Secret Coleman-Lawyer E-Mails Reveal Intentional Hiding Of Witness

[kpete]

Source: Talking Points Memo

Secret Coleman-Lawyer E-Mails Reveal Intentional Hiding Of Witness -- Franken Camp Wants Double-Count Claim Thrown Out Completely
By Eric Kleefeld - February 27, 2009, 12:01PM

All hell just broke loose in the Minnesota courtroom, with Al Franken's lawyers catching Team Coleman in the act of yet more concealing of evidence -- and they've now made a motion to totally strike the Coleman camp's claims about double-counting of ballots, which the Coleman camp has hoped to use to subtract over 100 votes from Franken's lead.

You might remember that on Wednesday, the Coleman team was caught having withheld notes given to them in early January by Pamela Howell, a Republican election worker in Minneapolis. (Note: Minnesota precinct workers are selected by partisan identification, and then buddied up across party lines to keep it running smoothly and honestly.) The court then struck the witness' testimony, relating to double-counting of votes -- but then turned around yesterday and reversed themselves, after the Coleman team said it had been an honest oversight -- that there was no bad faith involved.

This morning, Franken lawyer David Lillehaug was restarting his cross-examination of Howell, and inquired as to whether there had been any further communications between herself and Coleman. The answer was yes -- and Coleman lawyer Tony Trimble then had to cough up some private e-mails he'd sent to Howell in early January.

"Pam, the legal team and campaign have made a strategic litigation decision to hold off from having you sign and us file your affidavit at this time," Trimble (or possibly his assistant, Matt Hapooja) wrote on January 6, "to avoid tying you down to any particular testimony and to avoid having to disclose your name and statement."

Read more: http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/02/secret-colem...

[47of74]

1. Coleman and his team obviously think they're above our system of laws

[Deja Q]

2. With this it should be obvious: He should bow out.

The "let's not do a recount" comment despite this being state law could be naivety on anyone's part. But with other news snippets topped with this, the situation is grossly different. Will he blame Satan, God, or a melting fudge popsicle sold to him by Bill Cosby for his current woes?

[trotsky]

3. Uh, do you have an example of a Republican who DOESN'T think that?

Laws are for Democrats and "little" people.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

5. There's a cemetary outside Wheaton, Illinois

that has a number tombstones of GOPers. I don't believe that they think like that these days.

[damntexdem]

17. If they were alive today, they'd be spinning in their graves.

Or more likely, with the cemetary in Illinois, they're all busy voting nowadays.

[tclambert]

30. Is that the cemetery with the whirring sound?

[damntexdem]

16. "To avoid tying you down to any particular testimony"! LOL!

Yeah, wouldn't want to tie a 'witness' down to any particular version of the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth until the lawyers decided which version they want the witness to spew.

This team obviously doesn't think it's working inside any possible system of laws.

[FudaFuda]

4. I'm not impressed with how either side has behaved in that circus ...

but I hope this brings it a little closer to being over. It's time for Coleman to find a new line of work.

[Dinger]

6. What's Your Problem With Franken?

I'm curious.

[Tempest]

8. Really

Franken's team has been straightforward and made arguments that the judges have agreed with.

It wasn't Franken who the judges have ruled against time and again.

[Dinger]

20. Good Point : )

It'll make his win all that much sweeter

[Name removed]

35. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Warren Stupidity]

9. Huh?

Please elaborate on what Franken has done wrong here.

[Name removed]

11. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ikonoklast]

26. Please elaborate on your problems with the Franken legal team.

Be specific, and state instances where they have failed to comply with orders from the court.

Detail what behavior in particular you find detrimental to due process, or marginally ethical.




You got nuthin'.

Chump.

[SpiralHawk]

7. Republicon Family Values = Wide Stance on the law of the land

Republicons think they are special, above the law.

Republicons = Latter Day Pharisees

[LiberalFighter]

34. Is the stall that Larry Craig had available for Coleman?

[Divine Discontent]

10. N*O*R*M***Y*O*U***L*O*S*T

go home, wherever it is you coil up at night...

[truthisfreedom]

12. Seriously, if you're going to try to beat the system, don't use email. What a bunch of buffoons!

Cripes, they're idiots.
Give it up, Normie! You look like a rookie!

[grantcart]

13. In the comments below was this priceless gem

Definitely going for the "incompetence of counsel" strategy.

[Dumak]

14. This is somehow hilarious

The Coleman team must have assumed that any Republican would be psychologically compelled (wink, wink, say no more) to hide mention about receiving private e-mails, without having to be told.

[Why Syzygy]

15. This is a hoot!

Look @ headline for the *right* news:

Liberal Groups Are Undermining Voter ID Laws, Say Conservative Election Experts
Friday, February 27, 2009
By Fred Lucas, Staff Writer

The Obama administration might also try to pack the courts with judges that would oppose voter ID laws, while Democrats in Congress are already calling for same-day voter registration nationally, a system Blackwell thinks is open to fraud.

Blackwell predicted that Obama also would push for amnesty for illegal immigrants, who have been involved in election fraud cases in the past.

“Individually, these are dangerous,” Blackwell said. “Taken collectively, it is the game plan of the left and the Obama administration.”

The left has run a consistent legal assault against voter-verification at the state level, said Hans Von Spakovsky, a former election lawyer for the Department of Justice and a fellow at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank.

...

“Since 2000, liberal organizations have been pouring money into litigation all over the country,” said Von Spakovsky. “All of the lawsuits are aimed at destroying the ability of states to verify information on voter registration forms. All the laws survive, but unfortunately at great expense. It’s a scorched earth process, to keep litigating until states won’t want the expense.”

