Report: FBI investigating Coleman in donor scandal.
Report: FBI investigating Coleman in donor scandal.
Last month, a lawsuit filed against Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) alleged that a donor, Nasser Kazeminy, funneled money to Coleman illegally. Since then, Coleman’s office has refused to disclose whether Coleman has been contacted by investigators. Today, the Pioneer Press reports that Coleman is under FBI investigation:
Federal investigators are looking into allegations that a longtime friend and benefactor tried to steer money to U.S. Sen. Norm Coleman, the Pioneer Press has learned.Agents with the FBI have talked to or made efforts to talk to people in Texas familiar with the allegations, according to a source familiar with the situation.
Houston is where the first of two lawsuits was filed alleging Nasser Kazeminy, a Bloomington financier, tried to steer $100,000 to Coleman via his wife’s Minneapolis employer. The second suit, filed in Delaware, alleges Kazeminy initially tried to get money directly to the senator.
The Coleman campaign called the allegations “sleazy and politically inspired allegations.” But the Pioneer Press notes, “The campaign provided no evidence for the claim that the allegations are ‘politically inspired.’”
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Do we get that we desperately need campaign reform yet?
December 10th, 2008 at 10:46 amClearly, the Coleman camp was misquoted here…
What they REALLY said was, ahem…
‘The situation is forcing us to MAKE “sleazy and politically inspired allegations” about this investigation, lest you all think Norm is just a crook…’
Funny… how selective editing can change the meaning of a comment, huh?
December 10th, 2008 at 10:52 amso… what happens now? … is the count official yet?
hard to believe it was even close…
December 10th, 2008 at 11:07 amThe lawsuit, filed by the former CEO of a company owned by Kazeminy, alleges, among other things, that Kazeminy tried to use the company, Deep Marine Technologies, to pass money to Coleman via an insurance company that employed the senator’s wife.–TPMMuckraker
December 10th, 2008 at 11:18 amdang! being a criminal MUST be a prerequisite to becoming a politician.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:25 amI really love how whenever a Repig is brought up on charges of unlawful activity, in the face of a pile of evidence, they cry that the charges are politically motivated.
Hey Coleman, try to get this straight pondscum, your illegal activities were the only thing that had a political motive!
December 10th, 2008 at 11:31 amI think it’s the media’s fault.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:33 amI’m just pissed at the Democratic Farmers’ Party or whatever the hell it’s called up there. Those morons took about 15% of the vote, the vast majority of which would have obviously gone to Franken and none of this recount bull would be happening. Nice going, a-holes. Way to fix it for anohter republican crook.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:34 am49erDem Says:
I’m just pissed at the Democratic Farmers’ Party or whatever the hell it’s called up there. Those morons took about 15% of the vote, the vast majority of which would have obviously gone to Franken and none of this recount bull would be happening. Nice going, a-holes. Way to fix it for anohter republican crook.
You moron! Al Franken was the candidate of the Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party.
LMAO!
December 10th, 2008 at 11:44 amGood, one more piece of Republican scum is under investigation. Now, I hope that the FBI can find something on Chambliss to investigate. I’m sure there is some dirty nasty stuff shoved into closets about him.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:44 amClive: “You moron!”
Okay. School me please. I was under the impression that there was a liberal third party in Minn. that ate up a lot of votes in the election. Was I wrong about that. I really want to know, so please tell me.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:49 amIt was Independent Party candidate Dean Barkley running against Coleman and Franken. Barkley isn’t liberal.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:54 amThank you, VerbalKint. I appreciate that. And, as an added bonus, I wasn’t called a “moron” for not knowing about Minn. politics.
