BELLEVUE, Washington – The Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign announced today that its attorneys have sent a letter to the King County, Washington Republican Party and state Republican Party leadership alerting them to the fact that the King County organization’s actions with respect to the appointment of Precinct Chief Officers (PCOs) are inconsistent with the spirit of Washington State Republican Party (WSRP) rules. 
 
In doing so, the campaign and its legal team are examining the full impact of the county leadership’s secrecy in refusing to name PCOs that are automatic delegates to the Republican Party state convention.  The so-called automatic PCOs, by law, are required to have been appointed and their identity known beginning December 1, 2011 but no later than December 14, 2011.  To date, the King County Republican leadership under its chair Lori Sotero has refused to divulge the names of the automatic delegates.  This raises the serious allegation of whether the King County GOP made last-minute appointments comprised of automatic PCOs that are hostile to the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign.
 
Not resting until the matter is resolved in full, and with all legal options remaining on the table, the Paul campaign and its attorneys are conducting a rigorous independent audit of all King County automatic PCOs to ascertain who they are, when they were appointed, and whether their appointment by the party complies with WSRP rules.  If the Paul campaign and its attorneys discover that appointments inconsistent with WSRP rules were in fact made, the campaign will act to have the state party credentialing committee refuse to allow the offending King County delegates to participate in the state convention, and will act to have the Republican National Convention officials do the same.
 
“I’m unsurprised by allegations of shenanigans happening inside the King County Republican establishment, which is unfriendly to the party and political reforms many Washingtonians want to see.  However, their recent secrecy and cavalier attitude toward not complying with their own rules is deeply troubling and upon knowledge of our complaint there will be ripple effects of suspicion and outrage throughout the nation,” said Ron Paul 2012 National Campaign Chairman Jesse Benton. 
 
“To be sure, all options are on the table including the ‘nuclear option’ of disallowing King County automatic PCOs-cum-RNC delegates to be seated at the Republican National Convention.  To those who deliberately may be a part of this shameful chapter in Washington’s political process, I suggest you don’t pack your bathing suit for Tampa just yet,” added Mr. Benton.
 
To view online a PDF version of the letter sent from the Paul campaign attorneys to the King County and Washington State Republican leadership, please click here.