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[VA] GOP to Pay Democrats for Eavesdropping
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Dec 06, 2004 06:45pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Washington Post |
| News Date | Monday, December 6, 2004 06:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By Michael D. Shear
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, December 5, 2004; Page C05
The Republican Party of Virginia has tentatively agreed to pay Democratic lawmakers almost $750,000 to settle a federal lawsuit stemming from a 2002 incident in which the party's former executive director eavesdropped on a Democratic conference call, sources familiar with the case said yesterday.
Resolution of the case would end a two-year legal nightmare for the Republican Party. The scandal led to the resignation of several top party officials and threatened to drag the Republicans' likely nominee for the next governor -- Attorney General Jerry W. Kilgore -- into a civil trial that was set to begin Thursday in Richmond.
But it could be a financial blow to the party as it prepares for the statewide elections next year. Shawn Smith, who was named executive director of the state Republican Party yesterday, declined to comment on the possibility of a settlement. He also would not say how much money the party has in the bank.
The sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said a draft settlement has been drawn up by attorneys and agreed to in principle but has not yet been signed by all of the 33 Democratic legislators who filed the suit or by all of the defendants. The suit named the Republican Party, former state GOP executive director Edmund A. Matricardi III, former state party chairman Gary R. Thomson, former House speaker S. Vance Wilkins Jr. and Wilkins's former aide, Claudia D. Tucker. |
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