Election regulators accuse Federal Way judge of breaking law
KRIS SHERMAN; The News Tribune
Federal Way Municipal Court Judge Michael Morgan violated state election laws when his city computer was used to post newspaper Web site items criticizing his opponents, the state Public Disclosure Commission alleges.
Morgan has denied and continues to deny the charges.
The administrative charges filed by the commission stop short of contending Morgan made the Internet posts himself, but conclude he used or authorized the use of city equipment for political gain. He is running for a second term to the bench in the Nov. 3 election.
The commissions 15-page investigative report does, however, point to Morgan as the probable blogger. Two of three alibis he provided in the case were disproven and a third couldnt be substantiated, the report says.
Morgan, who will get a hearing before the commission later this month, testified under oath before PDC investigators Sept. 3 that he didnt make the postings and wasnt in his office when the Internet activity occurred. He also professed innocence in a three-page letter to a PDC director on Aug. 25.
He again denied the allegations Friday in an e-mail to The News Tribune.
I did not post blogs on other candidate blog sites or Web sites, he wrote. I had no need to post blogs since I had volunteers willing to post blogs on my behalf.
Morgan also said hes been the victim of cyber tricks.
He declined to comment in detail on the PDC case, saying he hadnt thoroughly reviewed it.
Morgans attorney, Brad Meryhew of Seattle, said the judge will fight the allegations.
Using government equipment for campaign purposes is against state law.
The disclosure commission set a hearing for 9:30 a.m. Oct. 22, 12 days before Morgan faces Seattle city prosecutor Rebecca Robertson in his bid for re-election.
The agency has the authority to assess a penalty of up to $4,200 for the multiple violations alleged in the complaint. Or, it could refer the matter to the state attorney generals office to review for possible court action, according to the notice sent to Morgan last week.
The PDCs four-page notice of administrative charges alleges Morgan either made or allowed someone else to make comments to the Federal Way Mirror blog from his office computer on Aug. 3.
The postings were critical of Matthew York and William Jarvis, two of Morgans five primary election opponents. They were posted under the name of Municipal Court employee Christine Faucher, who brought the matter to authorities attention, saying someone had impersonated her online. (Someone also tried to register as Faucher on the News Tribune Web site, but was thwarted during the registration process.)
At the heart of the case is evidence that the Internet activity occurred while Morgan was either in or near his office, the investigative report says. The blogging didnt happen at times when an unauthorized user could most easily have accessed the judges computer without his knowledge, it adds.
Morgan said he couldnt be the culprit because he was in outside meetings at the time. He also maintains that a hand disability prevents him from typing quickly, which would have been necessary in these cases.
He put forth three alternate theories: that an unauthorized user may have sneaked into his office; that someone controlled his computer remotely, perhaps an employee of the citys information technology department with a bias against him; or that a hacker made it appear his computer was the source of the postings when it really wasnt.
The PDC investigation, encompassing interviews with 14 people and 73 pages of exhibits, refutes Morgans assertions, poking holes in his alibis and presenting expert testimony from city computer experts.
One of his disproven alibis involved Court Administrator Rae Iwamoto. She initially told investigators under oath that she could confirm she met with Morgan in her office at 8:11 a.m. and 10:08 a.m. when the blog postings were made.
After PDC staff members told her security camera video tape showed her in the court lobby from 7:47 a.m. to 8:17 a.m., she said her recollection about the 8:11 meeting was wrong, the investigative report says.
She told The News Tribune Thursday it was a true mistake. She doesnt document every day minute by minute and she was interviewed a month after the incident. Iwamoto added, however, that she and Morgan met several times that day to discuss court business.
She told investigators she thought Morgan was in her office when he was called into court at 10:10 a.m. but couldnt provide evidence hed been there at the blog-posting time of 10:08, the report says.
Information technology employees Brian Pearson and Thomas Fichtner said theyd found no evidence of remote access to Morgans computer and that the possibility of shadow postings was extremely low.
Pearson also testified under oath he didnt fabricate Internet activity on Morgans hard drive, the investigative report says.
Morgan, 50, has been on the Federal Way Municipal Court bench since 2006. In the Aug. 18 primary, he came in second in the six-candidate field to win a chance at re-election to the $134,600-a-year job.
He 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.
Kris Sherman: 253-597-8659
kris.sherman@thenewstribune.com
