraud which you believe should have resulted in an indictment but did not?” Mueller responded, “Not to my knowledge … and nothing has come to my level.”

Virtually every academic study of voter fraud concludes that it is not close to being a substantial problem, if it exists at all. For instance, in states where alleged voter fraud was used as the justification for restrictive voter ID requirements, the supporters of voter ID have made the following admissions:

* The State of Indiana, and its Republican Secretary of State Todd Rokita, in defending the state’s voter ID law in court documents, admitted that it could not find one single instance of voter impersonation fraud in the history of the state. Indiana Democratic Party v. Rokita, 2006 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 20321 (S.D. Ind. 2006).
* The Republican Governor of Missouri, who had formerly been the Secretary of State (and run Missouri’s elections), admitted that elections in Missouri were “fraud-free,” before unsuccessfully defending the restrictive voter ID laws in court. Weinschenk v. Missouri, 203 S.W.3d 201 (Mo. 2006). Missouri’s current Secretary of State agrees, noting in a recent report that “As in previous elections, the absence of reports of voting impersonation or voting fraud in the 2006 election in Missouri was notable.”
* The State of Arizona and its counties, in defending their restrictive voter registration laws and voter ID laws, admitted that, of the over 2.7 million registered voters in Arizona, not one had been convicted of registering to vote illegally, and not one instance of voting by an ineligible non-citizen had led to a conviction.

This is the legal testimony of those who have the greatest incentive, and the greatest obligation (in order to justify the burdensome restrictions they impose on voters), to prove the existence of real fraud. And yet, they cannot prove it exists.

Here's what Karl wanted done to "combat" this "outbreak" of voter fraud Karl was thinking up in his head:

More evidence emerges every day that the myth of widespread ‘voter fraud’ was cooked up by Republican strategists (Do you smell a Rove?) as an excuse to pass restrictive measures like voter ID laws that disenfranchise eligible voters in vulnerable communities - voters who, quite frankly, are not likely to vote overwhelmingly Republican (minorities, the poor, the disabled, students and the elderly).

Let's review:

* Policies that erect barriers to voting.

* The politicization of the Justice Department’s voting rights section,

* The pressuring of U.S. attorneys to investigate civic organizations and campaigns that register voters in poor and minority communities,

*The subsequent firing of several U.S. attorneys who refused to engage in the voter fraud witch hunt.

All of these are part of a plan to keep certain voters from the polls and make sure the playing field is unevenly skewed to the Republicans’ advantage in 2008.

Voter suppression: political operatives associated with the Bush administration, led by Karl Rove, are the best in the biz. And they have used government agencies to turn it into a national, coordinated effort since they came into power. Attorney General Gonzales has been a primary enabler (cleaning up the DOJ is critical to ensuring fair elections). But even fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias of New Mexico said of the firing scandal, “I think all roads lead to Rove.”

Short of the president and vice president themselves, Karl Rove is about as high up in the Bush administration as you can go. Who else in the White House was involved, not only with the U.S. attorney firings, but with the ongoing concerted effort to fix elections via disenfranchisement and the misuse of the Justice Department? This is a question we must keep asking – for the health of our democracy, those involved must be held accountable.

Now, doesn't it look really funny that the only "real" voter fraud was taking place in the district and race where Rove's little buddy, Pat, won by less than a hundred votes?

Charlotte Observer gives the love to Pat -- why?

Today's Charlotte Observer has a long puff piece about Patrick McHenry by Lisa Zagaroli that leaves me wondering how much he or Campaign Chair Spokesman Jason Deans paid her.

Running less than a month after his former staff and roomie Michael Aaron Lay was indicted for voter fraud, it's obviously designed to address the fact that local Republicans don't like him. Since that embarrassing indictment, the McHenry folks have been very busy painting the investigation "political."

That's why the timing (and flattering nature) of the article is so suspicious. Everyone involved in the investigation from the original accusers to both investigating district attorneys are Republican, so their defense that it's political obviously needed more help. Cue Ms. Zagaroli to the rescue!

