“Special Prosecutor Overseeing The Case, Said Tuesday That The Two-Year Investigation Isn’t Over Yet And That He Expects To Seek At Least One More Indictment,”
Prosecutor highlighted that the State Has Not Cleared Taylor
A third former Scott Taylor staffer was indicted today in the fraud case now known as “petition-gate.”
Heather Guillot, a consultant for Taylor, was indicted for election fraud. Another former staffer was indicted last spring and one pleaded guilty earlier this year.
Special Prosecutor John Beamer expects to seek at least one more indictment and has cleared no one, including Taylor, of wrongdoing according to reporting from the Virginia-Pilot:
“John Beamer, the special prosecutor overseeing the case, said Tuesday that the two-year investigation isn’t over yet and that he expects to seek at least one more indictment. He said that no one has been cleared, including Taylor. The one-term Republican lost the 2018 race to Democrat Elaine Luria, but is challenging her again this year. [Taylor’s] ‘part of the campaign and the whole campaign is under investigation,’ Beamer said.”
REMINDER: Scott Taylor’s 2018 re-election campaign was embroiled in the election fraud scandal. The campaign is said to have committed “out and out fraud” with “intent to defraud the Commonwealth” when collecting signatures to get an independent candidate, Shaun Brown, on the ballot to sway the election.
And last month, Beamer refuted Taylor’s claims that he is not under investigation saying in part, “no, that’s not true. The entire campaign is under investigation.”
READ THE VIRGINIA-PILOT STORY HERE AND BELOW
Third former campaign staffer for Scott Taylor indicted with campaign fraud
By JANE HARPER | The Virginia-Pilot
SEP 08, 2020
A third member of ex-Congressman Scott Taylor’s 2018 campaign staff is facing an election fraud charge after being indicted today by a Virginia Beach grand jury
The indictment against Heather Guillot, who served as a consultant for Taylor’s re-election bid, stems from a petition scandal that rocked the former U.S. representative’s campaign two years ago. Guillot is accused of submitting forged signatures in an effort to get a spoiler candidate on the ballot that year.
Election fraud is a felony in Virginia, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a $2,500 fine.
John Beamer, the special prosecutor overseeing the case, said Tuesday that the two-year investigation isn’t over yet and that he expects to seek at least one more indictment. He said that no one has been cleared, including Taylor. The one-term Republican lost the 2018 race to Democrat Elaine Luria, but is challenging her again this year.
“He’s part of the campaign and the whole campaign is under investigation,” Beamer said.
Guillot’s attorney, Richard Doummar, declined to comment on the indictment Tuesday and Taylor’s campaign manager, Regan Roberts, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Taylor has previously denied wrongdoing. He has said he knew his staff was trying to help Brown, but was unaware of any forgeries.
[…]
Separate investigations by The Virginian-Pilot, WHRO Public Media and state Democrats, however, showed that dozens of the signatures submitted by Taylor’s staff in support of Brown had been forged. At least four of the people named were dead, and all of those names were on pages turned in by Guillot, according to The Pilot’s investigation.
[…]
The office secured its first indictment in the case in May 2019 against Lauren Creekmore Peabody. A second was issued in March against Roberta Marciano. Both women had worked on Taylor’s 2018 campaign and both were charged with two counts of election fraud.
Peabody pleaded guilty earlier this year to a single misdemeanor of willful neglect of an election duty as part of a deal with prosecutors. She was fined $1,000, received a one-year suspended jail sentence and was ordered to remain on good behavior for a year. Marciano is scheduled to go to trial later this month, according to online court records.
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