Sen. Coleman Falsely Claims He Never Nominated Paulose As U.S. Attorney
Sen. Coleman Falsely Claims He Never Nominated Paulose As U.S. Attorney
Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has repeatedly flip-flopped in his support for Rachel Paulose, the U.S. attorney in Minnesota. Immediately after four top staffers voluntarily demoted themselves in protest of Paulose’s “highly dictatorial style” of managing, Coleman put out a statement of unqualified support:
Rachel Paulose was nominated to be U.S. Attorney based solely on her exemplary qualifications and experience. She was confirmed with the bipartisan support of Senator Coleman, former Senator Dayton, and the entire United States Senate. She replaced someone who resigned, not someone who was fired, and her nomination should not be confused with the current controversy over the recent dismissal of several U.S. attorneys in other jurisdictions.
But as the media continued to scrutinize Paulose, Coleman backed away from his earlier support and demanded that Paulose explain her situation “given the recent issues related to the U.S. attorneys nationwide.” In a letter to Paulose he wrote:
Given recent issues related to U.S. attorneys nationwide that have now extended to your own position, I urge you to take immediate action to shed light on the resignations and address the concerns which have been raised relative to your management skills.
Now, in the face of increasing criticism, Coleman’s office is claiming that the senator never even nominated Paulose:
Sen. Norm Coleman, R-Minn., submitted the names of two candidates to replace Heffelfinger. His staff said Paulose was not one of them. … Coleman eventually embraced Paulose’s nomination, largely based on recommendations from respected lawyers, and the Senate confirmed her in December.
But a 12/9/06 press release on Coleman’s website states that “Coleman recommended [Paulose] for the post earlier this year.” In today’s Star-Tribune, the senator’s office retracts its earlier statement and admits that Paulose was nominated by Coleman.
A look at Paulose’s background indicates that she was handpicked for her personal connections rather than her professional qualifications. She was “special assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, worked as a senior counsel for deputy attorney general Paul McNulty and is best buds with [former Justice official] Monica Goodling.” House Judiciary Committee chairman John Conyers (D-MI) now wants to interview Paulose and “is interested in the events surrounding her hiring, not her management style.” Not surprisingly, Coleman is “concerned” about the Conyers request.
Topic Cloud
ArchivesBlog Roll
Go get ‘em Franken!!!
April 18th, 2007 at 12:42 pmWhat ? another dishonest republican??? nooooo
April 18th, 2007 at 12:43 pm“norm!!!”
April 18th, 2007 at 12:46 pmLOL Coleman lies like all the GOPers do in DC.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:48 pmNorm’s as honest as his teeth are naturally white…
April 18th, 2007 at 12:48 pmHorse toothed jackass.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:49 pmWhat a sleazebag. He made an appearance at the Wild game on Sunday and was roundly booed. There’s no way he survives the next campaign.
April 18th, 2007 at 12:49 pmMay the Ghost of Paul Wellstone take a dump on his head.
-GSD
April 18th, 2007 at 12:53 pmThe repugs don’t know how to cover their asses because they have been UNTOUCHED for so long.
No one ‘06 was such a horror story for (R)’s and hopefully, ‘08 will even be more to the good, whatever that is, maybe (D).
April 18th, 2007 at 1:00 pmCaption:
“Hi, I’m Norm! I’ll be your tour guide of the Capitol today!
April 18th, 2007 at 1:02 pmDo you like my hair?
My tie is handmade right here in the USA!
In fact, right from my home town!
The corner cafe was throwing out their old tablecloths, and one
of the waitresses cut and sewed it up for me!
Do you like my hair?”
This guy is a total chowduh head.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:10 pmRepugs lie with impunity.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:14 pmThey (correctly) assume that most voters won’t remember the facts.
Coleman deserves to be drummed out of office with a landslide by Al Franken.
He has the nicest smile I’ve ever come across.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:14 pm#13, Have you seen Barack Obama?
April 18th, 2007 at 1:16 pmTo say that the Senate approved Ms. Paulose’s appointment is accurate, but misleading.
She was approved en masse with over a hundred other nominees on the last day of the 109th Congress. That was after Sen. Frist used another parliamentary technique to stop the committee from considering her nomination – it hadn’t even started the process – in order to get her name to the floor for a vote in the “frist” place.
