Trial Date Set in Election Fraud Case

By Holly Hobbs
Times-Democrat Staff Writer

The case against former state Senate candidate Mark Tate, a Middleburg restaurateur, is set to go to trial in September.

The week-long trial is set to start Sept. 8.

Tate was charged in January with nine counts of election fraud for campaign finance report misfilings. This is the second time he has been indicted on election fraud charges.

Special Prosecutor Matt Britton — the commonwealth's attorney for King George County — said the misfilings span Tate's 2003 and 2007 bids for the 27th state Senate Republican nomination.

He lost both nominations, the second to current Sen. Jill Holtzman Vogel, a loss the defense contributes to the timing of the first set of indictments.

“I believe Mrs. Vogel is the center of this universe,” said Tate's defense attorney, Edward MacMahon.

MacMahon said the timing of the original indictments was proof of the Vogel camp's involvement.

Tate was first indicted last May, three weeks before the Republican primary, on election fraud charges. The charges were dropped in October by Britton, who said he was trying to eliminate the appearance of impropriety on behalf of the original prosecutor, Commonwealth's Attorney Jim Plowman (R-Loudoun), a Vogel supporter.

Plowman had led the initial investigation into complaints about Tate's campaign filings, then recused himself from the first case in April. Britton was appointed in his stead.

Tate's defense has argued that Plowman should be subpoenaed to testify as to how the charges were brought before him and his involvement in the investigation.

But Judge Thomas A. Fortkort, of Vienna, ruled March 11 that Plowman could only be questioned as to when the charges were substantiated to prove whether the statute of limitations — three years — has expired.

If the statute of limitations has expired, MacMahon argued, some of the charges against Tate would be dropped.

MacMahon also asked to subpoena Sen. Vogel, Warrenton Town Attorney Whitson W. Robinson — a Vogel supporter — and others involved with Vogel's 2007 campaign.

“I think you're just grasping at straws and conducting a fishing expedition as far as Mrs. Vogel,” said Judge Fortkort before denying the motion to call the senator.

Tate's defense did win some points. Britton has been ordered to file a bill of particulars, which would outline the charges against Tate, and the defense was given the chance to re-argue some of its motions at a June 9 hearing.

Contact the reporter at hhobbs@timespapers.com

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