Not only is the piece long and full of flattering quotes from supporters. Zagaroli does not bother to quote either district attorney who both happen to be Republicans who donated to his campaign. She only quotes McHenry saying his political enemies are using this "ethical law student" and "good Christian" "in order to attack me."

Here's the quote she used to support her not-so-underlying theme:

"The bad blood is truly unbelievable," says Jeff Lominac of Conover, a Republican activist in Catawba County who helped out on McHenry's campaign and remains a fan. "Some of the established people in the county still run the party, and they don't like Patrick. The bottom line is they're still mad about 2004.

Lisa cleverly buys right into McHenry's favorite statistic about himself, that he's the youngest member of congress. This time it's the secondary reason for the internal political attacks that are victimizing his poor indicted former roomie and staffer.

"I think a lot of people take him the wrong way because he is young and he took something they wanted."

"Take him the wrong way." When he's advocating a military strike on Iran When he's ridiculing the speaker of the house for needing a larger plane to go a thousand more miles, when he's comes this close toblaming the democrats for the Foley's abuse of young men, it's hard to misinterpret him. I don't think anyone "takes" McHenry "the wrong way." Nice of Lisa to choose that quote, however. Don't you think someone should check her recent finances?

Here's more of that insipid and thinly veiled crapola of an argument:

McHenry thinks he understands why his antagonists are so mad.

"I didn't wait in line," he says of his decision to run for Congress before others thought he was ready. "There's sometimes this notion in politics that whoever's waiting the longest for a certain office deserves it. I've never abided by that concept. Democracy works."

And promoting their lame line of reasoning twice wasn't enough for Lisa. I think the Observer really needs to look into her checking account for a recent large deposit:

As the youngest of five children, Rep. Patrick McHenry learned that taking on his elders was the only path to getting what he wanted.

"I had to grab for my food against my older brothers and sisters," the Cherryville Republican says laughing. "It's a natural part of my personality and upbringing. Get in there and fight for what you believe in."

Here's their analysis of McHenry's character:

Dependably polite -- he opens doors, greets the U.S. Capitol police officers, hugs his waitress -- McHenry sports a traditional look on his not-many-inches- over-5-foot frame, blazers and cuffed pants, and wire-rimmed glasses framing a mostly gray head of hair that belies his youth.

"Dependably polite?" See any of the vids from television on YouTube and you tell me what you think of his manners. Zagaroli consistently chooses the most flattering aspects of anything McHenry has said or done:

He's a reliable Republican in most cases, but he notes that he's been willing to buck President Bush on two major issues -- the Central American Free Trade Agreement and versions of immigration reform he calls "amnesty with makeup."

Now in his second term, the conservative McHenry has proved unafraid of challenging the new Democratic leadership. He nips at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., he tries to outwit parliamentary proficient Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass.,

McHenry got noticed for drawing attention to the taxpayer-financed airplane afforded to Pelosi as leader of the House. In a floor speech in February, he began, "Our speaker loves to fly, and it shows," and he went on to suggest that her jet of choice would contribute to the global warming problem she has so bemoaned.

"He was the one who was first able to say it in a way that had impact. ... It came across in a funny way," says Danielle Doane, director of House relations for the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank in Washington.

"Big Mac. He's got lots of spunk. He raises issues that need to be raised. He will defend his position enthusiastically, but with proper decorum and dignity."

REP. ROBIN HAYES, R-N.C., of Concord

Not every word of the article is flattering:

"To be a bomb-thrower, you have to be able to hit your target. He's not strategic. He has contributed to an impression in which people are often dismissive of him, almost at the outset."

REP. BARNEY FRANK, D-Mass.

But, for the most part, it's an embarrassment to the Charlotte Observer. It's a suspiciously timed, one-sided puff piece, a disservice to the citizens of the Tenth District.

McHenry EXPOSED back up and running

Little Mr. Whiney Boy's empty legal threats couldn't keep 'em down. McHenry EXPOSED is back up and running.

Last week, the host was intimidated but McHenry has no influence in Sweden. According to McHenry EXPOSED

It will be our goal to investigate rumors and allegations and to only report on them once we have adequate evidence (tangible or intangible) to make our case. We will strive to establish adequate evidence, enough to present a case in court with the confidence of winning our case.