(Prominent Republican)Pilot killed as plane crashes in Lake Twp. ("Rove's IT consultant")

[Algorem]

Source: Akron Beacon Journal

Pilot killed as plane crashes in Lake Twp.

By Jewell Cardwell, John Higgins and David Knox
Beacon Journal staff writers

POSTED: 11:30 p.m. EST, Dec 19, 2008

LAKE TWP.: A single-prop, private airplane crashed next to a vacant house on Charolais Street Northwest Friday evening, exploding into flames and killing the pilot.

Michael Connell, 45, of Bath Township, was alone in the plane, according to State Highway Patrol Lt. Eric Sheppard.

Connell was a prominent Republican political consultant. He founded New Media Communications in Richfield, which developed campaign Web sites for Republican presidential candidate John McCain and President George W. Bush.

The plane was attempting to land around 6 p.m. Friday at Akron-Canton Airport when it crashed about three miles short of the runway...



Read more: http://www.ohio.com/news/break_news/36482529.html

---

Google him-

#
The Raw Story | Republican IT consultant subpoenaed in case ...
Sep 29, 2008 ... Arnebeck’s hope was that in the course of the discovery procedure it would be possible to subpoena Michael Connell, former White House ...
rawstory.com/news/2008/Republican_IT_consultant_subpoenaed_in_case_0929.html - 25k - Cached - Similar pages
#
The BRAD BLOG : BREAKING: Federal Judge Compels GOP IT Guru Mike ...
"We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have ...
www.bradblog.com/?p=6600 - 200k - Cached - Similar pages
#
Pissed off Former Democrat- ADAP2K: "Michael Connell" OHIO ...
Nov 3, 2008 ... A federal judge on Friday ordered Michael Connell, whose firms had consulting contracts with Bush's campaign and with the Ohio secretary of ...
adap2k.blogspot.com/2008/11/michael-connell-ohio-election-testimony.html - 102k - Cached - Similar pages


http://www.google.com/search?sa=N&tab=nw&q=Michael%20Co...

http://www.bradblog.com/?p=6600

"We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to 'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations."


The bullet we dodged
http://artvoice.com/issues/v7n46/getting_a_grip
18 Nov 2008 by Michael I. Niman
Karl Rove’s IT consultant, Mike Connell, who worked with the Bush campaign in 2004 and was under contract with the McCain/Palin campaign this year, was just compelled by a federal judge to answer questions on November 3, the day before ...
Artvoice - Buffalo's #1 Newsweekly - http://artvoice.com / - References

[Duer 157099]

1. Perhaps he was carrying the harddrives with all those missing emails?

wouldn't be surprised

[TheEuclideanOne]

196. Nice plane ya got. Would be a shame if it encountered some ... errr ... technical...difficulties.

A real shame, if you know what I mean.

[wolfgangmo]

226. Remember Paul Wellstone.

Does any of this sound familiar?

It does to me. Another man goes down in flames for opposing the criminal mafia in charge of our government and country.

RIP Paul.

[CK_John]

2. Oh no, this was the guy who setup Rove's offline RIM network(private eMail system) and war room for

Ohio's vote counting system. Our best chance to nail Rove and Bushco with voting stealing in Ohio.

[Divine Discontent]

37. SHIT! this is not good. all these small planes sure are dangerous though, huh?

anyhow, thanks for the specific terminology for what he setup for Rove, and yes, I was shocked that story has faded away.... they're all so corrupt. I think perhaps they figured this guy's usefulness had come to an end, and he was....

no longer needed?????

sheesh...

[Aviation Pro]

138. Small airplanes (general aviation light airplanes).....

...are not unsafe - they are certified under 14 CFR 23 (Code of Federal Regulations) and the standards are very rigid - pilots sometimes do unsafe and stupid things with them. (In this case, I'm betting flying into icing conditions).

[PatrynXX]

142. probably easy to sabatoge

pull a Blue Thunder snap. whoops. kinda reminds me of the movie blue thunder. go figure

[Pavulon]

215. Lots of work

why not just pardon the guy? Or set up a fake car accident? Mugging death, whatever. All the tin foil theory just ignores the much easier ways to deal with a problem like this.

Sounds like this guy joined the ranks of doctors, dentists, and other hobby fliers who make errors that lead to their death in small aircraft.

