HARRISBURG -- Since the Bonusgate corruption probe was launched two years ago, Rep. Bill DeWeese has adamantly and repeatedly denied knowing that taxpayer money secretly had been used to underwrite political campaigns.

But records turned over to defendants in the case by Attorney General Tom Corbett appear to paint a different picture of the onetime House Democratic leader, who has not been charged in the ongoing investigation.

Documents show that in 2006, facing a stiff challenge in an election he nearly lost, Mr. DeWeese's campaign tapped a state-paid computer consultant -- a key figure in the Bonusgate probe -- to perform a long list of political tasks.

Among other duties, that consultant crafted fundraising invitations and sent out blast e-mails to constituents in Mr. DeWeese's district in the southwestern corner of Pennsylvania.

The documents, provided to The Inquirer by a defendant, also indicate that the Greene County Democrat exchanged campaign-related messages with his legislative staffers on state e-mail accounts.

"I love it," Mr. DeWeese responded in September 2006 to a legislative aide of his who had just drafted a letter for a constituent to send to the local newspaper supporting the representative's campaign.

"Great work," Mr. DeWeese wrote with 44 exclamation points when told by campaign operatives in April that party canvassers had knocked on nearly 600 doors.

State law prohibits public dollars from being used for campaign-related purposes.

Mr. DeWeese, who has served in the House for three decades and is now House majority whip, declined to be interviewed. In a statement, he said it would be inappropriate to comment on individual documents.

He called the e-mails "a desperate attempt by the criminal defendants to try their case in the media by cherry-picking documents they received in discovery and leaking them."

The documents -- more than 100 in all -- were given to The Inquirer by Brett Cott, a former top aide to House Democrats who is facing 42 corruption counts. As required by law, state prosecutors provided the documents to Mr. Cott and the other defendants as part of the discovery phase of the case.

Mr. Cott was among a dozen caucus insiders charged in July in the first wave of Bonusgate indictments. The 12 are accused of carrying out a conspiracy to use millions in state resources and staff to further the campaigns of House Democrats.

Mr. Cott's attorney, Bryan Walk, said the documents "speak for themselves."

Asked to elaborate, Mr. Walk said: "We're disappointed that Brett is charged for allegedly doing political work on state time when it appears that there were other people who did the same -- or more things -- on state time who weren't charged."

Mr. DeWeese, in his prepared statement, said that prosecutors have decided to not charge him "based on the totality of the evidence over a two-year period, which included thousands of e-mails and other documents that we turned over to them and the sworn testimony of hundreds of witnesses whom we urged to cooperate."

Mr. Corbett has said that the fact that Mr. DeWeese was not charged does not indicate he is in the clear and that the investigation is continuing. Mr. Corbett's press secretary, Kevin Harley, reiterated that last week, but declined further comment.

The fall of 2006 was a critical period for Democrats who had been toiling for a decade to reclaim the majority in the state House.

The Bonusgate indictment alleges that they pulled out all the stops, even paying a computer consultant, Eric Buxton and his Harrisburg company, Govercom Strategies, hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars for political work.

Prosecutors have argued that Mr. Buxton, the son of a longtime state representative from Harrisburg, was paid with tax dollars for government services while in reality he only worked on campaigns.

Mr. Cott and three others were charged with theft stemming from the Govercom arrangement.

In an interview last week, Tom Andrews, Mr. DeWeese's legislative press secretary, said he took time off of his state job to help Mr. DeWeese's campaign. When asked to provide documentation, however, Mr. Andrews did not respond.

Mr. Buxton's attorney, Ed Spreha, declined comment.

Other documents in the case that are now part of discovery show that Mr. DeWeese at times used his state e-mail account to directly respond to campaign-related matters.

Unlike his penchant for loquacious floor speeches, Mr. DeWeese's e-mails are almost always pithy and to the point.

In a December 2004 e-mail exchange, caucus research analyst Karen E. Steiner wrote Mr. DeWeese, "I can't thank you enough for the bonus for campaigning." To that, Mr. DeWeese replied, "UR welcome."

Ms. Steiner received a $1,600 bonus that year. Mr. DeWeese has previously told reporters that he doesn't recall writing that e-mail to Ms. Steiner and that other staffers sometimes respond for him using his e-mail account.

Mr. DeWeese has said that he didn't know of the government bonuses, with the exception of smaller ones given each Christmas.