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New Hampshire Democrat Party chair Ray Buckley signed off on a hit piece political mailer six years ago, but a judge ruled he can still be dragged into court over it today.

Buckley’s lawyers tried to get him off the hook for a mailer that may have contained defamatory language targeting a Bedford Republican by claiming Buckley was not involved in creating the political propaganda.

The judge didn’t buy it.

“[Former NHPD staffer Nick] Taylor stated ‘that everything that goes out from the New Hampshire Democratic Party is reviewed by . . . Buckley,’” Hillsborough Superior Court — North Judge David Anderson noted in his ruling released Wednesday.

The mailers featured Buckley’s signature and the disclaimer, “Paid for by NH Democratic Party. Ray Buckley, Chair. Not authorized by any candidate or candidate’s committee.”

Anderson rejected the attempt by Buckley’s lawyers to have him dismissed as a defendant, ruling that jurors will make the call at trial. The NHDP did not respond to a request for comment.

During the 2018 state Senate race, 6,000 pieces of election mail were sent by the Democratic Party targeting then-state Rep. Dan Hynes. The mailers featured a photo of Hynes doctored to look like a police mug shot and alerted voters of his 2008 criminal conviction for theft by extortion.

The mailer also claimed Hynes had been disbarred as an attorney as a result of the conviction.

“THE WRONG KIND OF CONVICTIONS. [Hynes] targeted woman-owned businesses for extortion. [He] was charged by Republican Attorney General Kelly Ayotte, convicted by the state of New Hampshire for ‘theft by extortion’ and disbarred,” the mailer states.

Except Hynes wasn’t disbarred. Buckley and the NHDP got that wrong. (Hynes did have his law license suspended for one year, however).

Hynes says the Democrats got the “conviction” claim wrong, too, and the New Hampshire Supreme Court agrees. Hynes’ extortion conviction was annulled after he satisfied his sentence and repaid his victims, wiping it off the record.

“The effect of New Hampshire’s annulment statute is to, as a matter of law, render the arrest, conviction, or sentence void for the purposes of public discourse,” the Supreme Court ruled. “The fact that the plaintiff was convicted undeniably exists, but as a matter of New Hampshire law, upon annulment, it is false and misleading to fail to state that the conviction was annulled.”

The mailer makes no mention of Hynes’ annulment, though it includes a link to a news article that informs readers of the facts.

In his deposition, Taylor indicated he read the article and believed the statement about the annulment was true. But the annulment was never directly mentioned on the mailer. Taylor further said that at the time he was not sure about the difference between a lawyer being suspended or a lawyer being disbarred, according to Anderson’s ruling.

Hynes first brought his lawsuit against Buckley and the party after his 2018 loss, but it was dismissed. It was revived after Hynes won his appeal at the Supreme Court. 

Buckley is known for his abrasive persona, and is often accused by political opponents of taking cheap shots. For example, just days ago he retweeted a post about the Jan. 6, 2001 U.S. Capitol riot that featured a photo of Donald Trump taking a selfie with Manchester police officers.

“Trump’s ‘gala’ honoring Jan. 6 rioters may violate his terms of release,” read the caption.

In fact, the photo was from a 2016 Wall Street Journal article about Trump campaigning in the Queen City.

The Manchester Police Department declined to comment about the post.

The outcome of Hynes’s lawsuit is far from certain.

Anderson ruled Buckley and the Democrats can use the defense at trial that Hynes is “libel-proof.” That is the legal doctrine that a person with an already poor public reputation can’t be have their reputation further downgraded by libel.

Hynes was the Republican representative for Bedford until his surprise resignation in February. It’s since been learned Hynes moved out of the district late last year and rented out his house, but continued to claim his Bedford home as his residence. 

While Democrat Andrew Kennedy is a new name in New Hampshire politics, the candidate running for state House in Lee, N.H. has a familiar face. 

Andrew Kennedy — formerly “Andrew Gregoire” and until recently “Andrew Bouldin” — was elected a state representative under the latter name in 2018 to represent the Manchester.

Bouldin was set to run for a third term in 2022 when he suddenly resigned his House seat without explanation and moved out of the district. As he tries to get back into public life in a new town with a new name, the reasons for his disappearing act are now being revealed.