December 10th, 2008 at 11:56 am49erDem: Minnesota, rather uniquely among the states, has a very strong tradition of ‘third-party’ political involvement. The strongest 3rd party here in MN is the Independence Party. The strength of this party (Dean Barkley won nearly 15% of the vote in the Barkley-Coleman-Franken senate race) has caused some electoral frustrations over the past 15 years. Regrettably, we have not yet figured out how to deal with these ‘no-majority-winners’ in our elections.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:03 pmI just checked Barkley’s sites and I can guarantee you that although he may not be a liberal, he had far more in common with Franken than he did with Coleman on the issues. Among the nuggets of info was this: “Created Paul Wellstone Center for Community Building. (Nov 2002)”
Al Franken was a close, personal friend of Paul Wellstone. It’s the same old thing about third parties – their voters reject the good for what they think is the best and get the worst result. No pragmatism, no common sense and no understanding of what we’re really trying to do in an election – hire public servants. Elections are not about making personal statements or making yourself feel good. They’re about who were hiring to run government, period.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:05 pmSTPSteve, thanks for the info on the issue. I meant no disrespect towards the voters of Minnesota in particular. This happens all over the country in one way or another. Part of the problem is that we don’t have a parliamentary system where it’s easy to form coalitions. People see thriving multi-party systems in Europe and wonder why we can’t do it here. Our electoral and legislative system is different.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:11 pm49erDem – have you been following what’s been going on in Canada lately? Very interesting.
A political ruckus … in Canada?!
December 10th, 2008 at 12:16 pmYes, Mary. That’s a good example of how different the parliamentary system is. The thing American business has never liked about it is its unpredictability. But, it does give a society more power to remove its civil government. This angle he’s found up there involving the Queen is unbelievable. Leave it to a conservative to find a way to screw up the system on a technicality. I think the Canadians have learned their lesson quickly and we won’t be seeing conservatives running that country for quite some time after this guy is ousted.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:18 pmDon’t worry about it. Nobody knows about Minn. politics.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:21 pmThank you. I feel better now.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:23 pm49erDem, our sentiments are identical. Barkley really held principles closer to the Democratic candidate than the Republican candidate; this served to create a great deal of vitriol towards Barkley in this particular race from Democrats, who regarded him as a ’spoiler’ (see: Nader, Ralph; 2000 presidential election.) As I see it, IRV (instant runoff voting) is quite appropriate for our particular elections. It has been challenged as being ‘too complicated’, which I don’t understand at all. If you can’t mark a ballot with your first, second, and third choice for any office–from dogcatcher to president–perhaps your contribution to the democratic process should be to stay home.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:26 pmSTPSteve, I totally agree that Instant Runoff Voting would solve many of the problems which develop with third-party candidates and even encourage more of them to get involved. Lots of Green party people in different parts of the country hesitate to run because they might help the Republican. IRV fixes that. The “too complicated” argument is a cannard.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:29 pmWe see how criminal Law Makers keep their jobs. Illinois Govenor G-Rod is selling a Senate/Congress seat to the highest bidder and planning kick backs for contracts. Coleman is doing his crimes even with the voters knowing it and still get elected to continue. His State is broke but he’s pulling in the big bucks. Now what’s so surprising is the complaint has proof and documents as Coleman has lip service. This is an example of American voters not the Crooks holding office. If you work and have charges filed against you your fired or suspended without pay. Now if your a Law Maker/Politican doing the same crime your allowed to continue your job and crimes while most likely getting a free pass as the voters vote you back in and say your crimes are no problem. Now if your Obama and you smoke a cigarette your IMPEACHED.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:30 pmJackie: “Now if your Obama and you smoke a cigarette your IMPEACHED.”
It will be interesting, and I hope people notice, as the media returns to it’s more traditional adversarial role because a Democrat will now hold the office. For 8 years, they’ve been rolling over like frat pledges and treating these crooks with “deference.” How will they treat Obama after the honeymoon is over? Will he even get a honeymoon?
December 10th, 2008 at 12:39 pmLike a baby treats a diaper.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:44 pmExactly. I hope people begin to notice. It won’t take long. Our DC and NY media elite always seem to “grow a set” these days when Dems are in charge.
December 10th, 2008 at 12:47 pm