LINK WARNING (questionable site, but you can be sure freepers read it)
http://www.cnsnews.com/public/content/article.aspx?Rsrc...

[acmavm]

18. How much more shady shit do these people have to get caught

at before they just declare Franken the winner?

What the hell is wrong with these people? Coleman still believes he deserves the Senate seat after he's been proven to be an duplicitous slug? Is he not embarrassed yet?

This have been going on too long. It should be shut down.

[tomhayes]

19. What the in the *f*???

"Pam, the legal team and campaign have made a strategic litigation decision to hold off from having you sign and us file your affidavit at this time," Trimble (or possibly his assistant, Matt Hapooja) wrote on January 6, "to avoid tying you down to any particular testimony and to avoid having to disclose your name and statement."

Imagine Sean hannity or Rush Limbaugh's blanketing of their shows if Franken's team had written an email like this.

This has to be reported *everywhere.*

"to avoid tying you down to any particular testimony and to avoid having to disclose your name and statement."?????????????????????????? ??????? ??????????????

[struggle4progress]

21. " ... Minneapolis poll worker Pamela Howell was again removed from the witness stand Friday after

disclosures about additional contacts she had with Coleman's lawyers. Howell's testimony has already been struck, then re-instated this week ... The three-judge panel hearing the case is considering whether to toss out Howell's testimony and along with that part of Coleman's lawsuit ..."
Coleman faces setback in Minn. Senate trial
By The Associated Press - St. Paul
KVLY-TV
updated 10 minutes ago
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29430766 /

[WyldRogue]

22. Wanna bet...

...that the judges will allow this farce of injustice to continue and will allow Coleman much sway to the effect that Coleman will get what he wants?

This whole thing has become a scam against the voters of Minn and no one is willing to stand up and say *ENOUGH* but instead will send emails and make phone calls that does not do diddly squat..

As of now, I do not have faith in the Dem-controlled Congress as they still have not grown a spine and are still complicit to the Repugs, even Obama is complicit to the Repugs while they slam him on everything they can come up.

I am being told to wait and be patient but dammit, I waited 8 f*cking years for change and justice and so far I haven't seen nothing but the same old song and dance sporting a new cover....

[acmavm]

25. What the hell is the matter with those judges? Why don't they put

an end to this crap?

There's a saying in law that you have to 'come to equity with clean hands'.

That should go for this endless situation as well.

[AlbertCat]

37. I waited 8 f*cking years for change and justice and so far I haven't seen nothing but the same old s

You do realize the Dems passed a huge law and it wasn't vetoed. A law the Repugs were totally against. That's new!

We have a press secretary that actually informs you of things and answers questions instead of sounding like a character from "Alice in Wonderland." That's new.

We have a Prez that can make a sentence with a subject and a verb....that agree!That's new! I heard some woman today complain about Obama's speech: "It wasn't presidential, it was just words." Perhaps the 3 and 4 syllable words mystified her and the lack of words like "evildoers" and "smoke 'em out" make it sound less presidential to her.

It's been a friggin' month. What did you expect by now? Rainbows and unicorns?

[Spazito]

23. It's past time, imo, that Coleman's legal team was sanctioned...

by the court. This is getting beyond ridiculous.

[SpiralHawk]

24. Do republicons ever act openly, honestly, forthrightly?

Or is everything they do occult and corrupt? Sure looks that way.

[myrna minx]

27. With this despicable behavior, Coleman thinks he should be awarded a re-vote?

Go away Normie! K&R,

[L. Coyote]

28. "Criminal Conspiracy" is the legal term for "to avoid tying you down to any particular testimony"

in case we want you to change your story later?? Hope you like jail food, Norman!

[wryter2000]

29. Enough is enough

When is the Minn court system going to declare that this whole charade is at an end and send Franken to the Senate?

[wackywaggin]

31. Report legal abuse of the court system

TO do something to really help, not only Franken, but the court system in general report unethical legal conduct in the Minnesota courtroom to:

LAWYERS PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY BOARD
1500 Landmark Towers, 345 St. Peter St., St. Paul 55102; [phone], [phone]
Web site: www.courts.state.mn.us/lprb
Court rules provide: The board oversees the lawyers professional responsibility office, which investigates complaints of alleged lawyer misconduct and prosecutes disciplinary actions against lawyers.


No wonder why the Coleman team were throwing each other, "under the bus", this is grounds for their disbarrment!!..Unethical attorneys give all decent, honest attorneys a bad name.

[tclambert]

32. The Coleman strategy at this point is not to win but to delay

the day that Franken can sit in his Senate seat. The Democrats are so close to a filibuster-proof 60 seat super majority in the Senate that every vote is precious. Franken would make 59 on the D side, so only one Republican would have to join them to make a filibuster impossible. Currently, Obama has to reach out to at least two. This is why the Republican Party has held fund-raisers to help Coleman pay for the legal challenges.

It actually plays into the Coleman/Republican strategy if irregularities in the court case raise time-consuming side issues. The risk for them is going too far and getting their suit thrown out completely. Then again, maybe they can afford appeal after appeal.

[chknltl]

40. That's what I think too. (nt)

[ejpoeta]

33. why is this thing still going on!!! isn't what coleman doing illegal??

what should be the consequences of this??

[Zorra]

36. The republican credo: "We can't beat 'em, therefore we cheat 'em." n/t

[GardeningGal]

38. I don't understand why they are getting away with this crap.

Doesn't that constitute lying to the court? Seems like they should be charged with perjury or sanctioned.

[pleah]

39. Why haven't they thrown them out of court?

Obviously, they don't have a leg to stand on, so why are the judges letting this drag on?