Rather than demonstrate integrity or good faith to determine the extent of the election scandal, Vasquez, Bohac and their “inside man” Ed Johnson, have filed formal motions to withhold critical documents from federal court and to dodge a subpoena calling for Bohac and Johnson to testify under oath.
The determination of the Republican officials to avoid speaking under oath is underscored by their decision to hire infamous legal counsel to represent them. Dwayne Bohac has hired Tom DeLay’s legal counsel, Andy Taylor, to represent him while Ed Johnson has retained “celebrity” trial attorney Richard “Racehorse” Haynes. In addition, Leo Vasquez has demanded that Andy Taylor represent him as well, which would cost Harris County taxpayers thousands of dollars in additional legal fees. This “lawyering up” to avoid speaking under oath is the best indication so far that Vasquez, Bohac and Johnson may have engaged in illegal activity.
What are Vasquez and Bohac hiding?
Vasquez and Bohac have both been offered chances to produce documents that show their actions are legal. As part of a federal lawsuit, the Texas Democratic Party has requested access to the 70,000 rejected voter registration applications processed by Leo Vasquez’s office. Vasquez has refused access to these records and asked for more than $1,000,000 to view the files. The Lone Star Project sent an open records request to Bohac. Bohac has refused to produce any records and asked the Texas Attorney General to shield him from providing any of the correspondence from Bohac or his campaign consulting business to Leo Vasquez’s office.
Why does Bohac refuse to speak under oath or answer press questions?
Dwayne Bohac and his lawyer Andy Taylor are furiously working to block any questioning of Bohac under oath regarding his activities during the 2008 election or his potential conflict of interest as a State Representative. Rather than answer questions honestly and try to clear his name, Bohac has filed formal motions to avoid testifying at all. Bohac has also mysteriously dropped from the public eye. In addition to removing his business website, Bohac has refused to answer any reporters’ questions about his actions.
The Texas Democratic Party has now filed a motion calling on Johnson , Bohac’s business partner, to answer questions under oath about his role in the 2008 elections. Again, Harris County Republicans have been given the chance to speak honestly and openly about their actions that led to 70,000 voter applications being rejected. Johnson, Bohac and Vasquez’s recent actions make it appear that they will again try to duck questions and hide information.
Republicans “Lawyering Up”
DeLay’s hack counsel, Andy Taylor
Hired by: State Rep. Dwayne Bohac; formerly by Leo Vasquez
Notable Clients: Tom DeLay, TRMPAC
Famous For: Billing Texas taxpayers more than three-quarters of a million dollars to force through Tom DeLay’s 2003 mid-decade Republican Redistricting Plan (The Houston Chronicle, March 04, 2005)
Celebrity attorney, Richard “Racehorse” Haynes
Hired by: Ed Johnson, former Harris County Deputy Voter Registrar
Notable Clients: Murder defendant, T. Cullen Davis; Adult entertainer, Morganna – “The Kissing Bandit.”
Famous For: “The master of courtroom theatrics. He once shocked himself with a cattle prod in open court to show the jury that, while it “hurts like hell, it’s not deadly.” (ABA Journal, March 2009)
Key Quote: “I would have won them [all], if my clients hadn’t kept reloading their gun and firing.” (ABA Journal, March 2009)