[DogPoundPup]

72. yes ... Ohio cybergate: FLASHBACK, Rove and his henchmen threatened Mr. and Mrs. Connell

http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2008/08/witness-protection-a...

[lovuian]

108. Put Connell's name with all the rest who have been killed

to keep their butts covered

this is like Cliff Baxter Wellstone etc... etc...

[The Backlash Cometh]

74. Hopefully he left an "If I should die within the year" letter.

[No Elephants]

76. Some coincidence, isn't it? Was it the same plane as JFK Jr.'s?

[DogPoundPup]

80. Watch this video of Cliff Arnebeck(lead atty) discuss Rove's part in OH vote fraud

http://adap2k.blogspot.com/2008/12/rove-connell-michael...

CLIFF ARNEBECK, lead attorney in the controversial King-Lincoln v. Ohio Sec. of State lawsuit, talks about the aim of the suit (Rove's participation) and the impact on the planned fix of the recent election of deposing under oath Mike Connell, head IT operative for the Republican Party and the McCain campaign, on the day before the vote.

And more,,,

Federal Judge Compels GOP IT Guru Mike Connell To Give Deposition in Ohio '04 Election Case

"Michael Connell" Testified Today- denies knowledge of ‘04 Vote rigging in Ohio

Velvet Revolution Calls For A Special Prosecutor And Congressional Investigation


The 'Connell Anomaly' Pt.1
Attorney Cliff Arnebeck, cyber-sleuth Steven Spoonamore and author Mark Crispin Miller explain the background the 'Connell Anomaly,' named for Mike Connell, allegedly Rove's IT fixer, who, in a late-breaking story, has been ordered by District Judge Solomon Olive to testify on Monday.

Velvet Revolution Calls on John McCain to Fire Michael Connell for Covering Up for Karl Rove in Federal Election Manipulation Lawsuit

Documents reveal how Ohio routed 2004 voting data through company that hosted external Bush Administration email accounts

[creeksneakers2]

187. The more I read about this

The more it looks like Connell's company didn't do the counting. Some firm named Triad was involved. Arenbeck just subpoenaed Connell on the theory that Connell MIGHT know something about Triad. At least that's the way I'm reading it.

Anyway, the whole idea of a central computer fix is kooky. People keep track of county results and even precinct results. And those results are later available. Here in Harrisburg, they are even posted in the paper. If somebody were to change those results at a central tabulator, they'd surely be caught.

[mirrera]

207. No, Connell's company Smartech in Tenn was set up to be a back-up for Ohio's vote,

but then Spoonamore showed how the vote data was actually routed first to SmarTech and then back to Ohio Sec of State web site. It is a perfect MIM set-up (or Man in the Middle).

[creeksneakers2]

241. There can't be a man in the middle theft of an election

The results come from precincts which are closely watched. The data is made public and if somebody changed precinct results he'd surely get caught.

If one were to steal the election, they would have to slip something into the master code for all the election tabulators in each precinct. A company called Triad handled things at the precinct level. Connell's company had nothing to do with it.

Arnebeck subpoenaed Connell under the wild assertion that it was possible that somebody from Triad confided information about the fix to Connell. Arnebeck based that supposition on the fact that the companies worked on a project together and that both the owners had similar religious convictions, and a few other things just as weak as that.

There is no credible possibility that Connell could have had anything to do with an Ohio election fix. Thus, it makes no sense that Karl Rove would threaten Connell, since Connell wasn't even involved and knew nothing. When Connell did finally testify that's what he told the court, that he didn't know a thing about it at all.

Its amazing that the court even forced Connell to testify at all. Part of Arnebeck's strategy to get him there involved a hypothetical about Connell planting trojans in the computer systems that could be used to steal the 2008 election. The Secretary of State's office said they don't even use Connell's software anymore.

I told people here back in 2004 that you can't steal an election by manipulating central tallies. Raw Story consulted with a computer expert with Arnebeck's supposed diagram of how the crime was committed. The computer expert said the same thing I said. You can't fix an election that way.

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Documents_reveal_how_Ohio...

[RandomThoughts]

249. one person can steal votes with computer tabulators

Hacking Democracy
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVlZTWH7u8w
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-47621592607594...

