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Two (Democrats) charged with election fraud for fake Tea Party filings
The Oakland Press ^ | 3-16-2011 | CHARLES CRUMM and DAVE PHILLIPS

Posted on 03/16/2011 7:36:44 PM PDT by smoothsailing

Two charged with election fraud for fake Tea Party filings

by CHARLES CRUMM and DAVE PHILLIPS

March 16,2011

Two former Oakland County Democratic Party workers face felony charges from a six-month grand jury investigation into allegations of election fraud.

Jason Bauer, the former political director for the county party, and Mike McGuinness, the former county party chairman, were arraigned Wednesday in Oakland County Circuit Court before Judge James Alexander.

They were each charged with three counts of uttering and publishing and perjury, while Bauer also faces three counts of a violation of the Michigan Notary Act. The charges range from 1-year misdemeanors to 15-year felonies.

McGuinness and Bauer were given a $25,000 personal bond. Their next court date was scheduled before Alexander at 11 a.m. April 15.

The charges were released during an afternoon news conference by Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper.

Judge Edward Sosnick was the one-man grand juror impaneled six months ago to investigate the allegations against the pair.

Sosnick was asked to investigate allegations of election fraud, perjury, forgery, obstruction of justice and violation of the Michigan Notary Act leveled at the end of August by Oakland County Executive L. Brooks Patterson and then-Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson.

Patterson and the other county officials asked for a grand jury to look at filings made by Oakland County candidates for The Tea Party group where signatures didn’t match their voter registration cards and after one candidate protested he hadn’t filed to run and was living out of state.

They also linked the filings to Oakland County Democratic Party employee Jason Bauer, who notarized several candidate filings. Bauer later resigned his position, as did Oakland County Democratic Party Chairman Mike McGuinness.

The Tea Party group’s bid for political party status was subsequently denied in a split vote by state canvassers, and appeals to the Michigan Court of Appeals and the Michigan Supreme Court were also rejected.

In the grand jury warrant handed down by Sosnick, McGuiness and Bauer are accused of fraudulently entering Aaron William Tyler as a Tea Party candidate for District 2 County Commission in July.

After learning he had been entered as a candidate, Tyler sent a letter to then-Oakland County Clerk Ruth Johnson in August stating he hadn’t filled out paperwork to appear on the county commission ballot.

That alleged act resulted in a charge of uttering and publishing.

McGuiness and Bauer are also accused of making a false affidavit or swearing falsely while under oath for the purpose of qualifying Tyler as a candidate for office, resulting in a charge of perjury.

A third charge of notary public violation was also handed down by the grand juror, who determined there was just cause to charge the men after hearing testimony.

Because the grand juror is still sitting, Oakland County Sheriff Mike Bouchard and Oakland County Prosecutor Jessica Cooper were unable to release many of the details about the case or the investigation during a press conference.

Cooper, a democrat, noted that her office worked in conjunction with Bouchard, a republican, and the Sheriff’s Office.

“It is not a political statement and we need to make that very clear,” she said.

Bouchard also spoke about the cooperation.

“(Cooper) has worked tirelessly on this,” he said. “It was probably a more uncomfortable position than she would like, having some of these individuals involved with her own party. I’d like to commend her integrity and forthrightness to never ever take a pause.”

A total of 23 people statewide have been part of an investigation into the filings, which Bouchard said were concocted by someone in Lansing.

Eight of those people were based in Oakland County, and at least four of the Oakland County cases have proven to be fraudulent.

Cooper said she could not comment when asked if charges may be filed against more people, and when asked whether conspiracy charges might be filed, Bouchard and Cooper had the same answer: “The grand juror is still sitting.”

The act of filing as a Tea Party candidate under false pretenses was not illegal in itself, Bouchard said.

“Creating a false party is not election fraud,” he said. “It may not be ethical, but it’s still legal. Some folks were fraudulently placed on the ballot without their participation — that’s the criminal side.”


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections; US: Michigan
KEYWORDS: bizzasusual; corruption; culutreofcorruption; democratcorruption; demonrats; electionfraud; elections; fraud; jasonbauer; lbrookspatterson; michigan; mikemcguinness; oaklandcounty; ratsagain; ruthjohnson; teaparty; votefraud; voterfraud
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1 posted on 03/16/2011 7:36:47 PM PDT by smoothsailing
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To: smoothsailing

Hot damn. I’ve been waiting for this.


2 posted on 03/16/2011 7:37:52 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: cripplecreek

I’ll bet that there’s lots more!


