CONCORD, N.H. --A former telemarketer charged in a scheme to jam Democratic phone lines may argue that he believed his actions were authorized by the government or the national Republican Party.

Shaun Hansen, of Spokane, Wash., is accused of paying $2,500 to have employees at Idaho-based Mylo Enterprises place hundreds of hang-up calls to phone lines offering voters rides to the polls on Nov. 5, 2002. Among the contests decided that day was the close U.S. Senate race in which Republican Rep. John Sununu beat outgoing Democratic Gov. Jeanne Shaheen.

Three others have been convicted for their roles in the scheme, including James Tobin of Bangor, Maine, President Bush's former campaign chairman for New England. That, along with phone records showing key figures in the phone jamming had regular contact with the White House as the scheme unfolded, has prompted Democrats to suggest the administration was involved.

Hansen's lawyer, Jeffrey Levin, didn't go that far. In a footnote to his U.S. District Court filing, Levin said, "It is not known, however, what involvement, if any, anyone at the White House may have had concerning the alleged scheme."

Democrats nontheless seized on the filing as further evidence the White House and Republican National Committee were pulling the strings.

"Even the phone-jammers themselves now argue they believed they were carrying out the scheme with the full seal of approval from the White House and the RNC," said Christy Setzer of the Senate Majority Project, a Democratic organization promoting Democratic control of the Senate.

Republican National Chairman Ken Mehlman was the White House political director in 2002. He has said neither he nor anyone on his staff spoke with Republicans in New England about the scheme. He says the calls to his office related to the close Senate race.

Robert Kelner, a lawyer for the Republican National Committee, also rejected any claim of White House or RNC involvement.

"From the public reports I've seen, this sounds like a completely fanciful defense," he said Friday. "A New Hampshire judge recently ruled that there was no basis for alleging a governmental role, directly or through the RNC, in this case."

Kelner was referring to a state judge's decision in June to dismiss most of a civil lawsuit Democrats filed against Republicans seeking more information about the scheme. In that ruling, Superior Court Judge Philip Mangones rejected the Democrats' argument that major political parties should be considered "quasi state agencies" on election days.

In his filing, Levin describes several defenses his client may use at trial, including arguing that Allen Raymond and others involved in the scheme were acting as government officials and that he relied on their assurances that his actions would be legal. Raymond, whose consulting firm, GOP Marketplace, hired Hansen's company to make the calls, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to three months in prison.

Hansen also may argue that given the official-sounding name "GOP Marketplace," and the work he had done for the firm in the past, he assumed it was a government or national party entity, Levin wrote. Levin was out of the office Friday and could not be reached for further comment.

Tobin was sentenced in May to 10 months in prison but remains free while he appeals his conviction on two telephone harassment charges. Chuck McGee, former director of the New Hampshire GOP, previously admitted coming up with the idea and served seven months for conspiracy.

© Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Commentary: