Gregoire seeks halt to release of lawsuit documents

By Steve Miletich and Mike Carter
Seattle Times staff reporters

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Lawyers for Attorney General Christine Gregoire yesterday accused political rival Ron Sims and an attorney for a former employee of leaking documents in hopes of damaging Gregoire's bid for governor this year.

Sims' spokesman, Tim Hatley, acknowledged that the campaign "came across" thousands of pages of documents and gave them to The Seattle Times.

The Times used the documents, some of which also are publicly available in a court file, as the basis for a story Sunday that showed Gregoire's office had shaped an "independent" investigation of the office by urging the author to downplay broad management problems. The investigation was conducted after the Attorney General's Office missed an appeal of a jury verdict, costing taxpayers more than $18 million.

Gregoire's lead attorney, Anne Bremner, yesterday asked U.S. District Judge Thomas Zilly to prohibit additional leaks of documents and depositions in a lawsuit filed by former Assistant Attorney General Janet Capps, who was forced to resign and later sued, claiming she had been unfairly blamed for the missed appeal. The documents indicated that Capps' role in the incident was emphasized while other factors were minimized.

Bremner disputed The Times' account and argued that disclosure of documents could influence prospective jurors if Capps' case goes to trial. She also sought sanctions yesterday against Capps' attorney, Suzanne Thomas, whom she accused of waging a campaign to "embarrass, vex and harass the good name of the Office of the Attorney General."

Zilly reserved judgment on any sanction and said he would not bar release of documents traded by attorneys as they prepare for mediation and trial.

However, the judge did prohibit the release of sworn depositions without his permission, including one scheduled later this week that Gregoire's supporters say would favorably resolve the issue of whether Gregoire's office interfered with the investigation.

Yesterday's hearing exposed the bitter depths of the political rivalry between Gregoire and King County Executive Sims, who will compete in the Democratic primary in September. Former state Supreme Court Justice Phil Talmadge also is seeking the Democratic nomination.

Almost as bitter has been the battle over the lawsuit filed by Capps, which is set to go to mediation next week and possibly to trial in July.

Hatley, with Sims' campaign, did not attend the hearing but said afterward that he did not get the documents from Thomas.
 
During yesterday's hearing, Thomas told the judge that she had allowed other people to review the documents in her office. Zilly did not ask her to identify those people, and she declined to elaborate after the hearing.

Hatley said, "We came across them through the normal course of opposition research. ... You learn these things. They are public records."

Seattle Times reporter Ralph Thomas contributed to this report.

Steve Miletich: 206-464-3302 or smiletich@seattletimes.com

Mike Carter: 206-464-3706 or mcarter@seattletimes.com

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