No New Voter Fraud Leads in Dornan Papers

Defeated Rep. Robert K. Dornan (R-Garden Grove) renewed his allegations Thursday that “hundreds” of noncitizens and undocumented immigrants cast illegal ballots in last year’s election, but he failed to provide any concrete evidence or new leads in 12 pages of sworn written testimony submitted to the congressional committee investigating the dispute.

The fiery conservative also did not identify the source on which he based his assertion last week that congressional Republicans had uncovered at least 1,200 clearly illegal votes, presumably enough to void the election of Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Garden Grove), who defeated Dornan by 984 votes. Instead, the former congressman acknowledged that the numbers stemmed from an anonymous caller to his home who said she works “on the [Capitol] Hill” but declined to give her name or job.

“Please don’t give up,” Dornan quotes the caller as saying. “You inspired me to come to Washington. . . . I watched you on CNN. . . . My parents are pro-life supporters.”

In response, Dornan said he thanked her for calling, noting that “it’s good for my morale,” and asked for another call once the investigation closes to explain “why the counting took so long.”

Asked by the House Oversight Committee to provide names, addresses and telephone numbers of people who illegally registered to vote, voted or helped others do so, Dornan admitted he could not, referring lawmakers instead to lengthy lists of allegedly suspicious names that he previously submitted. He reminded the panel of illegal voters already uncovered by the Orange County district attorney’s office and registrar of voters, but offered nothing new.

“I am aware of others who are aware of documented or undocumented aliens being registered to vote during the 1995-96 election cycle,” Dornan wrote. “Due to the fact that . . . we have been stonewalled by virtually all of the individuals or organizations involved in the Sanchez campaign and voter registration . . . in Orange County, we have not had the benefit of that information to further document the nature and extent of voter fraud in the 46th District in the 1995-96 election.”

Of seven people asked last month in writing to answer the committee’s questions, Dornan was the first--and, so far, only one--to respond.

Sanchez, her former campaign manager and her attorney, Wylie Aitken, said they plan to present their answers Monday. Former Sanchez campaign aide Benny Hernandez said he did not receive the questions until Thursday but would respond once he had time to review them.

An attorney for two other key witnesses, Michael Farber--who was active in a group called Dump Dornan--and Nativo Lopez, who heads Hermandad Mexicana Nacional, an organization under criminal investigation for allegedly registering voters illegally, submitted papers Thursday charging that the committee had no right to pose the written queries.

Lawyer Mark Rosen wrote: “We do not intend to relinquish any constitutional and statutory rights at our disposal, particularly when this election contest has so clearly become a partisan battle.”

Indeed, the documents were submitted the same day that Minority Leader Richard A. Gephardt (D-Mo.) ratcheted up his rhetoric another notch, vowing to disrupt Congress “beyond anything you’ve ever seen” if the election inquiry is not halted after the recess Congress will take during next week.

“This is ridiculous,” Gephardt said of the investigation that has stretched almost a year. “Democrats will not allow adjournment . . . until Loretta Sanchez’s case is disposed of.”

Gephardt met earlier this week with House Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) and Majority Leader Dick Armey (R-Texas) to discuss the inquiry, among other issues, and asked for a list of things that needed to happen in order for the case to be closed. The list has not yet been produced, but Republicans said it is Sanchez’s and others’ refusal to comply with subpoenas that is holding the probe up.

“They are in complete control of when this thing ends,” said Armey aide Michelle Davis. “We’d all love to get the facts out and get this thing over. If [Sanchez] wants it done by the end of the year, then she can cooperate and get it done with.”