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Reporter says Plowman leaked Tate indictments
In a sworn statement filed Aug. 30, former Leesburg Today reporter Charlie Jackson who left the newspaper Aug. 24, said Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman leaked grand jury information against Mark D. Tate to the press.Tate, a Middleburg restaurateur who ran for the Republican nomination for State Senate in 2003 and 2007, was indicted May 21 on two counts of election fraud and nine counts of perjury. His jury trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 26.
He lost the 2007 Republican primary June 12 by more than 30 percentage points to Jill Holtzman Vogel, of Upperville. She will face Karen Schultz (D) and Donald Marro (I) for the 27th district seat Nov. 6.
Plowman has publicly supported Vogel and said this support was the reason he voluntarily recused himself from prosecuting the case against Tate in April.
In his statement, 26-year-old Jackson says this was not the case.
“On March 26, 2007, I received a call from Jim Plowman,” Jackson said in his sworn statement. “In that conversation, Mr. Plowman asked if I was calling about something unrelated to Mr. Tate. At that point, Mr. Tate's name had not been mentioned.
“When I asked Mr. Plowman what he thought I called about, Mr. Plowman brought up Mr. Tate. Mr. Plowman insisted that the conversation be off the record.”
Jackson's statement goes on to say that Plowman told him “Tate was a big financial disaster” and was “absolutely a criminal.” Jackson said Plowman accused Tate of “bouncing checks to different organizations” and that checks from his campaign were going to Tate's restaurant, The Coach Stop.
“I asked Mr. Plowman what the charges would be against Mr. Tate and when they would be returned,” Jackson said. “Mr. Plowman said campaign finance fraud and embezzlement and that the charges would likely come forward before the election.”
Jackson said he then “brought Mr. Tate in to ask him about these matters and his financial situation.”
Tate confirmed that he was having some financial difficulties such as owing money to the Town of Middleburg for The Coach Stop's utilities.
The news of the indictments against Tate broke May 3, published by a political action committee Web site – more than two weeks before the indictments were officially issued.
Jackson said when he asked Plowman to go on the record he fell silent.
“I then told Mr. Plowman that I would report that he had declined to comment and he said no,” Jackson said. “Mr. Plowman said that I could only report that [Mr. Plowman] could not be reached for comment.”
Defense attorney Ed MacMahon first filed a motion Aug. 7 charging Plowman, who led the initial investigation, with political foul play saying, “...this prosecutor was politically motivated from the start...The Commonwealth's Attorney for Loudoun is a public supporter of Mr. Tate's opponent....and has made numerous public statements about this case even after he was recused by order of the court.”
In addition the motion said that the defense was intent on calling Plowman to the stand.
MacMahon filed another motion Aug. 30 using Jackson's statement and an article published in Loudoun Times-Mirror Aug. 22 as evidence against Plowman's character.
“At this time, the defense requests that a subpoena...be issued to Mr. Plowman.”
In the Aug. 22 article, Plowman said that MacMahon couldn't call a Commonwealth's attorney as a witness.
“It's silly,” Plowman said. “he says [the charges are] politically motivated [but] really they're criminally motivated. I think it's obvious what they're doing.”
A three hour pre-trial hearing is scheduled for Sept. 21 at the Loudoun County Courthouse in Leesburg.
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