[creeksneakers2]

252. I watched all nine of the you tube videos

and they were interesting. But according to the video, each precinct must run a tape that tallies the results for that precinct. The people who work in that precinct would know what the tally was, as would candidates and campaign managers and election workers and others. The results are published. There would be no way to change the precinct results after they were tallied at the precinct level. A changed vote total would be spotted by somebody.

The you tube showed a hacker changing the sum of all the precincts added together. If that were done, the published results would show a bunch of numbers that didn't add up to what they were supposed to add up to. Again, the theft would be quickly discovered.

Since races have to be fixed at the precinct level, and Connell was not involved with the precinct technology, Connell couldn't have had anything to do with stealing the election in Ohio.

[Doremus]

3. They really ought to do something about all those defective small planes out there.

[NBachers]

35. Unsafe at Any Speed

Ralph Nader needs to do a complete investigation and report.

[A HERETIC I AM]

43. Bullshit. n/t

[TheEuclideanOne]

194. Ralph Nader? Who is that?

[elocs]

46. It's funny how if the average John Q Public dies in a small plane crash

we have no trouble accepting it as an accident, but if it is a politician, or political figure, or especially a prominent Democrat, then the tinfoil hats come out and the death gets woven into some plot or conspiracy as if these kinds of people are exempt from the types of tragedies that claim lives everyday. The rain falls and the sun shines on both the just and the unjust. Shit can, and does, happen to anyone.

[Lucky Luciano]

64. maybe...but it seems statistically significant anecdotally...

would be interesting to run a study to see if it is truly statistically significant that some of these political guys die too much in plane crashes (where it is measure based on how many takesoffs/landings they are involved in - which is much more than the average Joes' number of takeoffs/landings).

Paul Wellstone dying in a plane crash a couple weeks before his reelection bid in 2002...and Mel Carnahan dying in a plane crash a couple weeks before his election in 2000....a bit suspicious....still a relatively small sample set...but does appear that there could be a statistically significant pattern here since plane crashes really do not happen very often.

[peacetalksforall]

65. Don't Blame Us. We were handed tinfoil hats with these ruthless sinister diabolical people

with the agenda they have exposed to us day by day. I don't even trust some Democrats, I don't trust Rove, Rove's battalions. All this administration needs is to have one more piece of evidence coming out.

If it's true that they threatened him, we have every right to doubt an accident - UNTIL WE KNOW MORE.

[No Elephants]

79. Yes, but that does not mean every "accident" is actually an accident, either.

[elocs]

118. Occam's Razor:

The most simple explanation is preferred and usually true. Occam's Razor states that one should make no more assumptions than needed.

Here at DU assumption is layered upon assumption, and when hoofbeats are heard the first thought is that it must be zebras instead of horses. The vast majority of the time things are exactly what they appear to be, but there are many here who seem to have a need to stroke and nurture their paranoia. It is pointless to pump up Bushco/Neocon/Republicans into some omnipotent big, bad wolf that can do whatever it wants, whenever it wants as we fearfully cower anticipating it's next stroke which we are powerless to stop. They are not.

[bottomtheweaver]

122. The simplest explanation is that he got whacked.

As you can see.

[valerief]

224. Yep, he got Wellstoned for sure. nt

[Botany]

160. i was with one of the man who is investigating Ohio/Blackwell/Rove this

AM and told him the news ..... Connell was getting death threats fact.

The man I was with was Bob Fitrakis and on the phone was Cliff Arnbeck
.... Connell was running with some very bad people and was trying to get
out.

[Lucky Luciano]

161. I subscribe to Occam for sure...

I will say that there is a 75% chance that this was just a simple accident....and a 25% that something sinister was involved....still....25% is worth investigating.

[creeksneakers2]

186. I've been reading about this all day

And the conspiracy theory doesn't hold up a bit.

[No Elephants]

253. "Usually" being the key word. So, as I was saying not every single accident is an

accident.

[Raster]

126. Yes, shit can happen. And real conspiracies can happen also.

And quite frankly, when one takes a good, long look at the questionable deaths of persons associated with bushco*, cheney*/bush*, etc. it does certainly make one wonder.

Of course one can't really speculate further for attracting too much attention and risk having the conversation shunted to places where daylight doesn't shine... or risk the Unofficial Deny Everything Squad showing up. Oh wait...

[MADem]

134. Especially when the person who dies is piloting the plane during winter weather.

I am not ready to play the "Ah HA!!" game yet, either.

