Newly discovered gerrymandering files should remain secret, NC Republicans tell court [View all]

[Judi Lynn]

Source: NewsObserver


BY WILL DORAN
JUNE 17, 2019 07:19 PM, UPDATED 4 HOURS 41 MINUTES AGO

RALEIGH
North Carolina Republican lawmakers on Monday asked a court to make sure the files of the now-deceased GOP strategist Tom Hofeller are destroyed, or at least kept secret, instead of being used in a high-profile gerrymandering lawsuit.

The lawmakers argued that their opponents in the gerrymandering lawsuit “have a terrible case” and “have no choice but to wage a smear campaign designed to turn this forum into a stage for political disputes.”

The filing comes after the groups behind the lawsuit, including Common Cause, accused Republican lawmakers of making false statements in court in a previous gerrymandering case, when the state’s 2011 maps were ruled unconstitutional. That blockbuster accusation made national headlines and was, it said, based on Hofeller’s files which had been secret until recently.

After Hofeller died in 2018, his daughter found some of his personal files and gave them to Common Cause.

Read more: https://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/article229997404.html