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Nov 2, 2006 11:20 pm US/Eastern
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Allegations Brought Against Rep. Tim Murphy
by Andy Sheehan
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) ―
Less than a week before Election Day, serious allegations are being brought against Congressman Tim Murphy from his very own staffers.
Employees paid by taxpayers, say they are being used to help Murphy's re-election campaign instead of his constituents.
Murphy says he did nothing wrong and that his staff never performed campaign work on government time.
But when KDKA Investigator Andy Sheehan confronted him with evidence, Murphy took the documents and wouldn't give them back.
"This is my personal material and I don't know how you got this," said Murphy. "I'm taking it back."
Confronted with a document obtained by KDKA, Congressman Murphy took it away.
But those papers and others indicate that Murphy used his Mount Lebanon congressional office staff to do campaign work.
That would be in direct violation of congressional ethics rules -- which clearly state that there should be "no campaign activities in any congressional office."
Former and current staff members say they were routinely compelled to break that rule.
"I just feel someone has to stand up and report it, because he's a congressman and we all need to look up to him, but he's breaking the rules," said Jayne O'Shaughnessy, a current Murphy staff member.
"So this was taken from me without my knowledge," said Murphy. "So, I'm keeping my materials here."
Murphy wouldn't give the document back.
But KDKA retained a copy -- it's entitled "Team Murphy Campaign Timeline" and says "D.O. door to door" -- meaning district office staff should canvas door-to-door all summer long.
The district office is supposed to perform only constituent work.
Office holders must hire a separate staff to do campaign work from a separate office.
"There is a campaign office," said O'Shaughnessy. "But it seemed to have limited use."
Murphy responded, "There's absolutely nothing and no staff has ever been directed to say anything political or voting. Never."
But KDKA presented Murphy other documents showing that staff members and interns from his district office did go door-to-door, canvassing what staffers say were only registered voters.
Gauging from the data collected, staffers asked voters their opinion of the congressman and whether they intended to vote for him for re-election.
Murphy blames the staff even though the data was sent directly to him.
Murphy: "Well, that's not an office policy."
Sheehan: "And this wasn't directed by you?"
Murphy: "No, because we don't ask people to take polling when they go door-to-door. Their job was to say do people have any constituent concerns at all."
Sheehan: "But they seem to be asking would you vote for Tim, would you not vote for Tim."
Murphy: "Well, that's not what they're supposed to be doing."
Sheehan: "So the problem is with your staff?"
Murphy: "Well, apparently there's a lot of communication problems there. I'm going to have to check into that."
Murphy says he welcomes an investigation into this matter and says he's actually written a letter to the House Ethics Committee requesting an investigation.
However, current and former staffer cite other abuses and so that investigation might be wide-ranging.
(© MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)