Quick summary, mostly for my own later recollection. Two (former?) judges are suing the Building Industry Association of Washington (BIAW) and possibly it’s affiliates for illegally operating as an unregistered campaign committee. There’s also a lawsuit by the state attorney general’s office against the BIAW for a similar issue, that I believe is prompted by a referral from the state Public Disclosure Committee. Records from the BIAW indicate that Dino Rossi called several BIAW affiliates at the behest of the main BIAW organization. If the substance of those calls was to support a then unannounced candidacy by Dino Rossi for governor, he would have been participating illegally. Rossi’s position is that he not only hadn’t announced, he was 75% sure
that he wouldn’t be running. He was just helping to mend a rift between the affiliates and the main BIAW.
Today the lawyers for the two judges got to depose Dino Rossi. Present as far as I can remember were those two lawyers, Withey and Lowney. (Pardon me if I get some of the names wrong.) Patterson represents Rossi. Maguire represents the BIAW. And Dino Rossi was there, obviously. I may be missing someone important. Here is a draft record of the Dino Rossi deposition.
So here’s my commentary on it.
No smoking gun, obviously. Not sure why there really was a need to get this done before the election. Rossi isn’t dumb. He wasn’t going to admit to anything that would have cost him the election.
I want to whack most everyone in the transcript with a whiffle ball bat. Rossi frequently ranted about his opponents without answering questions. Withey asked awful non-factual questions. Patterson ranted himself, and interrupted to go on rants rather than just make objections. Lowney actually asked factual questions mostly, which was good. But he also got into machismo posturing and arguing with Patterson and Maguire for no purpose I can see whatsoever. Almost as bad as a 5th grader yelling you take that back!
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In the end, we know nothing important about anything. And for that, I blame everyone involved in the deposition.