If "they" were going to take the guy out, you'd think "they" would have been smart enough to do it BEFORE he completed a video deposition.

[Raster]

144. According to Raw Story, there was MUCH MORE to tell...

http://www.atlargely.com/2008/12/one-of-my-sources-died...

Maybe "they" aren't so dumb after all, eh?

[MADem]

164. I think suicide is as likely as murder. But I don't claim to KNOW anything.

Neither does RAW STORY, per the UPDATE on that article.

The man testified UNWILLINGLY. His attorneys were from Bush-Cheney. He was facing certain disgrace amongst his peer group, and probably a massive income drop, too. He may well have been looking at criminal charges and jail time, no matter how much testifying he did.

He had a wife and kids to provide for. His job prospects sucked. Who hires cheaters? Who hires people who rat out their bosses? Who hires criminals? He was in a very tough spot.

I'd check his life insurance, too, along with every other angle.

[creeksneakers2]

189. One reason I doubt Larisa Alexandrova

One reason I doubt Larisa's story
She wrote, " I know he was going to DC last night, but I don't know why."

Connell flew to College Park, MD, which is fairly close to DC, the day before he crashed. In fact, Connell crashed on the return trip to the Akron-Canton airport, just miles short of making it the whole way.

I'm suspicious of Larisa's claim that after years this man was about to spill the beans. The claim that he was "headed to Washington" makes it sound like he was going somewhere to tell all to officials who would blow the whole thing wide open. In fact he was returning home, so if he told all he knew in College Park then somebody else would know it, except of course, that would be covered up by Karl Rove too.

http://www.ohio.com/news/36486224.html

Its also puzzling how an act of sabotage would be timed for when the pilot was only a few miles from completing his trip. A little difference in tailwinds would change arrival times, so it wouldn't make sense to time the sabotage like that. In fact, whoever the would be saboteur could be, they probably wouldn't know where he was going, so wouldn't know how to time it. If one was to sabotage a plane, he'd want it to fail soon after takeoff, so the timing problem would be eliminated.

It doesn't make sense that this was sabotage.

Also: I Googled this guy and the net built him up before as somebody who was going to be forced under oath to disclose the inner workings of election fraud in Ohio. When in fact he was forced to testify, he said he didn't know anything about any fraud. Numerous web articles appeared before the testimony but few appeared after. Anyway, It wouldn't make sense for someone to kill him to shut him up now about election fraud. If he knew anything, Connell had already shut up, and under oath.

This conspiracy theory also alleges that Connell knew secrets about the White House E-mail system that he was about to spill but that he was under threats from Rove. As far as I can find, the only source that Connell was about to spill anything is Larisa Alexandrova, who also printed the falsehood about the plane going to Washington. And the threats? The only source for that is the attorney prosecuting the Ohio vote fraud case, who says he found out about threats from Rove from an anonymous source who he won't identify. Its noteworthy that during the phase before Connell's testimony, when the net was abuzz with stories about how Connell was about to expose 2004 vote fraud, the prosecuting attorney said Rove was threating Connell to keep him from telling what he knew in the Ohio case. So that allegation didn't pan out, and another one takes its place, as is common with conspiracy theories.

[starroute]

197. But then you're kind of a knee-jerk skeptic on this stuff

In a quick check, I find you saying here during last winter's primaries, "I don't believe in 2004 vote fraud either" -- so if you don't believe there was any fraud committed in Ohio in 2004, it's natural that you would also have to see Connell's death as pure coincidence.

It's your right to hold that attitude, and I gather you're fairly skeptical of anything that looks like a conspiracy theory in general. But it makes you a less than objective witness, and thus the last person who should be accusing Larisa Alexandrovna of printing "falsehoods."

I don't know what the facts of Connell's last trip are -- but even if it does turns out that Larisa got them wrong, it would presumably be because she's getting her information on the phone from people in Ohio who are still trying to piece the story together, and possibly passing along gossip and speculation as part of the mix, and not as a result of any intention to deceive.

[creeksneakers2]

200. Thank you for your interest

Yes, I am a skeptic. I think that compliments being objective, so long as it doesn't get to the point where there is a bias against real information.

Larisa wrote,"I know he was going to DC last night, but I don't know why."


Other information by Larisa doesn't check out. In the same article she writes, "Mr. Connell has confided that he was being threatened, something that his attorneys also told the judge in the Ohio election fraud case."

