Former Official's Confession Casts Doubt On Allegations That Led To Her Alleged Attacker's Conviction

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) - A former local congressional candidate made a shocking confession exclusively to CBS13 this week.

Former Stanislaus County clerk-recorder and congressional candidate Karen Mathews Davis admitted she lied to the feds about fake death threats she actually sent herself.

STEVE LARGE: Did you write the letters?

KAREN MATHEWS DAVIS: You know, everybody makes mistakes, I did.

With her credibility now shattered, some are wondering what else she may have lied about, including a case that put a man in prison for nearly two decades.

Released on bond last night, Mathews Davis admitted she mailed death threats to herself then lied to the FBI about it during her failed 2014 congressional campaign.

Mathews Davis spoke to CBS13 in 1998 in the wake of a lawsuit filed by a man named Roger Steiner, who claimed he was falsely accused.

"This is clearly harassment," she said.

Steiner served 18 years in prison for allegedly attacking Mathews Davis in her Lodi garage -- hired allegedly by an anti-tax group -- but Steiner maintained he was never there.

"I had a question of her credibility 20 years ago, and in fact, the facts that she testified to then did not match the physical evidence," said attorney Daniel Harralson.

We spoke to Harralson, Steiner's then-attorney, who said he still believes his client is innocent, and believes Mathews Davis lied back then as well.

"Today is more of a happy day because now it is confirmed that this is woman, I believe, fabricated these charges, because she admitted to it. But I also have an opinion that the charges 20 years ago were fabricated," said Harralson.

Steiner, who was unreachable today, was last known to be living in a halfway house. At the time of the attack, Mathews Davis was serving as the Stanislaus County clerk-recorder, and had become controversial for resisting tax protestors. She eventually wrote a book about the alleged attack called "The Terrorist In My Garage."

Steiner's attorney is now working to contact his client and figure out what may be next -- possibly reopening the case.

"I'm certainly going to look into it and see what we can do," he said.

Legal experts we talked with say, despite Mathews Davis' confession, pursuing legal action in the Steiner case, including a possible retrial, may be a very difficult.