Panel Not Ready to Drop Probe of Race in O.C.

Contending that a “frightening number” of people improperly voted in the 46th Congressional District, the chairman of the House Oversight Committee said his panel’s inquiry into the contested election would not end with Saturday’s hearing.

Rep. Bill Thomas (R-Bakersfield) said the three-member panel he appointed to look into the election will not finish until it has determined the extent of alleged voter fraud in the contest.

“I can assure you that this task force will investigate to find out what happened in this election,” he said.

Thomas called “credible” the allegations presented by former Rep. Robert K. Dornan and rejected arguments by Democrats that the task force had allowed Dornan to move ahead without sufficient evidence.

“I think we would have been derelict if we did not go forward,” he said. “Should the case be dismissed because Dornan didn’t have the time to develop it? No, we should run the process through as long as there appears credible evidence.”

Dornan has challenged the 984-vote election victory of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), alleging that voting by noncitizens helped determine the outcome. He has yet to present evidence of voter fraud or irregularities sufficient to overcome the nearly 1,000-vote margin.

Steve Jost, chief of staff to Sanchez, said Thomas seems to have “prejudged the case and not burdened himself with any obligation to wait for the hearing or evidence or the refutation of any supposed evidence.”

Jost also criticized the committee for being so late in presenting an agenda for the meeting. The panel, which includes two Republicans and one Democrat, was trying to complete the agenda Tuesday night.

“Now we know why we don’t have an agenda,” Jost said. “The Republicans apparently have bought into Bob Dornan’s wildest conspiracy theories. They have lumped themselves into the people who regularly buy into black helicopters and Hale-Bopp rebirth.”

In an interview from Washington late Monday, Thomas said the task force would seek to review information developed by Orange County Dist. Atty. Michael R. Capizzi and California Secretary of State Bill Jones, and would be interested in whatever comes of the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service’s computer check of the county voter file and 1.3 million registrations.

Jones asked the INS a month ago to check for illegal votes, and the district director of the federal agency’s Los Angeles office said he would cooperate. But the request has been taken over by the INS headquarters in Washington, which is reviewing it.

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State and local agencies are conducting a joint criminal investigation into allegations of voter fraud centering on Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, a Santa Ana-based Latino rights group.

Jones’ office announced last week that 303 people who registered with the aid of Hermandad cast unlawful votes in the 46th District last fall, including some who were not citizens when they voted and others who were not citizens when they registered, though they were naturalized before the election.

Thomas also said the panel likely would have a decision before Saturday on whether contested subpoenas issued by Dornan must be answered. In cases involving suspected criminal fraud, “people are more reticent to come forward,” Thomas said, adding that subpoenas would be appropriate where “evidence is needed to present a credible case.”

Dornan has served about three dozen subpoenas for documents and depositions on organizations and individuals, including Hermandad and Sanchez. The vast majority have refused to comply.

“Under the law, Dornan had a right to contest the election and under the law he is moving forward with subpoenas and we are going to hold hearings to find out what is there,” Thomas said.

Thomas would not discuss how many improper ballots Dornan needs to establish to keep his challenge alive. “I am looking at this election in terms of the frightening number who did vote when they shouldn’t have,” he said.

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Citing the investigations by “independent state and local agencies,” the longtime congressman said it is important that Congress not act prematurely.

“I don’t know that the district attorney isn’t going to hand down indictments in the near future,” he said. “With all of that going on, you have to ask yourself: ‘What is the responsible thing to do?’ Is it to say there is nothing there and close the shop?”

Congressional sources said the task force met Tuesday night to finalize the agenda for the session. Democrats were critical of a draft agenda that was circulated as a proposal by Republicans.

The draft agenda suggests opening the session to public comment at 6 p.m., after the members of Congress have left.

Stacy Carlson, chief of staff to the committee, said that the draft was one of several proposals. “There is no validity to that agenda,” she said.