The Iowa campaign manager for Michele Bachmann’s 2012 presidential campaign testified in a sworn affidavit that Kent Sorenson admitted taking part in the theft of a contact list of homeschooling families from the computer of Barb Heki, another former Bachmann staffer. At the time of the alleged theft, Sorenson, a state senator, was the Iowa chairman for Bachmann’s campaign.
“We took it,” Eric Woolson quotes Sorenson saying on the day of the alleged theft. The sworn affidavit is signed by Woolson, dated September 4, 2012, and notarized. An affidavit is a written statement made under oath.
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The Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators (NICHE) list would be a prized possession for any presidential campaign. Homeschooling families overwhelmingly favor Republican candidates and provide ample organizational and volunteer support. However, use of the NICHE list for political purposes is in violation of federal law.
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Shortly after TheIowaRepublican.com broke the story regarding the Bachmann campaign’s use of the NICHE list, and it became national news, Barb Heki and her husband Rich were removed from the NICHE board of directors. They had served on the board for more than 10 years.
Heki says she was not told how the list made it from her computer into a Bachmann email blast until the day the campaign ended. It was Congresswoman Michele Bachmann who informed her that Kent Sorenson had taken the list off her computer, Heki says.
“Michele (Bachmann) told me,” Heki said to TheIowaRepublican.com last July. “We had a private staff luncheon right after she left the race and she came up to me then and told me that she was told that Kent (Sorenson) did it. I was flabbergasted. When Michele and I got done talking, I walked straight over to Eric Woolson and asked him if it was true. He said, “Yes.”
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Barb Heki has filed a lawsuit against State Senator Kent Sorenson, Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, Keith Nahigian, Guy Short and others involved in the Bachmann campaign. Heki claims they knew the truth about the alleged theft but let her take the fall for it. Eric Woolson was originally listed as one of the defendants, but has been removed from the suit. Heki says she has other witnesses to Sorenson’s alleged theft. Last week, the judge denied the defendants’ motions to dismiss the case.
Additionally, the Urbandale police department is investigating the alleged theft of the NICHE list from Heki’s computer. Police spokesman Randy Peterson told TheIowaRepublican.com on Wednesday that the investigation is still open and ongoing.
