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 . . .

McHenry and friends

Here's more on his friends.






Thanks to AsheVillein for the photoshop work.

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.

Lay arraigment postponed

From the Charlotte Observer:

Gaston County

Arraignment of former McHenry worker continued

GASTONIA

Michael Aaron Lay, the former campaign worker for Rep. Patrick McHenry who was indicted on two counts of election fraud, appeared in court Monday. Lay's arraignment in Gaston County Superior Court was continued to Aug. 6 to give his attorney, Thom Goolsby, time to review the prosecution's files on the case, which he received Monday, Goolsby said.In May, a grand jury indicted Lay, 26, because of questions about whether he had legal residence in North Carolina when he registered to vote and cast a ballot in McHenry's primary election. McHenry, R-N.C. and from Cherryville, prevailed in a contentious GOP runoff by about 85 votes and went on to become, at 29, the youngest member of Congress.

Goolsby has denied the charges against Lay.

Lay, who graduated from the University of Tennessee law school in May, is living in Raleigh and working on Bill Graham's gubernatorial campaign. -- amy rainey

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's ex-roomie importing clones

Unless Michael Aaron Lay's reported indictment has slowed down his recruitment efforts, North Carolina is about to get invaded by conservative outsiders from UT.

Former McHenry staffer and roomie Michael Aaron Lay is advertising for interns at his alma mater's website. Just check out the language:

"This is not your average internship."

From living with the candidate to underage drinking parties, to a future indictment, to single-use towels, one would have to figure Lay knows the full ramifications of the phrase "not your average . . ."

The promoted internships are for the newly announced Bill Graham gubernatorial campaign.

Here's what the Associated Press wrote about Graham yesterday:

Graham had never run for elected office until now, but gained political experience and built a support base while spending more than $2 million in personal funds to bankroll a group he started called North Carolina Conservatives United.

He spent hundreds of thousands of dollars on radio and television commercials in 2006, urging citizens to roll back a nearly three-cent automatic increase in the gasoline tax. He later starred in ads critical of illegal immigrants, saying they take advantage of the state's education and health care systems.

One would suppose the candidate doesn't appreciate the timing of the announcement. But I suppose no Republican these days can count on a free day to squeeze in some good news between the subpoenas, the resignations, and the sentencings.

Here's the text of the recruiting ad since the link was down last I checked:

“Bill Graham for Governor Exploratory Committee seeks paid Interns!

North Carolina republican gubernatorial campaign is seeking intelligent, motivated college students to work as field representatives during the summer of 2007 (May-August). All majors are accepted and college credit is available.

You will have the opportunity to work in a campaign that combines cutting edge technology with traditional grassroots campaigning. Forget making copies, getting coffee, and answering e-mails. You will be part of an intense ground campaign and have the chance to contribute to all sectors of the campaign. This is not your average internship.

Responsibilities will include contacting voters, organizing counties and recruiting volunteers, as well as attending events on behalf or along with the candidate. Field reps will also conduct advance preparation for events sponsored by the campaign. A stipend of $1000 will be provided per month. Lodging will also be provided in the area in which the field rep is located. For more information or to apply, please contact Aaron Lay at ncrecruit@aol.com.”

h/t North Carolina Conservative. Cross posted at Scru Hoo and BlueNC

Pat's bad week

When it rains, it pours. While I was busy chasing alligators around a swamp in South Carolina, Pat McHenry was having the worst week of his life.

First his roomie and former campaign staffer Michael Aaron Lay gets indicted for voter fraud.

Then on Monday a Republican blogspot posts a 2004 photo of McHenry with a report that he's surrounded by underage drunk Young Republicans for whom his campaign allegedly provided the beer. (The lollipop was his reward for winning a Catawba County straw poll he fixed by bussing in said YRs.)

Then Pat's pitbull attack dog (and former chief of staff) Jason Deans gets outed for a number of DUIs and a manslaughter charge.

Here's the outing:

Jason Deans experience with the criminal justice system comes not from a law school education, but rather from his own experience as a criminal defendant. Jason Deans was charged in the past with killing a man in an automobile wreck. Since then Mr. Deans has had a checkered past as he has been cited numerous times for traffic violations and spent a good deal of time in our state’s criminal courts.

