Justice Dept. May Have Tampered With New Hampshire Phone Case

Legal Affairs

Dems Allege Interference in Phone-Jamming Case

by Peter Overby

All Things Considered, March 26, 2007 · Questions about political pressure in the Justice Department are spilling over into the New Hampshire phone-jamming case.

Five years ago, New Hampshire Republicans jammed the phones of Democratic offices on Election Day, disrupting the Democrats' get-out-the-vote efforts and blocking phone calls from voters seeking rides to the polls. More than two years later, the New England coordinator for the Republican National Committee — who green-lighted the scheme — was charged with a felony and convicted.

But last week, a federal appeals court overturned the conviction.

Democrats allege that Justice Department officials in Washington interfered in the case, and they want Congress to investigate.

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