Sanchez and 6 Others Subpoenaed as Dornan Contests Election Defeat

A federal judge issued seven more subpoenas Friday at the behest of former U.S. Rep. Robert K. Dornan, who is alleging that voter fraud contributed to his 984-vote defeat last November.

The subpoenas call the following people to the offices of Dornan’s attorneys next week:

* Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), who stunned the local Republican Party with her upset victory over Dornan.

* Nativo V. Lopez and Bert Corona, both directors of Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a Latino rights group under state and local investigations for allegedly registering noncitizens to vote.

* Benny Hernandez, a former Anaheim school board member who worked on the campaign of Loretta Sanchez.

* Jim Prince, who ran against Sanchez in the Democratic primary.

* Michael Farber, who directed an anti-Dornan election group and who worked out of Hermandad offices in Santa Ana. Farber ran unsuccessfully against Dornan in 1994.

* Rosalyn Lever, Orange County registrar of voters.

Attorneys for several of those named in the latest subpoenas said they would file objections with the House Oversight Committee, which is investigating Dornan’s claims and which gave him subpoena power.

“This is purely political and purely harassment,” said Wylie Aitken, an attorney for Sanchez and her former campaign chairman. “They did it so they can say she has something to hide [when she refuses to appear]. That is the insane game they’re playing. That is the game they’ve been allowed so far to get away with.”

A week ago, the same federal judge, Gary L. Taylor, issued 24 subpoenas at the request of Dornan’s lawyers that essentially asked for documents from political campaigns, Latino rights groups, the registrar of voters, a community college that provides classes to immigrants, labor unions and several banks.

All but a few of the recipients have filed motions to quash the subpoenas, which at some point will be heard by the House committee. The committee has scheduled a hearing in Orange County on April 19 at the Hall of Administration in Santa Ana.

Lever, the registrar, said her office would comply on Monday by allowing Dornan’s attorneys to copy some documents. She said, “I do not have to appear for a deposition.” However, she had not yet received the subpoena issued Friday.

Mark Rosen, an attorney for Hermandad, said he did not expect Hermandad officials to comply with the newest subpoenas, which they had not yet received late Friday. He had filed a motion to quash the subpoena issued earlier for Hermandad records.

“We’re not going to accept this process until we’ve gotten a decision one way or another about the validity of this process, either from the committee or the entire House,” he said.

Michael Schroeder and Bill Hart, Dornan’s attorneys on the election review case, could not be reached for comment Friday. But in a statement issued by their office, Schroeder said the latest subpoenas were meant to get to the heart of Dornan’s fraud case.

“Loretta Sanchez and Nativo Lopez are engaged in a deliberate conspiracy to obstruct the investigation,” he was quoted as saying. “They will now be forced, under oath, to answer the question that all of the voters in Orange County have: What part did they have in the voter fraud that has occurred in the 46th Congressional District?”

Aitken, on the other hand, said, “We are all aware that Loretta Sanchez was not involved with Hermandad Mexicana Nacional or Nativo Lopez and has nothing to contribute to Mr. Dornan’s witch hunt.”