Justice Department delayed prosecuting Republican official for jamming Democrats’ phones ... [so that Republican is not affected in election]

Wed, Dec. 19, 2007 | Justice Department delayed prosecuting Republican official for jamming Democrats’ phones | By GREG GORDON | McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON | The Justice Department delayed prosecuting a key Republican official for jamming the phones of New Hampshire Democrats until after the 2004 election.

An official with detailed knowledge of the investigation into the 2002 Election Day scheme said the inquiry sputtered for months after a prosecutor sought approval to indict James Tobin, the Northeast regional coordinator for the Republican National Committee.

The phone-jamming operation was aimed at preventing New Hampshire Democrats from rounding up voters in the close U.S. Senate race between Rep. John Sununu, a Republican, and Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, a Democrat.

Sununu’s 19,000-vote victory helped the GOP regain control of the Senate.

While there were guilty pleas in the New Hampshire investigation before the 2004 presidential election, involvement of the national GOP wasn’t confirmed.

A Manchester, N.H., policeman had quickly traced the jamming to Republican political operatives in 2003 and forwarded the evidence to the Justice Department for what ordinarily would be a straightforward case.

However, senior Justice Department officials slowed the inquiry, the official told McClatchy Newspapers. The official didn’t know whether top department officials ordered the delays or what motivated those decisions. ...