The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office is investigating rogue phone calls made to several state representatives in the days before the House defeated a proposed constitutional amendment known as Marsy’s Law.
The office confirmed Friday that it had received “an inquiry” about concerning telemarketer calls made to House members urging them in an inappropriate way to support constitutional rights for crime victims. At that time, prosecutors said they had not opened an investigation into the matter.
By Tuesday afternoon that had changed.
“We’ve had some additional information come in since (Friday), and we can confirm that we’re now investigating this,” Assistant Attorney General Matthew Broadhead told the Monitor.
Broadhead, who oversees the department’s election law division, said the office had not received a formal written complaint, but noted that new information was enough to trigger an investigation. He declined to provide further specifics, but said authorities would be “looking at a number of potential violations.”
Marsy’s Law for New Hampshire said it supports the attorney general’s investigation and hopes that anyone who engaged in the effort is held accountable.
“No Marsy’s Law entity whatsoever had anything to do with the fraudulent calls,” said spokeswoman Jennifer Horn. “We’re appalled that someone would use our name in an illegal and underhanded manner.”
Horn, who is the former chairwoman of the Republican Party for New Hampshire, said the calls were illegal in two ways: the caller falsely identified as being from the Marsy’s Law campaign and did not disclose who paid for the calls.
They also misrepresented the positions of state representatives.
According to state law, anyone who misrepresents the origin of a telephone call that advocates for the success or defeat of a measure faces a civil penalty of $5,000 per violation. In addition, those who suffered harm as a result of the violation can bring civil action for damages and other relief.
Rep. Mary Beth Walz, D-Bow, was one of at least a handful of House members who received the questionable Marsy’s Law call. Walz wrote in an email to her colleagues last week that the caller said, “ ‘My state representative’ is asking that I call him and tell him whether or not I support Marsy’s Law and that he is counting the number of pro and anti calls.”
Walz said she quickly became suspicious and asked for more information.
“I again asked her directly who had hired her, and she said the representative,” Walz wrote to her colleagues.
Knowing the other representatives in her district, she reached out and learned one of them was being misrepresented without his knowledge, she said.
Walz’s email sparked responses by email and on social media from other state representatives who said they, too, had received the generic call.
Rep. Victoria Sullivan, R-Manchester, said in an interview that she answered the call on April 24 from someone purportedly working on behalf of Barbara Shaw, a House Democrat from Manchester. Sullivan said she reached out to her friend and told her what had happened. She also called the department of justice and left a message for Broadhead.
“I know other state representatives’ names were used, as well, which is why the whole thing is so troubling,” Sullivan said. “I welcome feedback from my constituents all the time, but I would never send a lobbying group on my behalf.”
The call to Sullivan originated from a Madison telephone number linked to a marketing firm involved in past political efforts but with no apparent ties to the Marsy’s Law effort.
Launched in January, the Marsy’s Law campaign received at the outset strong bipartisan support in the Legislature for constitutional rights for crime victims. The amendment gained momentum as it passed the Senate in a 20-3 vote in March, but it went on to meet strong skepticism in the House, where on April 10 members of the Judiciary and Criminal Justice committees recommended, 24-11, that the bill be killed.
Marsy’s Law later died on the House floor in a lopsided vote of 284-51. The measure needed the support of 235 of the state’s 391 representatives to advance and be placed on the November ballot for voters’ consideration.
Sullivan said the calls were a “big topic of conversation” on the House floor preceding that April 26 vote.
Since learning of the calls, House members and the Marsy’s Law campaign have urged anyone with information to contact the attorney general’s office. They renewed that push Tuesday in the wake of the office’s announcement of an official investigation.
“We believe very strongly in protecting the process that is in place here in New Hampshire,” Horn said.
(Alyssa Dandrea can be reached at 369-3319, adandrea@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @_ADandrea.)