10 Months Jail Time For Ex-RNC Official

Remember the 2002 midterms? Remember a tight Senate race between former NH Gov. Jeanne Shaheen and now GOP Senator John Sununu? If you do, this story might interest you:

CONCORD, N.H. - A former Republican National Committee official was sentenced Wednesday to 10 months in prison for his role in the jamming of New Hampshire Democrats’ telephones on Election Day 2002.

James Tobin, 45, was found guilty in December of harassment by telephone.

Prosecutors said he helped arrange more than 800 hang-up calls that jammed get-out-the-vote phone lines set up by the state Democratic Party and the Manchester firefighters union for about an hour. [...]

Not surprisingly this type of tactic initially got rewarded by GOPers:

He later became New England chairman of President Bush’s 2004 re-election campaign but stepped down when Democrats accused him of playing a role in the jamming.

Good stuff.

UPDATE: Reuters adds the following:

U.S. District Judge Steven McAuliffe described the crime as "extremely serious" and a threat to the U.S. political tradition of free and fair elections.

"People in your position need to know they cannot do these things and if they do the consequences are very, very serious," he said in handing down a sentence harsher than the six months home detention and community service sought by Tobin's lawyer.

Democrats want an investigation into 22 telephone calls made by Tobin and New Hampshire Republican Party officials to the White House on November 5 and 6, 2002, and say they believe national Republican officials may be involved in the scheme.

"I don't consider this sentencing to be the end of the matter. I consider this to be one more step in the process of uncovering exactly who knew about this," said Kathleen Sullivan, the New Hampshire Democratic Party chair.