RICHMOND, Va. (AP/WVEC) — U.S. Rep. Scott Taylor has been subpoenaed to testify in a lawsuit that accuses members of his campaign staff of forging signatures to help an independent candidate get on the ballot for the 2nd Congressional District.
Democrats are suing state election officials to remove Shaun Brown from the Nov. 6 ballot in the competitive U.S. House race.
The Virginian-Pilot reports that Taylor is among several people who have been ordered to appear at a court hearing Wednesday.
Taylor, a Republican, has said he knew his staff was circulating petitions for Brown, but he denounced the use of false signatures.
Democrats claim Taylor's campaign wanted Brown on the ballot to bolster's Taylor's re-election by weakening support for his Democratic opponent.
A special prosecutor is conducting a separate criminal investigation.
Legal analyst Edwin Booth told 13News Now a hearing like this is unusual.
"By the very nature of this case, it's certainly going to be more rare than cases that a circuit court would normally see. If you think about it, in a case like this, that involves a candidate for federal office, I mean, how many of those can there really be in a given time versus how many contract disputes there might be, or other cases," Booth said.
Information on the Virginia Courts website shows that the Taylor team filed motions Tuesday to quash the subpoena requiring the Congressmen to testify.
Taylor not only filed motions with the court to quash the subpoenas, the motions that will be heard in court, but he also replied to Democrats.
"The Democrats are using the law to disenfranchise a candidate and smear another,” said Taylor.
Shaun Brown on Tuesday had no comment on the lawsuit and said she’s just looking ahead.
"I’m looking forward to moving forward, and winning in November,” said Brown.
9-3-18 DPVA filing in VA-02 case by 13News Now on Scribd