3 posted on 03/16/2011 7:39:01 PM PDT by sheik yerbouty ( Make America and the world a jihad free zone!)
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To: grellis

Fake tea party charges.


4 posted on 03/16/2011 7:40:06 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: smoothsailing

RATS constantly want to play with fire. Fine.


5 posted on 03/16/2011 7:45:33 PM PDT by Libloather (The epitome of civility.)
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To: cripplecreek

This sounds like there’s alot more to this fraud scheme than just one lone Michigan county.


6 posted on 03/16/2011 7:45:48 PM PDT by smoothsailing
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To: smoothsailing

I forget which one but either Bauer or McGuinness was director of ACORN in Oakland county in 08 when some 30,000 fraudulent voter registrations were turned in.


7 posted on 03/16/2011 7:46:43 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: smoothsailing

All liberals lie all the time. It is surprising, but encouraging, that the scumbags have actually been charged, instead of getting a free pass.


8 posted on 03/16/2011 7:47:28 PM PDT by dsc (Any attempt to move a government to the left is a crime against humanity.)
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To: smoothsailing

Here’s a story from July 09 about Oakland county democrats sending falsified letters asking republicans to support Obamacare. McGuinness issued an apology.

http://macombdaily.com/articles/2009/07/31/news/srv0000005991410.txt

These boys need to spend some time in a federal prison.


9 posted on 03/16/2011 7:51:35 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: smoothsailing

What amazes me is that nationwide this kind of stuff is robbing the country of true election results.

No matter which party it is, it must stop.


10 posted on 03/16/2011 7:52:11 PM PDT by devistate one four (USC 10.311 Militia Kimber CDP II .45 OORAH! TET68)
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To: smoothsailing; grellis; AdmSmith; AnonymousConservative; Berosus; bigheadfred; ColdOne; ...

The future of the Demwit party.


11 posted on 03/16/2011 7:52:31 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (The 2nd Amendment follows right behind the 1st because some people are hard of hearing.)
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To: smoothsailing

They failed to split the conservative vote.

And now they’re going to jail.

I love happy endings. :)


12 posted on 03/16/2011 7:52:37 PM PDT by Tzimisce (Never forget that the American Revolution began when the British tried to disarm the colonists.)
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To: dsc

We’ve got Ruth Johnson as secretary of state now and she won’t be tolerating this kind of crap.


13 posted on 03/16/2011 7:53:02 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: sheik yerbouty
I’ll bet that there’s lots more!

You betcha!

Because the grand juror is still sitting
14 posted on 03/16/2011 7:57:28 PM PDT by PA Engineer (Liberate America from the occupation media. There are Wars and Rumors of War.)
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To: PA Engineer

LIBs lie. So what’s new under the sun? Their are so determined and integrity-absent that they see everything as an opportunity. Never trust a LIB.


15 posted on 03/16/2011 8:01:09 PM PDT by hal ogen (1st amendment or reeducation camp?)
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To: devistate one four

These guys are going down. This story is from late last summer.

WITH VIDEO: County officials call for grand jury to investigate election fraud

http://www.theoaklandpress.com/articles/2010/08/25/news/politics/doc4c756de5a7dbd093734349.txt


16 posted on 03/16/2011 8:03:14 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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To: smoothsailing

A lot more Dems will be going down on this one....the investigation is ongoing in other counties.


17 posted on 03/16/2011 8:09:09 PM PDT by roses of sharon ("Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise." Luke 23:43)
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To: smoothsailing

John Adler’s campaign tried this against Jon Runyan-R in NJ-03. Adler then denied he knew anything about it. Runyan won anyhow so that was a happy ending. Don’t know if there were any charges filed.


18 posted on 03/16/2011 8:10:12 PM PDT by randita
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To: cripplecreek
McGuinness and Bauer are both charged with:

1. Three counts of forged records, uttering and publishing, a 14-year felony.
2. Three counts of election law, false swearing, a felony punishable by five years in prison.
3. One count of election law, false swearing-perjury, a five-year felony.

Bauer is also charged with three counts of notary public violation, a one-year misdemeanor.

Source-Detroit News

By my math, they each potentially face 60+ years in the slammer.

19 posted on 03/16/2011 8:10:46 PM PDT by smoothsailing
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To: smoothsailing

The only thing that would have saved these guys was democrat wins across Michigan.

They’re screwed.


20 posted on 03/16/2011 8:13:39 PM PDT by cripplecreek (Remember the River Raisin! (look it up))
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