And, in case you were feeling sorry for Mr. Deans, read his lovely comparison of the extended two-year voter fraud investigation of Lay to the rush-to-judgment Duke Lacrosse rape case (from the Shelby Star):

“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.”

And that's just what the Republicans are saying about him!

Oh, remember that money-laundering indictment I told you about several weeks ago (before anyone else, may I brag?) Well, those rumors haven't died. They've recently been confirmed.

Are we having fun yet?

Crossposted at BlueNC and Scru Hoo

Why did it take two years?

Why did it take well over two years to bring a charge of voter fraud against a McHenry staffer when the evidence was plentiful and public? Why did an entire election cycle pass with no indictments?

Could it be because the former Gaston County District Attorney had a conflict of interest? Now, I know lawmen are supposed to recuse themselves when friends, family, or business cohorts are involved. Does that include politicians they've publicly endorsed? When an entire election cycle goes by with no charges and tons of evidence, you have to wonder.

And we know that former DA Michael Lands was quite the McHenry pal. If you scroll down to the bottom of the front page of the Donnie Young Exploratory Website, you'll see that Lands, as well as assistant district attorneys Craig Collins and Bill Stevenson appear on a list of McHenry's supporters on his campaign website. Gee, I think, if they'd stayed in office, they might have needed a few more years, even decades for that simple investigation.

(See a small copy of that page at upper right.)

But maybe there was no conflict of interest. Maybe they were just intimidated.

In the Shelby Star, McHenry accuses the current prosecutor of political bias:

McHenry, a Cherryville Republican . . . called the charge political.

Former McHenry Chief of Staff Jason Deans had this to say:

“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.”

Methinks Mr. Dean doth protest too much. That they are attacking the messenger rather than the perpetrator is no surprise since McHenry learned all he knows at the feet of Karl Rove. The way McHenry went after Pelosi for her plane and Democrats for the timing of the Foley emails, everyone involved must have known that he would go after the DA for even the most well-founded legitimate charges.

Lands and Bell said this to the Shelby Star:

Former District Attorney Mike Lands, now a District Court judge, received the investigative file into Lay’s case from the State Board of Elections in mid-November and then gave it to Bell in mid-December, he said.

Lands said he told Bell that this case would be waiting for him when he took office Jan. 1.

Bell offered a similar account, saying he “inherited” the case. “The investigation began under Mr. Lands and it was completed under me,” he said.

But I'm not convinced by what Lands and Bell say publicly. It sure looks like Lands dragged his feet on this case. The attacks on Bell make it clear life must have been rough for the former prosecutor and his assistants. The public deserves to know why it took so long.

Information Slowly Getting Out

The blog world is on fire with news of the indictment of the Congressman Pat's former campaign worker...newspapers and television are slowly catching on. McHenry released a statement quoted in this Hickory Daily Record article.

“Aaron is an ethical law student whom I know to be a good Christian and law-abiding citizen,” McHenry’s statement read. “It’s unfortunate that political opponents chose to target this young man in order to attack me. In the end, the facts and the law are on the side of this decent, law-abiding student, and he will be found innocent of this baseless attack.”

In the same article McHenry's former campaign manager, Jason Deans, is quoted as saying:

“This whole episode is nothing more than a shameful political witch hunt that could sully a young man’s career. The congressman’s political opponents have repeatedly distributed misleading material about these false allegations, almost perfectly synchronized with the questionable actions of the district attorney.”

The question is why weren't McHenry and Dean weren't worried about this young man's reputation when he was voting for McHenry. The issue arises in every political scandal
"what did the candidate know, and when did he know it?" Those are the questions the Congressman will be answering soon.

BREAKING NEWS

The voter fraud investigation rumors are proving true. CBS News is reporting a key McHenry campaigner has been indicted. The person indicted is a former field director for McHenry that cast a vote in the district while allegedly maintaining a residence out of state. That is all the info I have for now, but as it emerges we will keep you posted.