Dispatches from public radio's correspondent at the Washington Legislature. Austin Jenkins is the Olympia correspondent for the Northwest News Network. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) weekly public affairs program "Inside Olympia."

Troy Kelley Case File Exceeds 80,000 Pages

Washington State Auditor's Office
/
Facebook
Indicted Washington State AUditor Troy Kelley's trial has been pushed from January to March.

The lawyer for indicted Washington State Auditor Troy Kelley has more than 80,000 pages of transcripts, witness statements and documents to wade through.

That’s equivalent to reading “War and Peace” 66 times. It’s also a sign of the complexity of the money laundering and tax evasion case against the first-term Democrat.

Kelley’s new defense lawyer, Angelo Calfo, has already succeeded in getting the trial pushed from January to March to buy some additional prep time. But recent court filings reveal the defense and prosecution can’t agree on the schedule leading up to trial. The judge in the case will have to play referee.

He’ll also have to decide whether there’s any basis for the prosecution’s suggestion that Calfo has a conflict of interest. In a recent filing with the court, Calfo said there is no conflict and warns an erroneous disqualification of him would result in the “automatic reversal of any conviction the government might obtain.”

Since January 2004, Austin Jenkins has been the Olympia-based political reporter for the Northwest News Network. In that position, Austin covers Northwest politics and public policy, as well as the Washington State Legislature. You can also see Austin on television as host of TVW's (the C–SPAN of Washington State) Emmy-nominated public affairs program "Inside Olympia."