Baugh Seeks Dismissal of Charges

Assemblyman Scott Baugh has asked a judge to throw out his felony charges, contending that the Orange County district attorney’s office manipulated witnesses who appeared before the grand jury.

“The district attorney’s office overstepped the boundaries with this grand jury, “ defense attorney Allan H. Stokke said Thursday.

In separate motions, Stokke asked Superior Court Judge James L. Smith to dismiss the charges, alleging misconduct by the district attorney, and termed the evidence insufficient to file charges in the first place.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Craig McKinnon called the motions ordinary legal maneuvers. “I would just say that these are routine motions that are filed in cases, and we believe that when they are aired out in a courtroom setting it will show that the district attorney’s office acted entirely properly in the manner in which we investigated this case and presented it to the grand jury.”

Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) faces trial Aug. 26 on four felony and 18 misdemeanor charges alleging that he concealed and failed to properly report tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions and loans.

Baugh denies committing any crime and contends that the district attorney’s office has “engaged in a systematic and insidious effort” to harass him and his supporters.

The assemblyman was indicted in March after an investigation into last year’s special election in the 67th Assembly District.

Three Republican aides involved in the election and recall of former Assemblywoman Doris Allen have pleaded guilty to misdemeanors for their roles in putting a decoy Democrat on the ballot to siphon votes from another Democrat and help Baugh capture the winner-take-all election.

The decoy was Laurie Campbell, a friend and former co-worker of Baugh’s. Among Baugh’s alleged violations are that he failed to make a timely report of a $1,000 contribution from Campbell and that he returned the contribution to Campbell’s husband in cash. Cash transactions over $100 are prohibited under campaign laws.

Baugh is also accused of persuading his campaign treasurer to lie under oath about the source of some campaign funds.

In the motion alleging misconduct, Stokke contends that the district attorney manipulated the testimony of Baugh’s treasurer, Dan Traxler. “This is their star witness. The whole case rides on his testimony,” Stokke said.

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He said that tapes of interviews between Traxler and investigators just before Traxler testified before the grand jury show that there were “dozens of discrepancies” in the treasurer’s account, and that Traxler had several doubts about what had transpired with Baugh.

But when Traxler testified before grand jurors “20 minutes later,” Stokke said, “he doesn’t leave any door open. He’s sure of everything.”

Stokke alleges that prosecutors refused to let witnesses offered by the defendants testify before the grand jury and that one deputy district attorney suggested the witnesses would not be truthful. “There’s a big difference between being an advisor and an adversary,” Stokke said, “and the district attorney went before this panel as an advocate, not an advisor.”

Judge Smith is expected to rule on the motions Aug. 2. If Smith denies the motions, McKinnon said appeals by Baugh may delay the trial, possibly until after the November election.