Campbell to Be Offered Immunity at Hearing

Laurie Campbell, the friend of Assemblyman Scott Baugh who ran against him in 1995 as a decoy Democratic candidate, will be offered use immunity to testify at Baugh’s preliminary hearing on election law violations, the district attorney’s office said Tuesday.

Campbell, who could face prosecution for allegedly falsifying her nomination papers in the 1995 special election, cited her Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination when she was put on the witness stand Sept. 24.

Baugh (R-Huntington Beach) faces five felony and 13 misdemeanor charges for allegedly falsifying campaign financial reports.

Prosecutors charge that Baugh deliberately misreported a campaign contribution he received from Campbell and her husband to conceal his relationship with Campbell, whose candidacy had been challenged by Democrats and who was removed from the ballot before election day.

Campbell’s testimony was cut short last month after she contradicted previous sworn statements about Baugh’s role in her recruitment as a candidate.

She invoked the Fifth Amendment when a prosecutor asked if she had perjured herself when she testified otherwise before the county grand jury.

At last month’s hearing, Campbell testified that someone other than Baugh had recruited her, and that she told a different story to prosecutors because that wasn’t what they wanted to hear.

Assistant Dist. Atty. John Conley said he would ask a Superior Court judge to grant Campbell use immunity, which means statements she makes at the hearing cannot be used to prosecute her.

The Baugh hearing resumes Oct. 24. Assistant Dist. Atty. Brent Romney, who had been prosecuting the case, was not in court.

The attorney general’s office last week began investigating allegations that Romney, who is running for district attorney, used county time and resources to research the record of a campaign opponent. State GOP Chairman Michael Schroeder last week called on Romney to step aside from prosecuting political corruption cases.

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Maurice Evans said Romney had been replaced as prosecutor in this case and a related case against a Baugh campaign aide for health reasons.

Romney could not be reached for comment.