News today that Corry Bliss and Katie Duffy of team Dubie gave two different accounts of a $1,800.00 in-kind contribution given to the campaign. The Republican lawyer Brady Toensing, who performed the in-kind service, provides a third explanation. Toensing maintains he is working independently this year though in 2006 he filed public record requests as counsel for Friends of Dubie.    

According to an AP article by David Gram (who has done some digging in this campaign):

The financial report indicates Toensing's law firm provided $1,800 worth of research to Dubie's campaign a day before Toensing filed his Oct. 5 public records request with the Department of Public Safety.

Claiming to represent no one but himself, Toensing made a public records request Oct. 5 that resulted in the naming of a state trooper who attempted to “fix” gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin’s June speeding ticket. The trooper exonerated Shumlin stating,

"My actions were neither initiated nor requested by Peter Shumlin, who paid the ticket in full."

Different stories from Team Dubie.

Campaign manager Corry Bliss said the contribution was for legal and other research provided in October. Bliss stated the research was done on Brian to see “what was out there”.

Spokesperson Katie Duffy said the $1,800 in kind contribution was for legislative research.  

Brady Toensing said the contribution referred to “ legal research that was performed in August."  

Toensing’s legal work for Republican candidates is nothing new.  

In 2004 he put his legal skills to work performing public record research for Randy Brock’s GOP campaign for Auditor of Accounts.  The following election cycle, he performed legal research for Brian Dubie.

While Toensing claims to be working “independently,” and he may well be, the fact is that his legal research always seems to find its way into the In-Box of GOP candidates in tight races.