According to a Manchester Police Department report obtained by NHJournal, Bouldin (now Kennedy) was investigated for sexually grooming a teen girl by giving her alcohol and showing her pornographic material.

The investigation happened in 2023 when the girl came forward, and after Bouldin had seemingly removed himself from public life. The alleged grooming incidents happened prior to his surprise 2022 resignation, a source told NHJournal.

NHJournal is not identifying the girl or the adult who contacted police about the alleged grooming. The alleged incidents happened both in Manchester and out of state, according to the police report. 

The girl told investigators Bouldin gave her alcohol, showed her pornography, asked her about her sexual preferences, and asked her if she masturbated. During one conversation, Bouldin reportedly told the girl he wanted to get a sex change to experience “being a female,” according to the report.

Bouldin was not charged when police concluded much of his inappropriate behavior fell outside the statute of limitations or occurred outside New Hampshire. Bouldin never asked the girl to engage in any sexual activity with him, and there are no witnesses to him serving her alcohol or talking to her about sex, according to the report. 

Bouldin refused to speak to police when they reached out as part of their investigation. Contacted by phone Thursday night, Bouldin – now Andrew Kennedy – hung up.

Kennedy is one of four Democrats running in the Democratic primary for New Hampshire House of Representatives Strafford 11 on Sept. 10.

Walter King, chair of the Strafford County Democrats Committee, did not respond to a request for comment on Thursday. NHJournal has learned the committee’s leadership was aware of the accusations but felt powerless to stop Kennedy’s candidacy without any concrete proof to substantiate the claims.

Andrew Kennedy currently has a page on the Stafford County Democrats Committee website touting his candidacy, as do all the other Democratic candidates.

Bouldin was a reliably progressive vote during his previous service in the House. He voted against cutting the business profits tax, the parental bill of rights and displaying the national motto “In God We Trust” in schools. He also opposed a ban on late-term abortions.

It is not clear if Andrew Gregoire/Bouldin/Kennedy ever took legal steps to officially change his name. The Andrew Kennedy name was adopted after he attended a rally for independent presidential candidate Robert Kennedy Jr., according to a source familiar with the decision.

NHJournal initially sought copies of the police report from Manchester Police via a Right to Know request. That request was denied on Tuesday when Manchester Police Lieutenant Jared Yaris determined there is no public interest involved in Andrew Bouldin’s case.

“Utilizing the balancing test, it appears, based on your request, that an individual’s privacy interest outweighs the public interest. There does not appear to be any public interest at stake in your request, and it was not articulated that there is a health or safety concern in this matter,” Yaris wrote.

Yaris told NHJournal he was unaware that Bouldin had been a state representative and did not know about his new candidacy under the new Andrew Kennedy name.

His campaign website includes the fact that he previously served in the House. It does not mention, however, that his service was under a different name.

Former Democratic State Senate Minority Leader Jeffrey Woodburn is about to check in at the crowbar motel as Coos Superior Court Judge Peter Bornstein rejected what could be his final attempt to stay free.

On Thursday, Bornstein ordered Woodburn to appear in court for a sentencing imposition hearing. That hearing is to be set for the earliest possible date, according to the order. 

Woodburn urged his looming 30-day jail sentence on two convictions for criminal mischief be changed to a suspended sentence. But Bornstein rejected Woodburn’s recent motion to avoid jail, saying there are no facts in dispute.

“[E]ven if the Court was to consider the defendant’s request for sentence modification on the merits, it would deny same because his criminal mischief sentences reflected all relevant facts and circumstances and appropriately balanced and promoted the goals of sentencing,” Bornstein wrote.

Attorney General John Formella praised the ruling.

“The original sentences imposed on Mr. Woodburn for criminal mischief were carefully considered and were consistent with the facts and circumstances of the case. This outcome reflects our commitment to upholding the rule of law and ensuring that all convictions are addressed in a manner that respects both the victims and the integrity of the judicial process,” Formella said.

Woodburn’s political career crashed in 2018 when he was charged with assaulting his former girlfriend in the domestic abuse case. He fought the case for seven years and managed to overturn 2021 convictions for simple assault and domestic abuse by appealing to the state Supreme Court.

