Video: Judge says Rossi must give deposition

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SEATTLE - Republican gubernatorial candidate Dino Rossi must give a deposition before Election Day as part of a lawsuit alleging illegal campaign spending by his biggest backer, the Building Industry Association of Washington.

King County Superior Court Judge Paris Kallas said the public interest demands that Rossi give his answers before, not after, the election is over, and accordingly granted a request for expedited discovery in the case. Rossi's deposition was scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday.

"Early discovery allows the parties to confirm -- or dispel -- the allegations before the election," she hand-wrote in the order. "And such prompt investigation furthers the purposes of of the Fair Campaign Practices Act ... which include 'complete disclosure of all information respecting the financing of political campaigns,' as well as 'full access to public records so as to assure continuing public confidence of fairness of elections."'

"It's nothing more than a partisan attempt by supporters of Christine Gregoire to derail the campaign. It's not going to work," Rossi said Monday.

The lawsuit was brought against the BIAW by two former state Supreme Court justices, Faith Ireland and Robert Utter, who are supporting Democratic Gov. Chris Gregoire's re-election bid. It alleges that Rossi coordinated campaign fundraising with the BIAW, and therefore the trade group should be constrained by state limits on direct campaign contributions -- $2,800, rather than the more than $6 million in independent expenditures it has spent backing Rossi this election cycle.

"There's strong evidence that suggests every dollar being spent by BIAW to influence the governor's race is illegal," said Knoll Lowney, a lawyer for the justices. "It's important because the act says voters have a right to know about political committees' coordination with candidates, and they have a right to know it before the election."

Rossi had sought to have his subpoena quashed, or at least to have his deposition delayed until after the election, arguing the subpoena was politically motivated to keep him off the campaign trail in the final days of the race.

"Right now time is of the essence. You can't go out on Election Day and say, 'We're not ready yet.' It doesn't work that way. We're in the middle of a 33-city road to victory tour," Rossi said Monday.

But the judge ruled that voters need to hear from Rossi.

"It is precisely because Mr. Rossi seeks public office that he must bear the burden of the contemplated deposition," Kallas wrote.

The lawsuit cites phone calls that Rossi made in 2007 to officers of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties, at a time when the BIAW was seeking contributions from the affiliate group to build its campaign war chest.

Rossi maintains he did nothing wrong. He told reporters the phone calls in question were intended to smooth out a political dispute among his past supporters. The topic involved political spending, he said, but he didn't make any specific mentions of where the affiliate group should spend its dollars.

"You know what, Christine Gregoire and her political friends were willing to do and say anything to get elected in 2004 as everybody knows and they're certainly willing to do and say anything to keep the job in 2008," Rossi said Monday.

The Gregoire campaign issued a statement Monday afternoon, saying " The allegations of campaign finance violations in this case are serious, and voters deserve to know all the facts as they are making their voting decisions.  We are pleased that voters will hear the facts before Election Day."