Posted on 10/21/2006 11:12:50 AM PDT by freespirited
Without offering evidence that could be independently verified, Democratic congressional candidate Francine Busby and her top campaign aide alleged yesterday that Republican Rep. Brian Bilbray is the target of a criminal fraud investigation.
Rumors of a county grand jury investigation of Bilbray's residency status have circulated in recent weeks, with Busby campaign operatives seeking to generate interest among several news outlets, none of which confirmed an investigation. At a news conference yesterday, with the Nov. 7 election less than four weeks away, Busby campaign manager Ray Drew said he had been contacted by several anonymous callers who said they are neighbors of Bilbray's mother in Carlsbad.
Drew, declining to identify the callers, said they told him that they told a grand jury in late August and early September that Bilbray does not live in the neighborhood.
Pressed for details, Drew said: “At this point all I can do is tell you the truth as I know it.”
In an interview, Bilbray called the allegations politically motivated. He claims in election documents that the Carlsbad residence is his home.
Asked if he had been interviewed by investigators or subpoenaed, he said: “Absolutely not.”
“These are very serious circumstances,” Busby told reporters. She cited District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis for “the courage to root out corruption,” adding: “If Brian Bilbray is indeed being investigated by a criminal grand jury, voters of the 50th District deserve to know.”
Busby declined to take questions and was hustled back into her Cardiff campaign office by her press secretary.
The rumor mill went into high gear after Jess Durfee, chairman of the San Diego County Democratic Party, distributed an e-mail late Tuesday that said: “We've recently heard reports that the San Diego District Attorney's Office has impaneled (sic) a Grand Jury to investigate our complaint.”
Earlier this year, the party asked Dumanis to investigate Bilbray. The party claimed that Bilbray lied about living in Carlsbad, and that his principal residences are in Imperial Beach and Virginia.
On Wednesday, Durfee told The San Diego Union-Tribune that he had no proof an investigation was under way
Yesterday Dumanis confirmed in an e-mail that her office's Public Integrity Unit had been asked to investigate Bilbray. She declined to confirm or deny whether an investigation was launched.
“This topic came up prior to the June election,” Dumanis spokesman Paul Levikow said, “and these types of accusations frequently come up in any election season.”
Bilbray denounced the rumors as “totally manufactured.”
“All I know is where I lay my head at night,” he said. “I know where my surfboard is parked and where my wet suit would be.”
In a Wednesday e-mail to supporters – headlined “Grand Jury Investigation of Bilbray” – Busby claimed “credible sources have reported that the San Diego District Attorney has empaneled a criminal grand jury to investigate Brian Bilbray on the charge of fraud.”
An e-mail yesterday from Busby said: “This morning, the North County Times reported that a 'grand jury investigation of Republican Brian Bilbray's legal residency' is underway.”
The e-mail gave an edited-down version of what the newspaper reported yesterday. The newspaper reported the “San Diego Democratic Party sent out an e-mail . . . saying that it had 'heard reports' of a grand jury investigation of Republican Brian Bilbray's legal residency.”
Bilbray defeated Busby in a June special election to fill the months remaining on the term of former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who is serving more than eight years in federal prison after he admitted taking more than $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors and pleading guilty to conspiracy and tax evasion.
Bilbray and Busby face off in the Nov. 7 election to determine who will hold the 50th Congressional District seat for the next two years. The district includes much of coastal North County as well as San Marcos, Escondido and unincorporated communities such as Rancho Santa Fe.
Another case of journalistic standards thrown out the window because the target is a Republican.
Grand juries are supposed to be secret. If Busby is leaking information, SHE is the one who should be investigated.
She said this right before the election to fill Cunningham's seat....
telling a Spanish-speaker at a meeting of mostly Latinos that “You don't need papers for voting.”
BWA HAAA, HA HA HA HA!!
A liberal Democrat WILL NOT win the 50th, no matter how many dirty tricks she pulls.
The poorest residents of the 50th district are the illegals living in canyons. The second poorest residents of the 50th district live in $500k townhomes and pull in $75k/year.
Somebody who has gone on record as intending to repeal the Bush tax cuts and raise the gas tax is NOT going to win many votes in such a prosperous and conservative area.
Not only did Busby tell a crowd that "You don't need papers to vote", she was actually replying to a person who said in Spanish, "I don't have papers. How can I help?" Deport both of them.
Now admittedly it might be a political negative if a Congressman was seen as an outsider and a carpetbagger, and the voters might also be upset if he lied about it. But it's not illegal, and it does not disqualify him for office. So why in the world would a Grand Jury be looking into it?
She is really desperate like everyone else in this damn treasonous democrat party.
Bilbray allegedly doesn't meet eligibility requirements and it's a big scandal.
Jerry Brown allegedly doesn't meet eligibility requirements and it's a dirty trick.
-PJ
There's no real reason to believe a GJ is looking into this. Doesn't it seem more than a little odd that every person who supposedly called to volunteer this info chose to be anonymous? What a coincidence!
As for understanding RATthink, I am just not that good.
This is your classic 'rat circle... uh... exercise.
They send a note to the paper claiming there's an investigation, the paper reports that they're claiming there's an investigation, then they cite the paper's report of their claim as support of their claim, hoping the masses are stupid enough to think the newspaper did some independent investigation rather than just reporting what they said in the first place.
Sadly, in many cases, the masses are.
this is a perfect example of lib/dem campaigning....no idea/no issues/no platform...just smear tactics with the lib/dem complicit msm carrying their water!!!
Bilbray had been leading by 14 in the Survey USA poll, he's now down to 3. Barron's is predicting that Busby will win because she has more cash, but I have my doubts. Congressional Quarterly still rates the race Republican Favored.
I guess that's as long as there are no more tricks.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.