If Frist hadn’t done that, the President would have had to renominate Ms. Paulose for confirmation by the 110th Congress, or appoint her without confirmation under the Patriot Act [sic].
Despite her academic credentials, Ms. Paulose’s limited experience gave her little chance of being approved by a Republican Senate, let alone a Democratic one.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:18 pmShe was “special assistant to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, worked as a senior counsel for deputy attorney general Paul McNulty and is best buds with [former Justice official] Monica Goodling.â€
She knew all the wrong people, she took all the wrong pills…
April 18th, 2007 at 1:19 pmSenators don’t “nominate” US attorneys. The president does that. The custom is that the Senator or Senators of the same party as the President from the state in question “recommend” one or more candidates and the president chooses one.
It’s pretty clear what the truth here is – that Coleman didn’t recommend Paulose, that Gonzales cut him out of the loop and picked her for Bush to nominate, and that Coleman has been pretending he was involved to save face. Last week his office told the truth and now he’s got to get back on message with the lie.
As we all know, the definition of a gaffe is…
April 18th, 2007 at 1:21 pmNorm Coleman is shallow, craven, and opportunistic. He has never won a major election. He is vulnerable to defeat.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:36 pmColeman is a weasel.
Go Al Franken!
April 18th, 2007 at 1:38 pmWow is that the Marge Simpson or Don King starter kit?
April 18th, 2007 at 1:40 pmer,
where does it say here that Coleman ever said he nominated Paulose?
oh, right.
Nowhere. Because he hasn’t claimed he did.
tp has a legitmate story here about Coleman’s backpedaling, but the headline on this post is as misleading as anything Coleman has said.
Starighten up guys. Get your act together. You’re embarassing us.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:48 pmoops.
April 18th, 2007 at 1:51 pmI retract my earlier post.
My bad.
tp is right.
For the latest news, document dumps, email archives, hearing transcripts and other essential materials in the firings of U.S. attorneys, see:
April 18th, 2007 at 1:55 pm“The U.S. Attorney Scandal Documents.”
Coleman was for Paulose’s nomination before he was against it.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:02 pmI assume Conyers will ask Paulose why she thinks her predecessor, Thomas Heffelfinger, was replaced. Heffelfinger and former Minnesota Secretary of State Mary Kiffmeyer have been throwing up a blatantly misleading smoke screen about their dispute over Kiffmeyer’s bogus “voter fraud” allegations.
Also, is there any connection between Paulose and Kiffmeyer?
April 18th, 2007 at 2:16 pmMario, your reading skillz are lacking:
In today’s Star-Tribune, the senator’s office retracts its earlier statement and admits that Paulose was nominated by Coleman.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:17 pmAl Franken is going to beat this guy like a drum.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:39 pmNice chiklets Normie.
April 18th, 2007 at 2:50 pmLIARS! They’re all liars.
April 18th, 2007 at 3:15 pm“8. May the Ghost of Paul Wellstone take a dump on his head.
-GSD”
With what? Dust bunnies? (In any case, I hope it happens :) )
April 18th, 2007 at 3:36 pmIt is sincere hope that Ms Paulose will do her job and investigate the Republican electioneering malfeasence that will return Senator Coleman to his seat in 2008.
(Yes, I do acknowledge the pipe nature of this little rant. Please forgive me.)
April 18th, 2007 at 3:40 pmNorm Coleman is toast. Has been for a while. Ms. Paulose appears to be, among other things, a fine example for demonstrating the Peter Principle (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_principle). Long may she wave.
April 18th, 2007 at 3:50 pmMan, I absolutely loved the following comment by semanticantics:
“Horse toothed jackass.”
Comment by semanticantics
April 18th, 2007 at 3:50 pmRe: #9
They better learn really fast how to cover their asses. It’s a skill they’ll need in PRISON!
April 18th, 2007 at 3:52 pmA good girl gone bad, and all from hanging out with the wrong crowd.
Fuck her- I did.
April 18th, 2007 at 3:58 pmDFL!
