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DeWeese Dems play tug of war with case file

By Brad BumstedSTATE CAPITOL REPORTERWednesday, March 11, 2009

HARRISBURG A former lawyer for state House Democrats who was paid $1.3 million by taxpayers won't givecaucus leaders a file on a public corruption investigation.

Bill Chadwick, who represented the caucus as a legislative bonus scandal unfolded, said Tuesday that HouseMajority Whip Bill DeWeese instructed him not to provide the file to the caucus. Chadwick represented the caucusand DeWeese while DeWeese was majority leader through 2007 and 2008.

DeWeese of Greene County asserted attorney-client privilege, said Chadwick, a former state inspector general. "I amethically bound to honor a client's directions," he said.

"The taxpayers paid for Mr. Chadwick's services," House Majority Leader Todd Eachus, D-Luzerne County,countered in an interview.

Eachus late Monday filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Democratic Caucus, asking a judge to order Chadwick to turnover the file.

DeWeese could choose to waive attorney-client privilege, Chadwick acknowledged.

"We're going to continue to meet and resolve our differences," DeWeese said last night. "We're trying to forge acompromise."

Asked if there would be an effort to reorganize the caucus and oust him as whip if he doesn't provide the file,DeWeese said, "No. But I'm certainly astute enough to realize the implications."

He said the confidentialty promised to about 200 staffers who cooperated with the investigation is at stake.

"I agree with my good friend Todd Eachus on 999 of 1,000 public policy issues...on this one rather complicatedjudicial question of attorney-client privilege we have a difference of opinion," DeWeese said.

Chadwick said DeWeese "encouraged people to come forward and cooperate (during the investigation) andpromised them confidentiality if they did."

But Chris Casey, chief counsel for the House Democrats, said, "It's clear Mr. Chadwick's client was the caucus andhe currently has caucus property -- namely, the caucus file." Casey is the brother of Sen. Bob Casey, D-Scranton.

The Democrats, in documents at Dauphin County Common Pleas Court, are seeking an emergency injunction to getthe file.

The file concerns Attorney General Tom Corbett's investigation of lawmakers accused of using state resources forcampaign-related activities. In July, 12 people with ties to House Democrats, including former Majority Whip MikeVeon of Beaver Falls, were accused of running a multimillion-dollar political operation out of the Capitol and Veon'sdistrict office. Two people have agreed to plead guilty and the rest face trial in July.

In court documents, Democrats claim Chadwick spent the past three months "vaguely agreeing to return the file, butnever did so."

Casey said some portions of the file were provided.

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"Getting one sheet of paper at a time from a file is not proper," Eachus said.

Eachus said he and other House leaders have tried to get DeWeese to waive his attorney-client privilege.

"The last thing we need to spend the people's time and resources on is obtaining a file from our former attorney whenthat file is, in fact, the legal property of the Democratic Caucus," Eachus said, citing the recession and the needs ofPennsylvania's working families.

Chadwick maintains he represented the former Democratic Caucus, not the current one. The 2007-08 caucus endedits work in November, he said.

The Democrats' lawyers called that argument "absurd," saying DeWeese has no authority to direct a caucus-paidlawyer to refuse to provide records. Moreover, Chadwick got a three-month contract extension through Jan. 15, theDemocrats said.

If Chadwick turns over the file, only Casey would review it, said Bill Thomas, an aide to Eachus.

"We're going to preserve the attorney-client privilege," Casey said.