Judge Voids Subpoenas Issued by Dornan in Vote Fraud Case

A federal judge revoked dozens of subpoenas Friday recently issued by attorneys for former Rep. Robert K. Dornan, ruling that the ex-congressman does not have the legal authority to demand documents as he tries to prove he lost the last election because of voter fraud.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Gary L. Taylor agreed with attorneys for Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), who argued that in cases regarding contested elections, subpoenas can only be issued for depositions, or oral testimony, and not for documents exclusively.

Sanchez chief of staff Steve Jost hailed the decision as a major blow to Dornan, saying: “At this point, his case does not have a prayer.”

However, Dornan attorney Bill Hart shrugged off the ruling’s significance and said he would rewrite the subpoenas Monday to comply with the law by calling for individuals to come to his office for depositions with the documents in their possession. “On Monday the whole process begins again,” Hart said. “This is nothing but a tempest in a teapot.”

Dornan’s attorneys issued about 40 subpoenas in the last two weeks, demanding documents dating back to 1994 from government agencies, schools, nonprofit organizations, Latino political groups and Sanchez supporters. Attorneys said they needed the records to prove to a congressional subcommittee that there was substantial voter fraud in the November election, which Dornan lost by 984 votes.

Sanchez supporters said Dornan was engaging in a witch hunt, desperately trying to pull together enough bad votes to convince the House to call for a new election.

Dornan’s case is being studied by a three-member congressional task force, consisting of two Republicans and one Democrat, which has scheduled hearings on the matter in Orange County in late April. Under a federal statute, a failed candidate who has such a case pending before Congress can issue subpoenas through any local judge.

In mid-February, Dornan’s attorneys asked for and received 50 blank subpoenas from Magistrate Judge Elgin Edwards. They have issued about 40, said Hart, all asking for documents.

In some cases, the requested documents reached back three years and involved thousands of names. They ranged from a list of people excluded from the welfare rolls in Orange County to students who took citizenship classes at Rancho Santiago College in Santa Ana. Many of the targeted groups represent Latinos.

Subpoenas went out to Sanchez, her husband, Steven Brixey III, and Michael Farber, who ran unsuccessfully against Dornan in 1994.

Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a Latino rights organization, also received subpoenas. Hermandad is at the center of state and local investigations into allegations that noncitizens voted last November.