April 18th, 2007 at 3:58 pm“Sen. Coleman is concerned about any efforts to politicize the U.S. attorney’s office, including by the House Judiciary Committee,”
He’s a bit late to the party if his concern over politicization of the department just started. What a moron. You’d think these people would be too ashamed to look in the mirror in the morning. Maybe their affirmations go something like, “I’m a deceitful scumbag, but darn it, people voted for me. I’m good enough, smart enough and doggone it I’m able to screw people whether they like it or not.” I am really, truly, sincerely embarassed for him because, apparently, somebody has to be. Isn’t there a mental illness that causes people to lose all sense of shame? Maybe it’s contagious and it spread at an RNC convention several years ago.
April 18th, 2007 at 4:46 pmColeman is totally vulnerable, and I think Al Franken is gonna trounce him in ‘08.
And to my fellow Minnesotan who posted that Normie got booed at the Wild game on Sunday, thank you. You made my day!
April 18th, 2007 at 5:08 pmSenator Sparkle teeth has a problem.
Lindy
April 18th, 2007 at 5:09 pm#25 ryeland
Also, is there any connection between Paulose and Kiffmeyer?
You mean besides the fact that they’re both bible-thumping, right-wing assclowns?
April 18th, 2007 at 5:10 pmDidn’t Coleman vote against the stem cell bill last week? He’s done.
April 18th, 2007 at 5:13 pmI am lovin’ this story and the discussion thread.
His tie does look like a table cloth from a cheap diner!
I don’t like his hair either.
Remember, looks are everything to the Republican party.
This is how to debate Republicans, incidentally. Go for the American Idol angle. Forget substantive issues.
April 18th, 2007 at 5:13 pmNorm Coleman and Michelle Bachmann are both an embarrassment to MN, where I live. For ole Norm, this is just his modus operandi. He has an overactive sleaze gland, and tinkers his talking points based on which way the wind blows. To meet him is to feel as if a green, foul smelling, gelatinous goo has coated the area.
April 18th, 2007 at 5:36 pmHis hair looks like a helmet! He just looks slimy to me!!!
April 18th, 2007 at 5:56 pm….ah, when I used to smoke pot with him on Bryant Avenue in Minneapolis I never thought he would be this kind of Norm Coleman…wait, he was a Democratic guy back then.
Still, it was good weed.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:14 pmWhen I worked at the state capitol and he was assistant A.G., or some such thing, he was already a shill for the republican party. And he had a taste for busty blonde women. He acted like a pug dog in heat. Eww.
April 18th, 2007 at 6:20 pm“Gee… the cement filled ballon didn’t float… ok, plan B… I guess I did nominate her.”
April 18th, 2007 at 6:35 pmNorm Coleman, cousin of Sid Rosenberg (former IMUS sportscaster), lying? O-o-o-oh, just an updated version of truth, eh? Well maybe Imus will give you a job on his radi…….. Normie, looks like you are in a world of hurt.
April 18th, 2007 at 7:30 pmJust for the record, I did nominate Rachel Paulucci.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:29 pmDid I say I nominated Rachel Paul Wellstone? Well, I don’t recall doing that.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:30 pmMy close personal friend Rachel (what, tell me her name!) Paulose, yes, Paulose, should not be blamed for anything related to the U.S. attorney general, uh, situation. Yes. Situation. She is a gem.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:33 pmDo you like my hair? (Thanks, Raven, for noticing.)
April 18th, 2007 at 9:33 pm# 10 Raven : Enjoyed highly your observations.
April 18th, 2007 at 9:49 pmLet’s bring George Galloway back for an encore bitch-slapping of pretty boy Norm Coleman. That one will forever live in my memory. Hotshot Norm never said a f—–g word all the while Mr. Galloway reamed him a new asshole…….priceless.
April 19th, 2007 at 7:11 amHopefully, during the 1908 campaign the truth about Norm’s “family values” will finally come out. Seems like everyone in St. Paul has stories about Coleman and some chick-not-his-wife. Like father like son.
April 19th, 2007 at 10:35 amIf you want an idea of what ol’ Norm is really like, dig up Garrison Keillor’s open letters to Coleman from the year we was elected to the Senate. Scathing and brillant. Please somebody find it and post it. I have seen ol’ Norm at the Mall of America outside the Apple Store, he really looks like a bobble-head doll that they give away at the Twins game.
April 19th, 2007 at 4:51 pm