Witness discusses time on campaign chores

Friday, Dec. 3, 2004 | 11:26 a.m.

CARSON CITY -- Jennifer Normington, the chief prosecution witness in the Senate trial of Controller Kathy Augustine, says she spent nearly 100 percent of her state time working on the campaign in the final three months of the 2002 election.

Normington, who was the executive assistant to Augustine, however, said under cross-examination that she was told several times by the controller not to perform campaign work during state hours.

She spent more than four hours testifying Thursday before the state Senate. Part of her testimony was spent going through 1,035 pages of campaign materials that she created or helped create on state time using a state computer.

"I was afraid to tell her it was wrong to do it on state time," said Normington, who worked from October 2001 to Jan. 31, 2003 in the office before resigning.

Defense attorney Dominic Gentile, during the cross-examination, pointed out inconsistencies in her testimony. Normington told investigators for the attorney general's office in February 2003 that she probably spent three months on campaign chores during her tenure in the office.

She testified at the Assembly three weeks ago that she was forced to work 75 percent of the time on the campaign during state hours.

Augustine's case could be helped by a crucial legal opinion released Friday by Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno.

Attorneys for the Legislature found that state law does not prohibit a state worker from preparing campaign finance reports for a public officer who is running for reelection.

Kevin Powers and Eileen O'Grady, both principal deputy legislative counsels, determined that the preparation of the forms doesn't give direct personal benefit to the public officer.

It is "in the state's interest in preventing corruption or the appearance of corruption in the political process and not the personal or financial interest of or private benefit to the public officer or the state employee," they wrote.

Normington testified she prepared campaign reports for Augustine during state time. Jim Wells, the former deputy controller, also said he was asked to prepare the reports but refused.

Excluding the work she did on campaign reports, Normington estimated today that she still spent about 35 to 50 percent of her state time on Augustine's reelection, including making appearances for the controller during work time.

Normington, Wells and another Augustine employee, Jeanine Coward, were all unclassified workers -- the could be fired for any reason at any time -- and the opinion found that an unclassified state employee "may engage in political activities during hours of state employment or at any other time, unless those political activities are otherwise prohibited by another statutory provision."

Under the state ethics law, a state employee may not engage in political activities during hours of state employment or at any other time if those political activities involve using government time, property, equipment or other facility to benefit his personal or financial interest."

The trial before the Senate is to determine if Augustine ordered her employees to work on state time using state equipment on the campaign. If convicted in the first impeachment case in Nevada, she could be removed from her $80,000-a-year job.

Sen. Mark Amodei, R-Carson City, who is chairing the trial, disclosed one of the first hitches in the impeachment proceeding. He said the defense asked the Senate to issue a subpoena to the attorney general's office to supply background information on Dale Liebherr, who conducted the investigation for that office into Augustine.

Amodei said the attorney general's office refused on grounds it was personnel information. Amodei suggested the Senate could go to court to force the attorney general's office to supply this information. But Liebherr is expected to be present today and may testify.

Attorney General Brian Sandoval could not be reached for comment but his public information officer Tom Sargent said, "We're not giving personnel records up."

He said federal law protects these records unless the employee agrees to release the information.

During the four hours of questioning, Normington said she drafted campaign speeches, kept track of donations, helped in sending out invitations and other things, all on state time and using state equipment.

She said Augustine told her there was not enough money to hire staff and "we were going to run the campaign out of her office." She said Augustine told her she needed four more years in the controller's office to "set up for a place in Congress."

Normington quoted Augustine as saying, "I need to set up for Washington." She said Augustine told her she was "too good for this hick little state."

While Normington never objected to Augustine about doing the campaign work, she fell behind in her office work. And some of her state duties were taken away because she could not keep up because of the campaign work.

During cross-examination, Gentile said, "Nobody disputes you did a lot of work on the 2002 campaign." But he had Normington admit that Augustine told her on several occasions not to do campaign work on state time.

Normington, who kept her composure during the questioning by special prosecutor Dan Greco, Gentile and members of the Senate, said she tried to do the work after hours and it was impossible to get it done by the deadlines sought by Augustine. If she didn't get the work completed, Augustine yelled and screamed at her.

At times, Augustine told her to get the campaign work completed "right away," Normington testified. She said she felt she was "coerced" into doing the work during state time.

On one occasion, Normington said she told Augustine it was a bad idea to e-mail campaign materials with the address of the office on it. She said Augustine replied. "You're refusing to do something I told you to do?" But later Augustine admitted the office e-mail address should not be used and her daughter did the job.

Normington also testified about a confrontation between Augustine and Wells who refused to do the campaign expense and contribution report for the controller. Normington quoted Augustine as saying, "Jim is out of the circle. I wish I could fire him now before the election. But it will look like retaliation."

In earlier testimony, Coward said she did about 40 hours of campaign work during office time. Coward knew it was wrong but she said it was easier to do the work than face the "temper tantrums" of Augustine.

She said any "feedback or discussion (with Augustine) was not welcome or tolerated."

Coward also backed up earlier testimony that Augustine sold pearls out of her office with part of the proceeds going to her campaign.

Under cross-examination by defense lawyer John Arrascada, Coward said her work on the campaign was minimal. But she said she felt Normington worked 80 percent of her time on the campaign.

She said she witnessed abusive behavior by Augustine against Normington but could not give time, dates nor remember if anybody else was present to back up the story.

Normington agreed with Arrascada that screaming and yelling had nothing to do with the re-election campaign or allegations about misuse of state employees and equipment.

Both Normington and Coward resigned in January 2003 after the 2002 election. They then agreed to copy records off the controller's computer that showed campaign work was done on state equipment. And Coward took the information to the attorney general's office.

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