A second trial on the assault charges ended with a hung jury earlier this year. New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella opted to drop the case rather than go for a third trial. That left just the two criminal mischief convictions, which the Supreme Court refused to reconsider. 

According to court records, Woodburn bit the woman during a December 2017 argument as she was driving him back from a party. An intoxicated Woodburn demanded to be let out of the car, and he planned to call a friend for a ride. When the woman reached to take his phone, he allegedly bit her hand, according to the allegations.

Woodburn argued in this year’s second trial that he was acting in self defense when he bit the woman. 

As for the criminal mischief, Woodburn kicked the door to the woman’s house and she refused to let him inside about a week after the fight in the car, according to court records. Earlier that year, in August 2017, he reportedly kicked her clothes dryer, breaking the appliance, according to court records. 

The daycare employee accused of sending thousands of child sex abuse images to her romantic partner, former state Rep. Stacie Marie Laughton (D-Nashua), is getting a mental health evaluation.

Lindsay Groves, 39, of Hudson, was arrested in June 2023 and charged with federal crimes for allegedly taking sexually explicit photos of the children under her supervision in the Tyngsborough daycare where she worked. Groves allegedly sent those images to Laughton as part of their disturbing sex life. 

According to court records, U.S. District Court Judge Donald Cabell last week ordered Groves to be removed from her current jail cell by U.S. Marshalls and brought to a facility where she will undergo a mental health evaluation to determine if she is able to even stand trial.

“I find there is reasonable cause to believe that [Groves] may presently be suffering from a mental disease or defect rendering her mentally incompetent within the meaning of [the law],” Cabell wrote.

Groves has been arguing for months she is not mentally competent to stand trial, according to court records, though many of those records are sealed. Cabell’s Aug. 9 order does not give details as to why he finds it reasonable she might be mentally ill.

Both Groves and Laughton are being held without bail pending a trial in the United States District Court in Boston. The last known location the two were being held pretrial was the Valley Street Jail in Manchester. Representatives with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Boston declined to confirm their present location. At this point, Laughton has not tried to raise the issue of competency.

Prosecutors are under court order to get Groves to an appropriate faculty so the evaluation can be done within the next month by a psychiatrist or psychologist. Then, whoever examines Groves must present a report to Cabell detailing her mental health history, any current diagnosis, and an expert opinion on if Groves is competent to stand trial.

The pair were arrested separately last summer after Laughton started showing other people the images Groves was sending, according to court records. Soon after, Nashua Police began investigating the couple.

Laughton and Groves have a long-standing, volatile relationship. In 2022, Laughton was charged with harassing Groves and her family, which cost Laughton a seat in the state legislature. Laughton was arrested in November of that year for stalking Groves shortly after winning reelection to the House. Laughton was jailed for weeks until the House Democratic Caucus finally forced a resignation.

During the investigation of the stalking case, it was revealed that Laughton had called the police to report Groves was abusing children at the daycare. The accusation was dismissed as part of the ongoing harassment at that time.

According to the federal case documents, Laughton and Groves were reconciled after the stalking case was resolved without a jail sentence. Groves started sending the disturbing photos to Laughton, and the two had explicit conversations via text about the images and their own sexual desires. 

Laughton and Grove discussed raping the children at the daycare facility. In one chilling exchange, they strategized about how to get away with the horrific crime. Laughton maintained there was nothing wrong with sexually abusing children:

GROVES: “You mentioned how I said I was afraid that the kids will run to the parents if we do it with them I wasn’t being serious.”

LAUGHTON: “OK because like I get concerned about that cause I don’t wanna get caught if we do.”

GROVES: “I was joking anyway and you took me serious.”

LAUGHTON: “Oh I know but I just don’t wanna get in trouble. I mean I want to do what we want to do because we like it and we approve of it but others think this is wrong. Lots of parents don’t like people touching their kids and it is against the law …”

In another exchange, Laughton appears to admit having raped a child with Groves

“I was asking because I know we’ve had some back-and-forth, and I know we initially said we do nothing with kids ever again, and you said you were afraid that if we had kids if they would go back and tell the parents the same with the kids you work with,” Laughton texted to Groves.

Laughton, born Barry Laughton, is a biological male who identifies as female. Laughton became New Hampshire’s first transgender elected official in 2012, and the first transgender elected official to be forced to resign.

