Ex-RNC phone jammer gets off scott-free

[MiaCulpa]

Source: Raw Story - John Byrne

Judge rules new charges are 'vindictive'

The Republican National Committee employee convicted of a plot to jam the phone banks of Democratic get-out-the-vote efforts in New Hampshire in 2002 has escaped penalty in his case, after a federal judge ruled that new charges against him could not be brought.

The latest charges against James Tobin, whose at least $722,000 dollars in legal fees were paid for by the Republican National Committee, were nixed by a federal judge on Thursday.

Tobin was convicted in December 2005 by a New Hampshire jury of being part of a conspiracy to jam Democratic phone banks led by Democrats and a nonpartisan firefighters union on Election Day 2002.


Read more: http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Former_RNC_director_convicted_in_phone_0220.html

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Full article at the link...

Diane

[crikkett]

1. more from the article...

...after his 2005 conviction, Tobin found himself legally absolved after the First Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the ruling in his case, finding that the telephone harassment statute under he was convicted "was not a good fit for what had been convicted of doing."

Government prosecutors then sought fresh charges against the former RNC reigional field director on making false statements. Tobin was indicted by a Portland federal grand jury in October.

But district Judge George Singal agreed with attorneys for Tobin and ruled Wednesday that bringing new charges against the former GOP political organizer qualified as a vindictive prosecution.

[No Elephants]

10. Gee, whatever happened to "prosecutorial discretion?" Isn't a judge supposed to

figure out guilt or innocence, not who should or should not be prosecuted? Isn't this judge crossing over from the judicial branch to the executive. And what is the deal with the First Circuit? That used to be a liberal circuit.

When you leave cons in office for 8 years, the federal judiciary is messed up for 30 or 40 years.

[crikkett]

12. There's also such a thing as 'double jeopardy' which limits prosecutorial discretion

and that could be the argument the judge is using to protect that nasty slimebucket.

The crime was that his previous sentence was vacated, by a different judge.

This judge might be saying that 'rules are rules' and it's not good to set a precedent for persecution even if it means this DOJ can't undo all the crimes of the past DOJ.

But I'm not a lawyer.

[No Elephants]

14. Did the judge actually say anything about double jeopardy, though?

[Blue_Tires]

2. the dirty tricksters almost ALWAYS get off...

or at the most a small fine...that is why it will continue to get worse in future elections

[No Elephants]

11. They don't even get charged.

[progressoid]

3. Great.

I guess we'll see more dirty tricks in 2010.

[OKNancy]

4. original AP story

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gpziglTzKEL0hFAxQf4ShPDRCz6QD96ET6P80

[Greyskye]

5. No way!

:banghead: :banghead: :banghead:

[Judi Lynn]

6. No matter how many dirty judges ease their way for them, these ugly people will still be known

as men who have betrayed the public trust for political gain, and for having assisted the dirtiest pResident in this country's history as he desecrated his stolen office, the Constitution, and conducted his reign of terror.

I hope it's a shame they will feel for the rest of their lives, the assholes. They are not decent people, we know it, they know it.

http://media3.washingtonpost.com.nyud.net:8090/wp-dyn/content//photo/2008/10/15/PH2008101501758.jpg

Would you buy a used car from this clown?

http://www.uscourts.gov.nyud.net:8090/ttb/2007-09/images/newLeadership/Singal.jpg

Judge George Z. Singal

[riverdeep]

8. The problem is that every nasty thing you listed about them,

is exactly why the GOP love them. They'll be back in the saddle soon, jamming away, or on some book signing tour, or getting a position at a think tank...the mafia take care of their own.

[liberal1973]

9. What a pos

That's the kind of un-American guy that should have died in a plane crash ./snark :applause:

[derby378]

7. Perhaps Tobin should be followed and monitored by the grassroots

He shouldn't even be allowed to sneeze in public without someone catching it on an MP3.

[underpants]

13. Read Allen Raymond's "How to rig an election: Confessions of a Republican Operative"

Great insight into the doings of a political operative and how to rise up the ranks

For the NH phone jamming thing Raymond was at best naive at worst manipulated by..guess who

Raymond was out of favor with the Bush machine because he had backed the mod Republicans or at least worked for them
Once Bush got the nomination all the money and therefore all the power was sucked to his side

Raymond had an idea to set up an online way of tracking soft money-where it went and from where- which Haley Barbour (who comes off a very able RNC head even if you don't like him) shot it down immediately. The murkiness of the system keeps it alive.

So Raymond (from the bluest of Eastern blood line..but not yet in the Bush realm) set up a telemarketing operation. Seed money from the RNC. Irskin Bowles tried to hire him at the last minute during his NC Senate run but since the RNC had started him off Raymond thought this would be prudent. Last minute phone blanketing with whatever money you have left is a common practice.

Raymond was contacted to run an operation in New Hampshire. Not the normal flood of calls but 300 or so calls per second to 6 specific numbers. He should have known it was illegal. He did get legal advice that it was okay but didn't get an email or anything in writing saying so. Basically Raymond says that this came from Rove (other small run ins with Karl in the book) with two purposes:
1. to see if it could be done (it was)
2. to see if they could get away with it (they didn't but only Raymond and another guy got pinched)

Raymond was expendable and was used thusly.

great read.