Press release received 10/14/2020, just before 8 p.m., from Eric M. Hoffman, Delaware County IN Prosecuting Attorney:
“It has come to my attention that Indiana Congressional Candidate Jeannine Lee Lake has made various allegations of criminal activity on social media. It has also come to my attention that Congressman Greg Pence has denied any involvement and asked that “the Delaware County Prosecutor conduct a full investigation.” As a result, several media outlets have contacted my office for comment.
As far as an investigation goes, that is outside of my purview as the Prosecuting Attorney. If I were to conduct an investigation, I would run the risk of becoming a witness in my own case. Instead, I rely on federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to conduct criminal investigations, interview witnesses, and collect evidence. Law enforcement agencies then submit their investigations to my office for review. We review the investigations to determine whether a crime was committed and if so by whom.
With regard to the Mrs. Lake’s allegations, to my knowledge, only one investigation has been forwarded to my office for review. In early September of 2020, the Delaware County Sheriff’s Department submitted an investigation to my office for review. The allegation was that an envelope of material was mailed to Mrs. Lake by an anonymous and unknown person or persons that Mrs. Lake considered threatening or harassing in nature. The Delaware County Sheriff’s Department completed a police report and collected the envelope and its contents as evidence. The envelope contained photocopies of various election statutes and regulations that the unknown person or persons had mailed to Mrs. Lake. There were no explicit or implicit threats. Given these facts, under Indiana law, no crime had been committed. The facts as presented, demonstrated that no Indiana criminal statute had been violated. Further, there was absolutely no evidence as to who sent Mrs. Lake the envelope.
To date and to my knowledge that has been the only investigation that has been submitted to my office for review. If someone believes that a crime has been committed in Delaware County, that person should contact a federal, state, or local law enforcement agency to conduct a full investigation.”
