Franken-Coleman Update, 02/27/09 (AM Edition): Oh. My. Goodness.

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Franken-Coleman Update, 02/27/09 (AM Edition): Oh. My. Goodness.
By: Phoenix Woman Friday February 27, 2009 9:09 am	Tweet

This was supposed to be the last day of testimony by Coleman’s witnesses — and it may well end in sanctions for Joe Friedberg, Tony Trimble, and a few other members of the Coleman legal team. Why? Because it turns out that, contrary to her testimony given earlier this week, Pamela Howell really was in deep communications — including e-mails — with the Coleman legal team concerning her testimony and evidence that she somehow neglected to present to either the Franken team or the ECC.

Franken attorney David Lillehaug presented to the court this morning e-mails between Ms. Howell and the Coleman lawyers discussing her future testimony, as well as explicitly stating their strategic intention to not disclose her identity or the nature of her testimony to the Franken team.

Now, the ECC had first struck her testimony from the record, then unstruck it when they ruled that her boo-boos were likely "inadvertent". Now, before the day is out, this testimony is likely to be struck once again — and it may well be that the entire "double counting" argument, for which she was the Coleman team’s sole witness, will be struck from the trial.

The likelihood that her testimony, if not the entire double-counting gambit, will be struck is bolstered by the fact that the Coleman courtroom team has suddenly gone berserk. Their lead trial attorney, Joe Friedberg, accused, without a shred of evidence, Franken’s team of doing all sorts of naughty things (such as coaching state director of elections Cindy Reichert) without a shred of evidence. In addition, fellow Coleman attorney James Langdon accused the Franken team — again, without a shred of evidence — that they were not honest in the discovery process. (Can you say "projection", boys and girls? I knew you could.) They wouldn’t be doing this sort of thing in open court — which is normally a guaran-damn-teed ticket to a big-ass sanction — if they thought it wasn’t going to be stricken from the record along with Howell’s testimony. Either that, or they’re so fricking desperate, now that their shenanigans with Howell have been exposed, that they’re going all in with the bullpucky on the idea that if they’re going to get sanctioned anyway, they might as well do so in a blaze of idiocy.

The Coleman case is imploding before our very eyes, taking the reputations of several attorneys along with it. Even what Team Coleman touted as a big coup this week — alleged apparent ballot-stuffing in St. Louis County, a Franken stronghold — turned out to be not exactly what Ben Ginsberg and Company claimed it was.

Invest in popcorn futures, people. And follow along over at The UpTake. It’s glorious.

38 Comments

38 Responses to “Franken-Coleman Update, 02/27/09 (AM Edition): Oh. My. Goodness.”

puravida February 27th, 2009 at 9:31 am

Okay, so Coleman’s totally fucked up in the legal arena…you think he’s going to jump back into the political and pursue a “do-over” election?

Phoenix Woman February 27th, 2009 at 10:25 am

There won’t be a do-over election, the out-of-court screeching by Ginsberg et al notwithstanding. The judges and state elections officials have gone out of their way to keep this clean and fair. The court phase will be over next week or the week after, then the ECC will make a ruling — and it will not be favorable to Coleman. He will then have ten days to appeal it to the MN Supreme Court, which will then shoot down his appeal. And since the judges involved have from the very start kept strictly to the precedents set in Minnesota recount law — law that has been sustained all the way up to the US Supreme Court — Coleman can’t appeal it to the Federal level.

This will all be done by this time next month, and Al Franken will be seated in the US Senate.

MrWhy February 27th, 2009 at 10:27 am

Thanks PW. Someone should write a book about the Coleman Franken campaign.

freepatriot February 27th, 2009 at 10:46 am

I heard someone comment that we’re about to the point where “Minnesota Nice” turns into “Minnesota UGLY”

but being familiar with more than a few Minnesotans, I doubt your average New Yorker could spot the difference

puravida February 27th, 2009 at 11:07 am

“This will all be done by this time next month, and Al Franken will be seated in the US Senate.”