Mr. Connell's attorneys asked the court to seal testimony about threats, but the accusations of threats did not come from Mr. Connell. I can't find anywhere else anything about Connell's attorneys telling a judge that he was being threatened. If they had then either Cliff Arenbeck would have known about it and told the world, or nobody knew about anybody making such a statement to the judge, in which case Larisa wouldn't know about it.

Larisa has now taken back part of her original story where she said the plane ran out of gas.

The word "falsehood" comes close to saying an intent to deceive. Its not quite there though.

[lala_rawraw]

198. Thanks for your input...

I have no problem with you doubting me at all. The DC part is what I learned early this morning amid the chaos of being told about this. As far as I know, he did land in college park, but to go to DC. He also waited for two hours at the airport because he was waiting for the ice to clear. I don't know these things from him and never claimed to. I am getting this stuff in real time, so information sometimes is not fully detailed or even accurate. Which is why I have been updating it as I learn more. I have a source at the airport there because I have been interested in his movements for a very long time. So on his actual movements, there may be some information that is different at first and then I update it as new information comes in.

As for the rest, there is no doubt as it is based on my experience with the source and others (who are likely not going to talk now).

What I am curious about is why you think he would not tell me anything? I have had more important people tell me things - and on the record - than this guy. As far as I know, I am the only one who found his house, put a note in his mail-box, and took these steps in order to make contact. So who else would these people go to talk to then? No other reporter came looking for them. As I said, I don't mind if you doubt me at all. I just think it is interesting why you do. Thanks for the input.

[creeksneakers2]

201. If he were being threatened

why would he tell you? He knows you are a journalist, and if you report that he's told you he's being threatened, then the people threatening him would know he talked, and would therefore carry out the threats.

I can't see an very active big time Republican who was even involved in push polling to risk his life and career to help out a left wing Internet blog journalist. It doesn't make sense.

Supposedly, the way I read it, they confided something to you about some wrongdoing. Can you say exactly what it was? I haven't come across you saying it, but others say that Larisa can't tell all she knows. That makes me even more skeptical.

[lala_rawraw]

204. you have no idea what you are talking about

but by all means, feel free to continue. i won't get into "i know something you don't know" game with you. and as i have said, i have had far more important people than this guy talk to me and on the record. perhaps I am indeed so irrelevant that this guy may have not been open to talking to me if i had not gone to his home. I don't know. or maybe I am significant enough that I helped get a Governor out of jail. whatever the reality, my instinct tells me you are not interested in anything but attacking me for reasons I don't understand - although I have tried to be polite and have asked. so have at it. i have no way of responding to what you ask and you fully seem to understand why.

[creeksneakers2]

205. In other words

"No more questions. Nothing to see here."

It must be my fault, what with being out to get you.

[lala_rawraw]

208. um

yeah... you are out to get me in a conspiracy along with Sarah Palin and the KKK. seriously... I don't think you are out to get me. I just think there is hostility coming from you for reasons that are unclear to me. oh and "in other words" I have yet to say there is "nothing to see here". but what you want is not what i can provide at the moment. i provided as much as I could in order for this context to be known. beyond that, other people who are still witnesses and sources are far more important to me than than your need for immediate information. you can be patient or you can not. that is up to you. but yes, your questions are not going to be answered by me, not now anyway. that is simply the reality. you don't have to like it. but i am not the bad-guy. that is something you need to understand.

[Wilms]

218. Actually, it is you, by your own admission, who has no idea what you're talking about.

"I am getting this stuff in real time, so information sometimes is not fully detailed or even accurate. Which is why I have been updating it as I learn more."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

Perhaps you taking a remedial class in journalism would do the blogosphere a big favor.

[lala_rawraw]

220. why did you not cut and paste the whole thing?

I am referring to the activities at the airport, not the rest. Thanks for the suggestion, however.

[defendandprotect]

240. Microwaves seem to be the way to do the planes lately . . .

Its also puzzling how an act of sabotage would be timed for when the pilot was only a few miles from completing his trip.

And, disorienting the pilot -- knocking out electrical system.

Been a while since I looked at this method --- you'll probably find a lot on internet

about it.

JFK, Jr.....???

Likely -- in that case, fuel supply was turned off in his plane --!!

