Federal Way judge Michael Morgan's computer scrutinized

Door entry logs, security camera footage and computer hard-drive records are among evidence being scrutinized by state Public Disclosure Commission investigators in a complaint against Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Michael Morgan.

The commission would like to complete its probe into allegations of cyber-impersonation by Morgan before the Nov. 3 general election, spokeswoman Lori Anderson said Monday. She made no promises, saying investigators are working hard to wrap things up.

They're looking into a report from Andy Hwang, Federal Way's acting police chief, that Morgan may have assumed the identity of a clerk on Aug. 3 and used his city computer to post Internet comments critical of two political opponents.

Using city equipment and time for election purposes would violate state campaign laws.

Morgan has denied the allegation, describing himself as the victim of a series of "cyber tricks." He did not reply to e-mail and phone requests for comment this week.

He is challenged in the general election by Seattle city prosecutor Rebecca Robertson, who far outdistanced him in the Aug. 18 primary. Morgan came in second in a field of six to win a chance at re-election in November.

Morgan was reprimanded by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct last December for swearing at the police chief, intimidating staff members and making inappropriate comments to employees.

PDC investigators won't discuss an active case, but documents obtained by The News Tribune through a public records request show they asked for and received these items on a DVD:

• Internet activity logs from Morgan's computer for Aug. 3.

• Security camera footage of the hallway outside the judge's office and of the court staff entrance for that day.

• Access logs for the door outside the judge's office and the court staff entrance.

Municipal Court clerk Christine Faucher told the city's information technology department in early August that someone used her identity and e-mail address to register on newspaper Internet sites and make blog postings criticizing two of Morgan's primary election opponents.

The massive log from Morgan's computer hard drive contains entries indicating Web site activity from 7:43 a.m. until 8:05 p.m. on Aug. 3. Most are under Morgan's logon, but several Internet site visits were made between 8:04 a.m. and 8:11 a.m. and again between 9:56 a.m. and 11:03 a.m. under the Municipal Court logon of MCTemp. The blog postings to the Federal Way Mirror Web site under Faucher's name occurred at 8:11 a.m. and 10:08 a.m., according to Hwang's report to the PDC.

The MCTemp user login also shows up on Morgan's hard drive records from about 11:42 a.m. until about 11:45 a.m. During that time, someone using Faucher's name registered on The News Tribune's Web site.

Morgan, 50, told The News Tribune last month he was in meetings and away from his computer when the blog posts were made.

He's in a race to win re-election to the $134,623-a-year seat on the bench he's held since 2006.

PDC campaign reports filed on Sept. 10 show Morgan raised $26,549 and spent $25,820 through Aug. 31. Robertson, 35, raised $11,409 and spent $10,695 through Aug. 31, records show. All totals are for cash and in-kind donations.

Morgan's records show an outstanding loan of $4,700 he made to the effort; Robertson lent her campaign $7,624 between July 17 and Aug 4, reports show.