Hastings staffer contacted US attorney
Looks like more than just conservative bloggers were involved in the failed Orange Putsch after the 2004 gubernatorial election. From The Seattle Times:
It's not much of a secret that conservatives were demanding McKay launch an investigation. What's not clear at this point is how far this potential scandal will go. The possibility that Hastings or his staff tried to pressure a US attorney into launching an unwarranted investigation for political purposes hangs in the air.
During the recount of the hotly-contested 2004 governor's race in Washington state, the chief of staff to Rep. Doc Hastings, R-Wash., called former U.S. Attorney John McKay to inquire about the status of any federal investigations into voter fraud, McKay told a Senate committee today.And for added hilarity:
McKay told the Senate Judiciary Committee that Ed Cassidy, who now works for Republican Minority Leader John Boehner, called him "some weeks" following the 2004 election, and after a third re-count had determined that Democrat Christine Gregoire had narrowly defeated Republican Dino Rossi.
"I was told the purpose of the call was to inquire on behalf of congressman Hastings" about the status of ongoing investigations of voter fraud, McKay said in response to a question from Sen. Dianne Feinstein.
Cassidy stopped working for Hastings in mid-2005, when he left to join the House Ethics Committee — which Hastings then chaired.Ethics, right.
It's not much of a secret that conservatives were demanding McKay launch an investigation. What's not clear at this point is how far this potential scandal will go. The possibility that Hastings or his staff tried to pressure a US attorney into launching an unwarranted investigation for political purposes hangs in the air.