Laughton was forced out weeks after the 2012 election after it was learned he was still on probation on a felony theft charge. Laughton has also been charged with stalking and making bomb threats. None of that prevented New Hampshire state Democratic Party chair Ray Buckley from praising Laughton as part of “the backbone of the Granite State” in 2022.

Laughton was married for many years to Lisa Laughton, the alleged co-conspirator in a 2008 fraud case that resulted in the felony conviction that temporarily derailed Laughton’s political career. Laughton has also conducted a long-term sexual relationship with Groves. Both Groves and Lisa Laughton are biological women. 

And, Hillsborough County officials confirm, Laughton is being housed with the jail’s male population.

Disgraced Democrat Jeff Woodburn is heading to jail after the New Hampshire Supreme Court rejected the appeal of his criminal mischief convictions.

The court released its decision Tuesday ruling against Woodburn’s quest for a new trial on those convictions, leaving the former state senator to serve the two 30-day sentences connected to the domestic violence case that ended his career.

“Today, the New Hampshire Supreme Court denied Jeffrey Woodburn’s motion for a new trial, leaving in place his sentence of 30 days of incarceration for his prior convictions,” New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella said in a statement. “After a lengthy and challenging legal process, this decision is consistent with our steadfast commitment to justice and our ongoing support for victims of domestic violence. We remain dedicated to upholding the law and advocating for those affected by such crimes.”

Woodburn is still free for now and his attorney, Mark Sisti, is still fighting. Sisti told NHJournal he plans to oppose any state motion to impose the sentence.

“We will be stridently objecting to any incarceration,” Sisti said.

All of the charges stemming from Woodburn’s alleged assaultive conduct against the woman were either dismisses by the state, or a jury, Sisti said. A 30-day jail sentence for criminal mischief is out of proportion to the crime, Sisti noted, especially considering Woodburn has been free on bail for five years without incident.

Woodburn isn’t the only former Democratic state legislator facing jail time. Former Nashua state Rep. Stacie Marie Laughton, 39, of Nashua, N.H., is facing federal charges of sexual exploitation of children and aiding and abetting, and state charges of child pornography. Laughton was elected three times as a Nashua Democrat, always with the endorsement of the state Democratic Party.

The legal drama surrounding Woodburn’s case has been dragging out since 2018, when the former Senate Minority Leader was first arrested for allegedly abusing his then girlfriend. He was convicted on counts of domestic violence, simple assault, and criminal mischief after his first trial in 2021, but a later Supreme Court ruling overturned the domestic violence and simple assault charges, sending them back for a second trial.

That second trial ended with a hung jury earlier this year, and Formella opted to drop the case rather than go for a third trial. All the time, Woodburn has been trying to avoid jail and get the criminal mischief counts overturned.

Woodburn wanted a new trial on the two convictions, claiming his prior defense attorney did not provide effective counsel during the 2021 trial. According to Woodburn’s appeal, his first lawyer should have severed the charges and had the criminal mischief counts before a separate jury. Having all of the counts at one trial resulted in the jury being biased against him, according to the appeal.

But the justices ruled Woodburn failed to show his original lawyer performed in a substandard way that would trigger overturning the convictions. The justices also found that the 2021 jury found Woodburn not guilty on several counts, and therefore he could not show a particular bias. 

“The strength of the evidence related to the criminal mischief charges, in combination with the jury’s multiple not guilty findings as to other related charges, indicate that it was the direct evidence of the underlying conduct, rather than any extraneous relationship information that may have been rendered admissible due to the joinder of multiple charges, that prompted the jury’s guilty findings on the criminal mischief charges,” the justices wrote. 

Amanda Grady Sexton, director of public affairs for the New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, said Tuesday’s decision shows Woodburn cannot escape the convictions.

“This is a small measure of accountability for an offender who tried to avoid it at all costs. No one should think they are above the law,” Grady Sexton said. 

Woodburn lost political support almost immediately after he was charged in 2018, with Democratic Party leaders calling on him to step aside. Instead, Woodburn ran and won a primary to retain his seat in the Senate. He then lost the general election to a political unknown. Woodburn has been out of politics since.

