Pastor Brown Again Keeps Quiet In Hearing To Stop Recall Election

Pastor Tom Brown again invoked his Fifth Amendment right to remain silent as he took the stand for the second day in a hearing to stop a recall election against the mayor and two city representatives.

Mayor John Cook’s lawyers are trying to prove recall organizers broke the Texas Election Code by circulating the recall petition at churches, which are considered non-profit corporations. Cook and city Reps. Susie Byrd and Steve Ortega are facing recall for reversing a voter-approved ordinance meant to take away the health insurance of gay and unmarried partners of city employees.

Cook’s lawyer, Mark Walker, showed a copy of the meeting minutes of an El Paso for Traditional Family Values meeting on Aug. 5, 2011. The group, which wrote and lobbied for the ordinance, also collected recall signatures. The minutes were provided by Brown, after Cook’s lawyers subpoenaed the documents. The record shows Brown, during the meeting, saying money donated to the group would go toward “election issues, advertising and web hosting.” Brown pleaded the Fifth when asked to confirm if he had said that.

Walker also showed an email that Brown apparently wrote to Rabbi Bach from Mount Sinai. In the message, Brown writes, “I’m prayerfully hoping that you will agree to let the petition be there at the temple premises for signatures for your members. Or, that you will support me having a table set up there at the premises one day soon where your members can then sign the petition.”

Brown also pleaded the Fifth when asked to confirm if he had written the email.

Walker also asked Brown if he was aware that Cook’s team had made attempts to mediate the case. Brown said he had no knowledge of mediation attempts.

Judge Javier Alvarez initially said the evidence appeared to be in Cook’s favor.

“There appears to be some violations of the law … violations of the election code. They (petitioners) have constitutional rights, but we have a Texas statute prohibiting Pastor Brown from doing what he allegedly did,” Alvarez said.

Brown’s main attorney, Joel Oster, argued that the Supreme Court, in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, had ruled that the government cannot restrict political speech based on corporate identity. Oster cited an excerpt of the ruling that reads: “Political speech must prevail against laws that would suppress it, whether by design or inadvertence, laws that burden political speech are subject to strict scrutiny.”

“This is just core democracy. How did we get to this point, where people are worried about criminal prosecution for trying to change government?” Oster asked.

“They are trying to torture Texas law for a political purpose. This is not a free speech issue, this is about campaign finance,” responded Walker.

Oster said the Supreme Court ruled that limiting contributions can be considered banning speech.

Link: Pastor Tom Brown, State Sen. Rodriguez Testify At Mayor’s Recall Hearing