Former Aide Says Senate Hopeful Katherine Harris Kept Subpoena Secret
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U.S. Senate candidate Katherine Harris received a grand jury subpoena from federal investigators but kept it from her top campaign advisers, leading to the latest round of staff departures last month, a former aide said.
"Yes, there was a subpoena. She didn't tell us," former campaign manager Glenn Hodas told The Tampa Tribune for a story published Wednesday.
Hodas, who resigned from the Republican congresswoman's Senate campaign in July along with the spokesman, did not immediately return phone calls Wednesday from The Associated Press.
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The Justice Department is investigating Harris' dealings with Mitchell Wade, a defense contractor who later pleaded guilty to bribing another congressman. Hodas did not say whether the subpoena was linked to that probe.
Harris' campaign has not acknowledged that she received a subpoena. In an earlier statement, Harris said she is cooperating with the investigation but is "not a target." Calls to Harris campaign staffers were not immediately returned Wednesday.
The Department of Justice does not comment on pending investigations.
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Hodas told the paper he learned of the subpoena in June while reviewing invoices and confronted his boss. The invoices, Hodas said, were for work relating to a "DOJ subpoena," referring to the Department of Justice.
"Finding out about the subpoena caused me to wonder about what was going on and what else I didn't know," Hodas told the Tribune. "But I don't want to comment any further on what appears to be a pending investigation."
Harris has said that she wasn't aware of the illegal contributions and that she was only trying to bring high-wage jobs to her district when she tried to help Wade's company, MZM Inc., get a federal contract.