Don't find accident a valid analysis on this one either ---

[ooglymoogly]

165. Thanx Polly for your input.

Your point might be taken if there had not been threats and private Q Citizen was not being indited in a case involving a crooked president and his cronies that could put them in prison. Your slings and arrows are easily fended by a well placed tinfoil hat in this case. And innit funny how most of the tinfoil hatters are being proven right about the Ohio Election.

[jetphixer]

59. Defictive

Wow as a avid skeet shooter&gun owner I think laws should be passed against small planes as they kill people. PS I am also a pilot/A&P mechanic. Actually dumb pilots stupid be outlawed im betting this was a Stall/spin accident!!!!!!

[AzNick]

99. Often the issue is between the yoke and the chair n/t

[vanboggie]

4. Murdering Turdblossom & BFEE strike again

God these are evil bastards.

Edited to add that *they* even planned this for a Friday night news dump.

[nc4bo]

5. Drop(ping) like flies are they? I seemed to have misplaced something....

- ahhh found it.

[aquart]

45. Who else recently? Or not so recently?

[catnhatnh]

121. Well , Mark Begich's dad...

Along with Hale Boggs who was about to dissent with the report on 9/11.

[lib2DaBone]

70. LOL.... I always keep a tinfoil hat at the ready....

.. this guy had major bucks. Have you ever seen the houses in Bath, Ohio? Mega Mansions.

Strangely enough, Bath Ohio was also home to Jeffery Dahmer.

[eowyn_of_rohan]

98. Wisconsin Thanks you for claiming him -nt

[Idealism]

6. This country is looking more and more like Pinochet's Chile.

[balantz]

8. Not surprising when one considers things like the link betwen Pinochet and CIA. n/t

[DBoon]

129. Not surprising when you consider the US right wing worships Pinochet

Pinochet's Chile was the test-bed for radically deregulated capitalism. Milton Friedman consulted with the junta on economics.

Go through back issues of National Review. Those guys loved Pinochet (along with Francisco Franco)

[HEyHEY]

27. The aviation inspectors sucked there too?

[grytpype]

7. Obama's Justice Department had better investigate this!

[EFerrari]

15. Mueller will still be around for 2+ years. n/t

[JDPriestly]

20. Unless he is found to have abused the power of his office or something like that.

[EFerrari]

23. Right. Who's going to investigate him?

The corruption in our government is my #1 issue at the moment. It's so bad, it worries me even more than the economy and even more than these useless wars.

[Stevepol]

51. What about the fraudulent programming of voting machines? That was Connell's job!

Hate to give you one more thing to worry about, especially at this season of the year. But I personally think the voting machine mess is the Mother of all Worries.

[No Elephants]

83. Corruption around voting in general. It does not have to be "only" voting machines. Anything

that screws with the voting process goes right to America's jugular. Mess with the vote and we are living in the largest banana republic on the planet, only worse. At least the people who live in banana republics KNOW they didn't elect the thugs.

Second, is anything that messes with the info voters get that affects their choice, like the corporate media banging the drum for the war in Iraq and for Republican candidates.

Everything else, IMO, comes after those two.

[loudsue]

101. I TOTALLY agree. And Connell was in the middle of the voting machine mess.

The voting machine problem is how we came to have the corruption we are now dealing with. NONE of the elections since 2000 have been legitimate. Even though Dems took a majority in 2006, think of how many MILLIONS of votes were compromised each election. We have had the most skewed races in places that should have never had problems, and that didn't come close to the exit polls quite often.

This thing that Al Franken is going through is just another example. But Ohio has been a hotbed of republican dirty tricks since Rove has been anywhere near national government, and Connell's testimony was going to blow the lid off the whole republican election tampering.

How CONVENIENT for republicans that he'll never have to testify.

[leftchick]

131. Blackwell should face a grand jury

he is probably the best source left to be grilled about election fraud in Ohio.

[EFerrari]

119. Well, you're right. n/t

[shanti]

9. Ruh Roh!

BFEE still at work?

[CitizenPatriot]

10. OMG

This is the guy whose lawyer petitioned the DoJ for protection from the Republicans after the subpoena. OF course, the DoJ wasn't going to help..after all, they were implicated in the election fraud themselves. Unbelievable.

How horrific.

Accident? Gee, what makes you ask.

