US Congressman owned home with another man, took DC tax deduction while voting in NC.

Congressman Patrick T. McHenry (R-NC) purchased a residence in Washington, DC's Capital Hill neighborhood with another man, PageOneQ has learned. While he owned the home, McHenry and co-owner Scott G. Stewart claimed eligibility for the District of Columbia's Homestead Tax Deduction, a tax reduction program to encourage homeownership and residence in DC. At the same time McHenry was registered to vote, and did so, in Gaston County, North Carolina.

According to records obtained from the Washington, DC Recorder of Deeds, McHenry, who was first elected to Congress in 2004, and Stewart owned the three bedroom, three-and-a-half bath home from February 2001 to January 2002. The house is located at 1360 D Street, SE, in a neighborhood near the US Capitol.

The DC Recorder of Deeds told PageOneQ that McHenry and Stewart received a $60,000 deduction off the property's assessed value for tax reduction purposes in the second half of 2001. In order to receive the tax reduction, homeowners are required to certify that the property is "occupied by the owner/applicant." The eligibility guidelines state that the "property must be the principal residence (domicile) of the owner/applicant."

At the same time he owned the home and claimed the deduction in DC, North Carolina Board of Elections records show that McHenry voted in Gaston County, NC. McHenry first cast a ballot in Gaston in November 1993. Subsequently, he voted in twenty different elections up through the November 7, 2006 General Election. On November 6, 2001 McHenry voted in a North Carolina polling location. On that date he was also receiving the Homestead Deduction on his DC property.

"Applicants need to submit a form to us that states the residence is their principal home," Irving Gwin of the DC Office of Tax and Revenue told PageOneQ. "The form includes questions about drivers' licenses, vehicle ownership, and voter registration."

McHenry aide indicted in voter fraud

At the time he owned the Capital Hill home and took the tax reduction for residents, McHenry was registered and voted in Gaston County, NC (see McHenry's voter record below). Earlier this year, McHenry campaign staffer Michael Aaron Lay was indicted on charges of voter fraud for registering at the McHenry home in North Carolina illegally. Lay, claimed the Gaston County prosecutor, voted in two Congressional primaries in which McHenry was running, including one which McHenry won by 85 votes. While Lay was being paid by McHenry's campaign at a Tennessee residence, he registered at McHenry's Requa Drive home in Cherryville. Lay was indicted on May 7th by grand jury and in August agreed to a deferred prosecution deal on misdemeanor charges of registering and voting illegally.

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