Luzerne County District Attorney Sam Sanguedolce closed out an annual presentation to county council Tuesday night by addressing “what seems to be the elephant in the room” — the morning’s Congressional hearing about the county’s November general election paper shortage.
Sanguedolce said he and county detectives took the time to watch the three-hour hearing, and he observed questions were raised about why the county is relying on the DA’s office to handle the paper shortage investigation when every aspect of the investigation may not be criminal.
The Pennsylvania election code mandates these investigations be handled by the DA, he said. County election boards must investigate election irregularities and violations and report all suspicious circumstances to the DA, he said. This is how the DA’s Office has primary jurisdiction in complaints related to election matters, he said.
Early on, in accepting the investigation, Sanguedolce said he realized some allegations may not be criminal.
“However some of the allegations actually came across as being criminal, and whether or not they come to fruition doesn’t stop our office from investigating,” he said.
Sanguedolce said he, along with many county officials, take exception to comments from the Committee on House Administration spokesperson, and some of the committee members and witnesses, indicating county officials are “somehow leaving voters in the dark or abdicating their responsibility.”
As previously stated, the county properly referred the investigation to the DA’s Office, he said. The office has been “diligently pursuing answers” while also handling a multitude of serious and violent crimes, he added.
“On behalf of our office, I wanted to thank council and the administration for their patience in awaiting completion and approval of the final report,” he said.
All DA detectives and lawyers involved in the investigation must review the final report before it is issued. The DA’s Office will meet with county officials when the report is finished to review the results. The report will then be publicly released. At that point, Sanguedolce said he will encourage anyone wishing to participate in a forum federal officials deem appropriate.
“Although it is my hope that the report itself answers all of the questions pending before the (Congressional) committee, the questions that probably exist in this room, and the questions that exist throughout the county and with members of the public,” he said.
In watching the Congressional hearing, Sanguedolce said he and his detectives observed testimony of “occurrences that simply did not happen.”
Much of the testimony was based on things witnesses were told by others, he said.
“This is why hearsay is very rarely allowed in trials affecting the freedom of our citizens,” he said.
While the Congressional committee’s rules are “much more relaxed” than a formal trial, the DA’s Office “felt compelled to caution the public about these stories,” he said.
“Our experience has taught us that anecdotes shared at the lunch counter, from a bar stool or anonymously by email are often very different than facts told from the same people to detectives in a formal investigation.”
Sanguedolce said he has personally had people approach him in public claiming to have witnessed election irregularities. But when detectives interviewed them, the same people “mysteriously could recall no such facts.”
All claims from Tuesday’s Congressional hearing have been added to the DA’s investigation, he said.
“I’m confident our report will answer many — if not all — of the questions raised since the election and in today’s hearing,” he said.
Sanguedolce thanked the election board, election bureau, council and the public for their patience in awaiting completion of the investigation. While he can’t predict the delivery date, he said it will be forthcoming shortly.
“I can also promise that we have been and will continue to be diligent in bringing this matter to a full and fair completion,” he said, receiving applause from many in attendance.
Reach Jennifer Learn-Andes at 570-991-6388 or on Twitter @TLJenLearnAndes.