When Is A Crime Not A Crime? When it’s a Public Official Committing it

NH RSA 641;4 False Reports to Law Enforcement states, in part, A person is guilty of a misdemeanor if he: Knowingly gives or causes to be given false information to any law enforcement officer with the purpose of inducing such officer to believe that another has committed an offense.

In September 2021, NH State Rep. Michael Cahill filed criminal allegations with the NH Attorney General’s office and Newmarket Police Dept., falsely accusing me of extortion, threatening public officials, coercion, and harassment.

Excerpts from Mr. Cahill’s emails to Newmarket Police Chief Greg Jordan:

“I understand the department is aware of Mr. Clay’s actions and the impact on the school administration. I don't know if you were involved but I am told this was viewed as harassment when I think his demands and threatened actions to fill his bank account are extortion.”

“Using the RTK requests to us with stress and expense, Mr. Clay is trying to coerce the board into paying him money and or release him from paying us money that the courts awarded Newmarket from his last court case against our attorney, the superintendent, and the board.”

“I think this goes beyond RTK which is his method and to the criminal act of extortion. Should he be arrested and charged with extortion, this might alter his behavior going forward and at a minimum provide a location where he could be served papers.”

[Clay] “Has harassed Newmarket and Dover school administrators with Right-to-Know requests for several years. He has added demands for substantial settlements with the threat of new filings suggesting that the cost of staff time and legal fees will be high. This is an abuse of the which was to ensure the public access to information on how the government spends taxpayer dollars and makes decisions.”

“Our Right-to-Know provides the public with information but Clay and others have abused the law to punish and harass in ways that were not anticipated. I don’t know that the Legislature can correct this without denying someone’s legitimate request. We are having trouble here with people disrupting meetings They are being trained and encouraged to do this.”

Representative Cahill revealed his true motives, and violated the law again, in filing his false criminal allegations against me in an email to the Attorney General, where he wrote: “ Should he (Clay) be arrested and charged with extortion, this might alter his behavior going forward, and at a minimum, provide a location where he could be served papers.”

Facts matter. Mr. Cahill has no direct knowledge of the truth or falsity of the criminal allegations I filed against Newmarket School District officials. Yet, Cahill filed his criminal complaint against me, claiming, among other things, that the school district did not violate the law. Through his false reports, he committed crimes against the state and was abusing his office to interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation.

Jeffrey Thomas Clay, M.Ed.