Hooray! Thanks for all your work on this, PW, you’ve done an outstanding job.

Phoenix Woman February 27th, 2009 at 11:13 am

In response to freepatriot @ 4

We don’t get mad. We get even.

Ben Ginsberg might be the only member of Coleman’s team to avoid sanctions, if only because he pulled his pro hac vice motion (i.e., a petition from a lawyer from one jurisdiction to the judge(s) hearing a case in another to let him/her appear in a official capacity in the courtroom).

yellowdog jim February 27th, 2009 at 12:59 pm

thanks, pw

AZ Matt February 27th, 2009 at 3:50 pm

F*ck Coleman and the blind elephant he rode in on. Time to flush him and his team geniuses down the rathole.

Balrog February 27th, 2009 at 5:00 pm

Meh. With all of the progress being made without Al, the wank-nutz should be even more worried.

And Minnesotans have a long memory.

This is good news for John McCain.

Petrocelli February 27th, 2009 at 5:02 pm

Did y’all see this – Bunning threatens to resign and hand seat to Dems … the wheels are coming off pretty quickly …

Petrocelli February 27th, 2009 at 5:03 pm

In response to Petrocelli @ 10

Sorry, – from TPM.

Hugh February 27th, 2009 at 5:03 pm

Any polls there on how voters are viewing what Coleman is doing?

prostratedragon February 27th, 2009 at 5:03 pm

‘Ka-a-ay, so now we adjust our priors on the motivations of GOP operatives a little bit away from malice, toward tendencies to neurotic evaluation of situations, sheer incompetence, …

Man is that ever dismal.

lokywoky February 27th, 2009 at 5:04 pm

I would think that a do-over election would not be good for Mr. Coleman. If the Minnesotans feel about this whole process the way I do (not from Minnesota) they would be so sick of his foot-dragging, stunts, lies, and all the rest that if there actually were a do-over, Coleman would lose in a landslide.

He knows there won’t be one – that’s why he is yelling about having one. Bad move – he should be careful what he wishes for!

wobblybits February 27th, 2009 at 5:05 pm

In response to Petrocelli @ 10

ha!

dosido February 27th, 2009 at 5:09 pm

In response to Petrocelli @ 10

love it! what a principled man! ME FIRST!

Petrocelli February 27th, 2009 at 5:10 pm

In response to wobblybits @ 15

I’d read earlier in the week, after Steele criticized the 3 Repubs for voting for the Stimulus that Collins was thinking of switching to the Dem party.

reader February 27th, 2009 at 5:21 pm

omg. PW, I for one may have to hold you to the prediction that this will end in a month. At least there will NEVER be calls agains for preemptive Democratic consessions. huh. erp.

Steele really is a trainwreck … do we really want Bunning? Just how far are we willing to go for that 60th vote?????

Will Collins bring Lieberman with her????? tee hee.

RonD February 27th, 2009 at 5:27 pm

PW, I think Franken being seated in the Senate is going to scare the creeping shit out of a whole bunch of Republicans, whether he actually does anything or not. It would be great to hear the Al from his Air America show…can’t wait to see what committee assignments he gets.

I think Bunning’s move was coldly brilliant…it’s the exact same thing Bush said to the RNC in 2000. He told them that if they seood by and let Steve Forbes do to him what he did to Dole in ‘96, that he’d sit on his hands and let Gore win. It worked then, too.

lokywoky February 27th, 2009 at 5:27 pm

In response to Petrocelli @ 17

That would be sweet – since she was just re-elected and has 5.75 years to go on her current term in office!

Ha!

lokywoky February 27th, 2009 at 5:28 pm

In response to lokywoky @ 20

And isn’t that the reason that another Republican switched to Independent and started caucusing with the Dems? The Rethug party was threatening him?

Boy that worked really well!

foothillsmike February 27th, 2009 at 5:29 pm

Meanwhile, disguised as a toiletbowl, the Franken team, continues to flush Coleman’s turds into the sewage system while Franken remains Mr.Franken.

