As many of you know, former DNC gay outreach adviser Donald Hitchcock claims the Democratic National Committee sacked him in retaliation for his boyfriend's public criticism of the party.

Chairman Howard Dean, however, testified earlier this year that he and his peers fired former gay outreach adviser Donald Hitchcock for poor job performance. Said Dean: “The relations with the gay community, which I had a very good relationship when I started, had been deteriorating since Donald came on board.”

Well, that story lost a bit of weight last month when lesbian fundraiser and Dean loyalist Claire Lucas told a DC judge that she was "shocked" by Hitchcock's firing, because he had, in her opinion, been doing a good job.

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Some DNC-associated lawyers have been up to no good. Homo-journo Kevin Naff alleges that DNC Chief of Staff Leah Daughtry sent her lawyers to intimidate him.

Naff, whose op-ed appears tomorrow's Washington Blade, the representatives tried to put the squeeze on him and his publisher:

Naff writes that he "got a taste of the Democratic wrath last month, after criticizing DNC Chair Howard Dean and his chief of staff, Leah Daughtry, in an editorial."
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According to Naff, Daughtry responded to the editorial by sending two lawyers to confront him and Blade publisher Lynne Brown, lodging what Naff calls "red-faced cursing and threatening of lawsuits."

One of Daughtry's lawyers, Charlie Kimmet, denies the allegations and described their meeting as "not at all contentious".

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Democratic National Committee Chief of Staff Leah Daughtry may not have been entirely honest with Washington DC.

The New York-born Pentecostal minister turned politico allegedly exploited DC's property tax exemptions. That's not a scandal, of course. Countless citizens use the Homestead Deduction to cut their tax rates nearly in half. The district's law states, however, that to take advantage of the deduction, you must vote in DC. Some say Daughtry didn't get the memo, because she's been registered to vote in New York City since February 21, 1996. The original deduction law said nothing about voting in DC, but lawmakers changed the rule back in 2002.

If this story sounds familiar, it should: Bush henchman Karl Rove played the same game back in 2005 until the Washington Post exposed his illegal exploitation.

One would think that an insider such as Daughtry would have noted Rove's outing, but the DNC staffer must have been distracted - she's voted in New York four times since the new law went into effect. Daughtry's property is currently valued at $239,250. That price doesn't include the land, which boosts the total to $341,780.

Daughtry isn't alone, either. As The Washington Blade reported, Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council chair Claire Lucas also stands accused of manipulating DC's laws to her financial advantage.

Ms. Daughtry did not reply to our comment inquiries by press time. We'll definitely let you know if and when she offers a statement. In the meantime, you can pour over all the evidence, which we've included below.

Update: The DNC just sent over this statement. They claim Daughtry had no knowledge of the deduction:

Rev. Daughtry has made clear that her legal residence is in New York, that she did not believe she was entitled to the Homestead Deduction, and that her accountant is correcting the error. Once again, while the DNC has consistently refused to comment on this case out of respect for the legal process and to protect the interests of everyone involved, the plaintiffs continue to use dishonest and increasingly desperate smear tactics to try their case outside the courtroom.

We wonder if she'll be paying DC the money she owes…

Daughtry's Homestead Deduction Record PDF

It's a big day for Howard Dean and the Democratic National Committee! Chief of Staff Leah Daughtry takes the stand today in the ongoing discrimination discovery hearings. Daughtry allegedly asked former staffer Donald Hitchcock to resign after Hitchcock's boyfriend, Paul Yandura wrote an open letter criticizing the DNC.

Confused? Yeah, we are, too. That's why we've compiled a list of all the witnesses testifying during the case's discovery period. Get to know the DNC players, because you may be hearing a whole lot more from them.

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Claire Lucas has grabbed more than her fair share of headlines in recent weeks.

The Democratic National Committee's gay board chair caught our attention when she refused to testify in the ongoing discrimination discovery hearings. Then Lucas popped up in a story about her potential perjury and backstage scheming against former DNC-staffer Donald Hitchcock.

In an effort to preserve his client's image, lawyer Barry Reingold sent our editor the following missive:

Ms. Lucas is a witness, not a defendant, in this matter. She has not been sued. The issues of this case, including Ms. Lucas's motion to quash the subpoena, are pending before the Superior Court of the District of Columbia by a Judge appointed by the President of the United States. Ms. Lucas has told and will continue to tell the truth to the Court. All of the issues in Hitchcock v. DNC will be litigated in this Court and decided by this fair and impartial tribunal.

We never said that Lucas was being sued, nor did we call her a "defendant". It appears to us that Reingold's attempting to distance his client from this ugly matter. And we can't blame him: she looks really, really bad, especially when she refers to Hitchcock as a "complete loser".

The DNC's gay discrimination case got stickier this week. Washington Blade reports that gay DNC's gay board chair Claire Lucas could potentially face perjury charges for lying about her place of residence.

Legal documents filed in D.C. Superior Court this week and obtained by the Blade allege that Claire Lucas, a longtime Democratic National Committee volunteer and National Stonewall Democrats board member, committed perjury when she filed an affidavit asserting that she does not live in Washington.

The affidavit, filed Jan. 4, was part of efforts to quash a subpoena ordering Lucas to sit for a deposition in a lawsuit that alleges the DNC discriminated against a former gay employee.
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D.C. property tax records contradict her assertion in the affidavit seeking to quash Hitchcock’s subpoena that she has been a California resident since 2005. Those records show she claimed the Homestead deduction for the tax years of 2005 through 2007, as well as in prior years, according to Hitchcock’s court filings.

The D.C. law creating the Homestead deduction requires, upon possible penalty of perjury, that homeowners affirm that they live in their home as a condition for obtaining the deduction

Just yesterday the DNC released a statement declaring the contemptuous Lucas a Californian.

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Donald Hitchcock's discrimination lawsuit against the Democratic National Committee takes a new turn today. A predetermined schedule ordered Gay and Lesbian Leadership Council board chair Claire Lucas to testify, but the investor refused to comply. Lawyers explained to Lucas that if she does not take the stand, she'll be found in contempt of court. The former National Stonewall Democrat director, however, continues to stand her ground. She is not being represented by DNC lawyers.

Testimony began yesterday with current homo honcho Brian Bond, who took over as executive director of the GLLC after Howard Dean and company sacked Hitchcock. Hitchcock alleges the firing came in retaliation for boyfriend Paul Yandura's criticism of the party. He also claims the DNC paid him less than his peers and has since blasted them for using gay people as an "ATM".

DNC CEO Reverend Leah Daughtry will testify on January 18.