[No Elephants]

85. I can accept the possibility that they killed him, but I don't understand how the DofJ could have

protected him from Republicans? If the DofJ can do that, I'm going to petition them to protect me and the whole friggin country from Republicans.

[CitizenPatriot]

92. ha ha-- well, no --

they can provide protection to witnesses involved in their investigations, and so this guy's lawyer petitioned them for help. I remember when it came out, we all knew they weren't going to help him because he was asking for protection from the guys who were running the DoJ.

That fundy stocked disaster has been the cause of too many "accidental" deaths, it's beginning to look like they're deliberately bringing End Days about. Or perhaps they think they're doing evangelical work by killing people so they can accept Jesus.

[creeksneakers2]

190. Connell and his lawyers did NOT request security

The request for security was made by Cliff Arenbeck, the attorney who filed the suit and was subpoenaing Connell. Arenbeck has never produced a shred of evidence of the threats. Arenbeck says he got the information from a confidential source.

Also, before the plane crash, the supposed threat Arenback was talking about was to have Connell's wife's business ruined. There was nothing about violence, except that Arenbeck requested that Connell be given protection. Loopy, isn't it?

[lala_rawraw]

199. You are both right and wrong here...

You are right that Connell's attorneys did not ask for security and that it was Arn. What you don't know, however, is that the court documents are sealed in relation to the threats. Suffice it to say that Arn. presented his case for forcing Connell to comply with the court order to testify in an emergency meeting in the judge's chambers. During that hearing, the judge ruled based on the evidence presented. In addition, Connell's attorney's asked that all matters relating to his company and to the threats against him be sealed, which the judge agreed to. So on this point you are entirely wrong. The reason you have not seen the evidence is the same reason none of us have. The judge honored the request of the attorneys for Connell and had that portion sealed.

[creeksneakers2]

203. If no one has seen the evidence

how do you know it exists?

[lala_rawraw]

206. are you kidding?

because the judge and all of the attorneys have seen the evidence for crying out loud and the discussions to seal portions of the deposition were made public... anything relating to his company was sealed because his attorneys argued that it was a violation of his rights and he wanted to protect his business practices. the judge agreed. the other part was that anything relating to the threats would also be sealed. the judge agreed on this as well. go read the court documents and the depositions if you get a moment. also, people leak to reporters in any case. this is not up for debate. finally, there are other things too that I cannot get into - which you will obviously take as me hiding something (given your various responses to me thus far). the reality is, I simply cannot - but let us just say that there are people on certain Congressional committees who are aware of this. let us simply leave it at that.

oh, and of course the Attorney General of Ohio was part of this chamber discussion with the principles.

[creeksneakers2]

213. I know that Osama bin Laden

Is living it up in Malibu. I can't tell you more than that though. Too many people might be harmed if I did.

Oh pleeeeeze.....

[lala_rawraw]

217. grow up

i am done with this conversation.

[NJCher]

238. grow up, pt. 2

Don't ever bother with these types of people (self-appointed "skeptics"). Who knows (or cares) what their motive is. Maybe they cannot get attention any other way. I nearly fell on the floor laughing when he asked how you knew there was evidence!

His game is beyond childish. Total waste of time.



Cher

[lala_rawraw]

251. thanks:)

[CitizenPatriot]

222. he did ask for protection

A tipster close to the McCain campaign disclosed to VR in July that Mr. Connell's life was in jeopardy and that Karl Rove had threatened him and his wife, Heather. VR's attorney, Cliff Arnebeck, notified the United States Attorney General , Ohio law enforcement and the federal court about these threats and insisted that Mr. Connell be placed in protective custody. VR also told a close associate of Mr. Connell's not to fly his plane because of another tip that the plane could be sabotaged. Mr. Connell, a very experienced pilot, has had to abandon at least two flights in the past two months because of suspicious problems with his plane. On December 18, 2008, Mr. Connell flew to a small airport outside of Washington DC to meet some people. It was on his return flight the next day that he crashed.

from yahoo news
....

and

Both GovTech and SmartTech have been implicated in the rigging of the 2000 and 2004 elections and the White House email scandal. Our prior request to have Mr. Connell protected went unheeded and now he is dead.

from velvet underground

both found here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[lala_rawraw]

232. the formal

filing was done by Arn though. thanks for this btw

[CitizenPatriot]

234. ah, OK...thanks!

