GOP’s Baugh Reportedly Pressed to Testify : Politics: Assembly members say the Orange County legislator told them the district attorney is looking for evidence on other Republicans involved in alleged election irregularities.

In a conference call with his GOP colleagues, Assemblyman Scott Baugh said the Orange County district attorney’s office is pressing him to provide evidence against any Republican higher-ups involved in recruiting a Democratic spoiler in last month’s special election, state legislators said Friday.

“Baugh seemed to be saying that the D.A. was offering him something like a plea bargain, and that if you roll over on who was in on this we will go easy on you,” said a Northern California Assembly member, who spoke to The Times on the condition of anonymity.

The lawmaker said Baugh did not mention names in the conference call Thursday morning, but did refer to “a local congressman and an Assembly member--maybe he said an ‘Assembly leader.’ ”

A second legislator said Baugh was clearly referring to U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Huntington Beach) and Assembly Republican Leader Curt Pringle (R-Garden Grove).

Baugh declined comment. But Pringle, Rohrabacher and Baugh all have repeatedly denied helping to engineer Democrat Laurie Campbell’s candidacy. Rohrabacher and Pringle have acknowledged their aides played some part in aiding Campbell’s effort, but said they themselves were not involved.

The district attorney is investigating how Republicans fostered Campbell’s candidacy in the 67th Assembly District race to draw votes away from a better-known Democratic candidate. Prosecutors are also investigating Baugh’s links to Campbell’s candidacy and possible irregularities in Baugh’s campaign finance reports.

Baugh won the Nov. 28 race, succeeding Assemblywoman Doris Allen, who was recalled in the same election.

Pringle declined to talk about the conference call, which he arranged to discuss Assembly GOP business. His spokesman said the call was “intended to be private, between the members.” Rohrabacher and his aides could not be reached for comment.

Two legislators--Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) and Jim Brulte (R-Rancho Cucamonga)--confirmed that Baugh discussed his legal predicament during the conference call.

Baugh’s attorneys, Allan Stokke and Ron Brower, were surprised when told of their client’s comments. They issued a statement on their own behalf, saying “there is no offer of immunity outstanding” to Baugh and noting that “the district attorney has simply said they want to get to the bottom of this matter, no matter where it leads. That is all they have said.”

“We are still trying to cooperate with the district attorney’s investigation and, at an appropriate point in time, Scott Baugh is interested in speaking to the district attorney or the grand jury,” they added.

“Anyone who says anything contrary to those points is simply misinformed.”

Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi’s office also declined comment.

Conroy, who was in Palm Desert during Thursday’s conference call, said Baugh “intimated” that the district attorney’s office is “trying to go higher . . . on the food chain, but he said he didn’t have anything to offer to them.”

Conroy said Baugh “never said anything about Pringle or Rohrabacher” specifically but did discuss in some detail a search warrant that was executed at his home by investigators Dec. 22.