Phone-Jamming Call Center Records Point to White House

The New Hampshire Phonegate story may have just gotten a little stickier according to an Associated Press article earlier this week.

In 2002, Bush campaign operatives hired an Idaho-based call center to make hang-up calls to the New Hampshire Democrats’ “Get Out the Vote” line, a service that provided rides to voting polls. New Hampshire Republican John Sununu ultimately defeated Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.

Most everyone involved in the scandal, from Bush’s Republican regional director James Tobin, to another party official, to the owner of the call center, have received sentences or plea bargains. Records now show, though, that the scandal may be a bit more involved than just hang-up calls. Tobin made around two dozen calls to the White House within a three-day period around Election Day in 2002, a period that overlaps with the “Get Out the Vote” shenanigans.

Democrats in a civil case are demanding to know the nature of these calls. Republicans are on the defensive. The Republican National Committee’s lawyer, Robert Kelner, told the Associated Press, “If all you’re pointing out is calls between Republican National Committee regional political officials and the White House political office on Election Day, you’re pointing out nothing that hasn’t been true on every Election Day.”

You can read the full story at Phone-Jamming Records Point to White House.