Your welcome

We've got to fight election fraud, that's one thing that comes out of this horrific "accident".

Have a great night!

[villager]

11. Why, goddamn! Another BFEE "coincidence!" From "lone nuts" to plane "accidents!"

n/t

[snake in the grass]

12. This guy's main motivation...

...for supporting the Republicans was to 'save the babies'. Ironic that he became a victim to them in the end. I can't say I feel sorry for him but it is a shame that he won't be around for further investigation.

[ScaryBob]

82. Yes I'm not sure if his demise is a good thing or not, but

maybe it's just that Republicans are just bad pilots, I seem to remember a presidential candidate that crashed five times (but unfortunately survived all of them).

[valerief]

225. Yes, every sperm is sacred and he let his get murdered. nt

[brentspeak]

13. Dead men tell no tales

For once, this is too fishy of an "accident" to be categorized as tin-foil hat material.

[villager]

14. For once? Part of a pattern, I'd say...

n/t

[nc4bo]

16. But what is tinfoil hat speculation is how many more "accidents"

can we expect?

This crap is the exact thing that scares me when I think about our PE. These are powerful, ruthless monsters who will stop at nothing to protect themselves. "They" will do whatever is necessary to carry on "their" agenda even while not in a position of power, such as the POTUS.

Dick Cheney and George Bush are what can be seen on the surface, what lies beneath the surface is a grand conspiracy to gain global power.

For me, it goes straight into tinfoil hat territory.

Hey, I admit I could be wrong x 1000.

[nikto]

17. It's...

Wrongful Death.

Slam-dunk.

Know what I'm tryin' t'say?

[nikto]

21. That SPOONAMORE guy better watch his back, bigtime

That former GOP Computer programer who blew the whistle,
Spoonamore...He better not fly for a while.

Or drive on any country roads.

Or walk alone at night.

etc etc



Sheesh. What country is this, anyway?

[balantz]

18. Common play for the fascists who will remain in power behind the scenes. n/t

[JDPriestly]

19. Could have been suicide. A 2 hour depo. is not very long.

I wonder whether the depo. was continued and the lawyers were wrangling over it. There are lots of explanations, but some explanations seem pretty reasonable to consider seriously: This was either a way to prevent Connell from testifying or for Connell to avoid testifying. Either assumption leads to the assumption that Connell's testimony would have revealed facts that someone did not want revealed.

Of course there is the alternative explanation: It was just an accident. But, somehow, that would be a huge, very convenient accident.

Remember, Connell faced serious time if he did what we all think he did. He probably could have plead the Fifth, and maybe that is what he did. Maybe death was an easy way out for him.

This is very sad.

[lurky]

31. No way he would serve time.

He knew where the bodies were buried. Any investigator would give him a deal to rat out the big guys.

[creeksneakers2]

195. Connell testified back on November 3rd

There was nothing more to testify about at that time of the plane accident.

Back on the 3rd Connell said he knew nothing about any election fraud. Kind of a dull thud ending after a big net buildup by the same people who are inflaming this whole thing we are looking at now.

[Autonomy]

22. aww fuck

why do ppl keep flying in these death traps?

[cliffordu]

24. My spider sense is tingling......

Maybe that wasn't the cable guy outside tonight after all.....

[diane in sf]

25. Guess they didn't want him testifying

[diva77]

26. The link only shows a headline - no article ...hmmmm

[balantz]

28. I got the article at the link. n/t

[bottomtheweaver]

29. We're trying to decide if he committed suicide or died trying to escape.

[No Elephants]

93. Bottom, regardless of what caused the crash, that is one of the best posts I have EVER seen. Kudos!

[bottomtheweaver]

113. Hey thanks,

we're rounding up twice the usual number of suspects!

[McCamy Taylor]

30. This guy was compelled to testify by a Federal Judge against Rove 1 month ago

in a case involving the Ohio elections and now his plane goes down. The Bush family is burying all the witnesses. Eeks!

[Divine Discontent]

38. it's creepy... and obvious. thanks for the info. wondered if that was the guy. eom

[mod mom]

62. This works out well for Blackwell who is eyeing the RNC Chairmanship

[balantz]

32. This eyewitness quote said the ground shook with explosion:

From the article linked in the OP:

''It blew up and shook the ground a little bit,'' Fano said. ''I was standing in the kitchen and I looked out the window and all I saw was fire.''