Court records show Woodburn was planning a run for governor before he was arrested, and that he was grooming the woman to a “first lady.”

The state’s brief filed in the appeal paints a picture of Woodburn as a controlling man with a drinking problem who made his new girlfriend fear for her safety months before he was charged in 2018. According to the brief, the woman, 17 years his junior, worked as the Democratic Party chair for Coos County and helped get Woodburn elected. He started pursuing a romantic relationship with her in 2015 as his marriage was falling apart, according to the filing.

Soon after they got engaged in 2017, the state says, Woodburn began publicizing their relationship to help his political career.

“[Woodburn] posted pictures on social media and told the victim that this was ‘very important to him,’ because dating her would help him with his career,” the filing states. “Although he liked the way that the victim could ‘approach a stranger with a Bernie sticker,’ he also told her that she should ‘behave like a first lady.’ He told her that she was not to criticize  him, ‘especially in public, because he hoped to be governor.’”

The state’s second domestic abuse trial against former Democratic Senate Minority Leader Jeffrey Woodburn ended in a hung jury Thursday.

Jurors were unable to come to a unanimous guilty or not guilty verdict following the one-day trial in Coös Superior Court, forcing Judge Peter Bornstein to declare a mistrial.

Woodburn’s lawyer, Mark Sisti, told NHJournal he suspects jurors could not agree on whether or not his client acted in self-defense when he bit the alleged victim during a 2017 altercation.

“Most of the facts were already stipulated. The real question is whether it was self-defense,” Siti said.

One of the jury’s questions to the court during deliberation sought clarification on what constitutes a criminal assault.

“Is grabbing someone’s phone considering the time, place, and circumstances an act of assault or confinement?” a juror asked.

Bornstein responded that the facts were up to them to determine based on what they heard at trial and that they should look at the incident in total.

The judge wrote back, “You should consider all the facts and circumstances at that time and place based on the evidence presented.”

The vote split among jurors was not known Thursday, and Sisti said he would not be able to communicate with any jurors for 30 days following the trial. What’s also unknown is if the state plans to try for a third trial against Woodburn.

Reached for comment, New Hampshire Attorney General John Formella’s spokesman, Michael Garrity, told NHJournal no decision on a potential third trial has been made.

“We have not made any decision on whether to retry this matter. We will make that decision after due consideration,” Garrity said.

Sisti is prepared to keep fighting if there is a third trial, saying Woodburn has no intention of backing down.

“We’re going all the way. This is a case he’s not going to drop,” Sisti said.

Thursday’s mistrial shows the strength of Woodburn’s position, according to Sisti. The state likely cannot prove the case to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, he believes.

The New Hampshire Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence, which has commented on the case in the past, did not offer a take on Thursday’s mistrial. Instead, it sent NHJournal a statement reminding all survivors of domestic violence that help is available.

“Survivors should not feel alone in New Hampshire. An advocate is available 24/7 and is a phone call away. The statewide hotline is 1-866-644-3574.”

The charges stem from Woodburn’s actions related to three separate incidents, according to court records. In the first instance, Woodburn and the woman arrived in separate vehicles at a Dec. 15, 2017, Christmas party. The woman agreed to drive him home so that Woodburn would be able to drink at the party. During an argument on the drive home, Woodburn had the woman pull over, and during a struggle over his phone, he bit her hand, according to court records.

On Christmas Eve of that same year, Woodburn kicked the door to the woman’s house after she refused to let him inside. Earlier that year, in August 2017, he reportedly kicked her clothes drier, breaking the appliance, according to court records.

The woman went on record telling Bornstein that during one of her struggles with Woodburn, she tried to grab his phone without permission.

Woodburn was convicted in 2021 on two counts of criminal mischief, one count of domestic violence, and one count of simple assault. Last year, the New Hampshire Supreme Court overturned the simple assault and domestic violence convictions, ruling Woodburn was denied a fair trial because he had been prevented from arguing self-defense in front of the first jury.

The criminal mischief convictions and 30-day jail sentences are both still pending another appeal to the state Supreme Court. 

Woodburn was formally charged in August 2018 but still ran for reelection to the state Senate despite calls for his resignation. He won the Democratic primary but lost in the general election.

