Tan Nguyen is upset that he's being investigated:

He became visibly angry while talking about the search. His face turned red and he pounded a fist on his desk as he spoke.

He claims innocence.

"They didn't write it. I didn't write it," he said.

Asked if any campaign volunteers were responsible for the mailing, Nguyen referred questions to his attorney.

And yet he insists on running, and rather than expressing any sort of outrage that someone has betrayed his confidence, he complains about being investigated.

The letter of intimidation sent out to Hispanic voters could represent illegal behavior on his campaign's part. At the very least, someone has been attempting to intimidate voters into not voting -- that is, Hispanic voters into not voting for Tan Nguyen's Hispanic opponent.

The state Department of Justice has opened a voting rights investigation into the letter sent to certain Democratic voters in Orange County.

The letter, written in Spanish, warned: "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time."

This is pretty consistent with behavior by Republican campaigns elsewhere, notably Ohio in 2004. If Nguyen, as an immigrant, had instead expressed some sympathy for and insight into immigrant life and experiences, especially in this age of resurgent nativistic nee racist politics from the right wing of his own party, maybe he could have capitalized on this and gained some respect in this campaign.

Instead, he plays the victim and decries not the intimidation of voters but rather the investigation into his campaign, which apparently remains the prime suspect of the California Justice Department. His crocodile tears don't seem to be very convincing.

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