Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's campaign had no evidence a woman accusing him of sexual assault had a criminal record before it sent out an e-mail suggesting that reporters look into her background, according to court documents obtained Thursday.
Records filed in Rhonda Miller's libel suit against the governor and others also revealed that the campaign had sent out an earlier e-mail that also suggested the 53-year-old stuntwoman had a criminal record.
Within hours of sending the e-mails, the documents show, Schwarzenegger's campaign determined that Miller had no criminal record, but never issued a clarification or an apology.
The disclosures are included in hundreds of pages of records turned over this week to Miller's attorneys as they press claims that the governor and his campaign knowingly smeared Miller after she accused him of twice accosting her on movie sets. Miller's accusations, made on the eve of last October's recall election, have been denied by the governor.
Last month, Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Robert L. Hess refused a request by Miller's attorneys to question the governor in a formal deposition, but did allow them to question Schwarzenegger in writing. The governor stated, as he has previously, that he had no role in the controversial e-mails. Hess authorized a deposition of Sean Walsh, who served as a campaign spokesman and sent out the e-mail that originally prompted the lawsuit.
In the 175-page sworn deposition taken April 8, Walsh testified that he decided to send out the e-mail about Miller after the campaign received information raising questions about her background and suspicions about her motives for accusing the governor of assault. Specifically, Walsh said, he had been led to believe that Miller had told others Schwarzenegger was a "decent, terrific person" and that she might have had a substance abuse history that led to a "need for money."
In a testy exchange with one of Miller's attorneys, Walsh was pressed to explain whether his real motivation was to discredit Miller for political gain.
"I am entitled to an answer to this question," said attorney Paul L. Hoffman. "Was one of your purposes in providing information to the media to discredit Ms. Miller and her allegations?"
"The purpose was to answer the allegation," Walsh responded.
"I am going to ask it all day," Hoffman continued. "You can say no if you need to say it. Is one of your purposes ... to put out information to the media that discredited Ms. Miller and her allegation?"