A New Hampshire family said in a new lawsuit their daughter is one of the victims in the child sex abuse image case brought against former Democratic state Rep. Stacie Laughton and Laughton’s girlfriend, Lindsay Groves.

Both Laughton, 39, and Groves, 38, are currently held without bail on child sex abuse image charges out of state and federal courts. Groves used her position at Creative Minds daycare in Tyngsborough, Mass., to take explicit nude photos of children and text them to Laughton, according to court records.

The family also suspects their daughter was sexually abused by Groves, according to the lawsuit.

Filed in Middlesex Superior Court in Massachusetts, the lawsuit claims the New Hampshire child was the subject of sexually explicit photos Groves took while she was enrolled at Creative Minds. 

Creative Minds is owned by Maura Sheehy Costello and Erica Jussaume of Massachusetts, with daycare center branches in Dracut and Tyngsborough. Neither could be reached for comment.

According to the suit, Sheehy Costello and Jussaume allowed Groves access to the children at the daycare despite the fact that Groves was repeatedly reported for inappropriate behavior. The family is suing the business owned by Sheehy Costello and Jussaume for negligence in hiring Groves and keeping her employed despite the red flags.

“As a result of the Defendant’s neglect, the Plaintiffs have reason to believe that their daughter may have been sexually exploited by Lindsay Groves while the minor was under the care of Creative Minds,” the lawsuit states.

The family is being kept anonymous in the legal filings, with the father and mother referred to as John and Jane Doe, and the child referred to as Jane Doe. They are represented by Lowell attorney Roger Peace. Peace did not respond to a request for comment.

This is the second lawsuit brought against Creative Minds since Groves and Laughton were arrested in June.

A Massachusetts mother filed a lawsuit against Creative Minds last month alleging her young son was sexually molested by Groves at the Tyngsborough center. That lawsuit also alleges Sheehy Costello and Jussaume were told about Groves inappropriately touching children in 2018 and told she was taking explicit photos in 2022, and yet she remained on the job.

According to court records in the criminal case, Groves and Laughton exchanged approximately 10,000 text messages over the past 18 months, including numerous explicit photos of the children Groves was caring for at the facility. During one text message conversation, the pair discussed raping children, and Laughton appeared to admit having raped a child in the past.

“LAUGHTON: I was asking because I know we’ve had some back-and-forth, and I know we initially said we do nothing with kids ever again, and you said you were afraid that if we had kids if they would go back and tell the parents the same with the kids you work with.”

In the same exchange, Laughton and Groves discussed the possibility of raping children at Creative Minds.

“GROVES: I want to do it with the kids at work 

GROVES: than you can put your **** inside them

GROVES: I wasn’t being serious about the kids running back and telling their parents 

GROVES: Plus, I want to do it with kids who use to come here cause they can enjoy it 

LAUGHTON: Well, I know but you were afraid that the kids at work might tell their parents and we said we would do it if we knew we were not gonna get caught and I was just wondering like like basically you have no problem with that…”

Laughton became New Hampshire’s first transgender elected official in 2012 but is now more famous for a career of criminal exploits. Laughton, a Democratic state representative, was forced to resign shortly after the 2012 election when it was learned the erstwhile lawmaker was still on probation for a felony theft conviction. Laughton has also been charged with stalking and making bomb threats.

Laughton was reelected to a Nashua House seat in 2020 and, after winning reelection again in 2022, spent weeks in jail after being charged with stalking and harassing Groves, according to court records.

Though Laughton and Groves remain at Valley Street Jail in Manchester pending trial, Groves was recently deemed safe for release by a federal judge. The Boston Office of the United States Attorney is appealing that decision. Groves is staying locked up until the appeal is heard.

Marianne Williamson  meet at greet at Bookery in Manchester

August 18th

7:00pm to 8:30pm

Bookery
844 Elm Street, Manchester, NH

Marianne Williamson in Portsmouth, NH

Date: July 5

Time: 11:00 am

Location: South Church Unitarian Universalist, 292 State Street, Portsmouth, NH  03801

Marianne Williamson in Merrimack 4th of July Parade

Date: July 4

Time: 1:00 pm

Location: Commons Shopping Plaza, 515 Daniel Webster Highway, Merrimack, NH  03054