SouthernDragon February 27th, 2009 at 5:33 pm

Is it possible for these people to do anything on and up-and-up? I know, rhetorical question but geez, they think this is no different than flipping the count in a voting machine. I think we need to change IOKIYAR to ISOPIYAR.

Konnichiwa, Wobbs. Hope y’all are well.

Bluetoe2 February 27th, 2009 at 5:36 pm

Coleman and his team of Republicon vultures don’t expect to win. All they hope for is to draw it out as long as possible, and with unlimited money this charade will continue into the forseeable future, poison the well and hope that the courts call for a new election. At that point the Republicon money machine will kick into high gear to insure his vicotry over an underfunded Democratic candidate. By the time this is over Coleman will be seated early in 2010.

Petrocelli February 27th, 2009 at 5:37 pm

In response to SouthernDragon @ 23

Namaste SD !

SouthernDragon February 27th, 2009 at 5:41 pm

In response to Petrocelli @ 25

Namaste, Petro. What’s happenin’?

KayInMaine February 27th, 2009 at 5:46 pm

I wish this race would end. It’s time for Franken to be seated already!

KayInMaine February 27th, 2009 at 5:48 pm

In response to Bluetoe2 @ 24

A new election will backfire big time on Coleman I think, because he’s dragged the whole process out and I’m sure Minnesotans are sick of him and will gladly pull the lever against him behind the curtain.

SouthernDragon February 27th, 2009 at 5:50 pm

In response to KayInMaine @ 28

To say nothing of how having to shell out for a new state-wide election would influence the voters. Particularly now.

freepatriot February 27th, 2009 at 6:10 pm

In response to KayInMaine @ 28

I’m sure Minnesotans are sick of him and will gladly pull the lever against him behind the curtain.

more like the whole repuglitard party, for a generation or two, maybe more

I think the repuglitards mistook Minnesota Nice for Minnesota Stupid

get a clue, Minnesotans are not stupid

and I think they’re gonna politely IGNORE SHUN the repuglitards for the next 50 years

maybe more …

people keep saying the repuglitards are not trying to win this, just prolong it

are they ever gonna try to win an election again, ANYWHERE IN AMERICA ???

and good luck with that, ya DICKWADS

PPDCUS February 27th, 2009 at 6:16 pm

I agree. In the RNC’s mind, their only hope is to block Franken’s seating (D-#59) long enough to scuttle the new administration’s agenda. Their litany of republican failures continues by minority obstruction in the face of dire threats to the country. We need this contrast now so that 2010 brings them another massive rejection at the polls. Obama knows that in politics, there is no destruction like self destruction. And the party of Limbaugh, Dobson, Rove, Norquist, DeLay, Gingrich & Joe the Plumber is driving itself off a cliff.

Kassandra February 27th, 2009 at 6:27 pm

Jeeeesus! Un-frigging beleivable

tbsa February 27th, 2009 at 6:52 pm

Coleman is a loser in a collection of them. No ideas, not a care in the world but getting power back. Problem is they are losers and if we are lucky it will be an eternity before these losers are trusted again.

rafflaw February 27th, 2009 at 8:44 pm

Coleman is going to be history in a very short period of time. At least until he tries to appeal what looks like an adverse decision against him in Minnesota. It is a great result for Franken and a just result for Coleman who is one of the dirties people in Congress.

MEC0 February 28th, 2009 at 5:25 am

In Daily Kos, daveinchi has an entertaining account of this legal meltdown. He quotes one of the memos: “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 to avoid tying you down to any particular testimony [emphasis mine] and to avoid having to disclose your name and statement.” Call me cynical, or maybe paranoid, but that sounds to me like they went way beyond merely hiding a witness and withholding her testimony from the other side into conspiring with her to fabricate testimony based on the tactic they decide to pursue depending on how the case goes.

freepatriot February 28th, 2009 at 6:24 am

hold off from having you sign and us file your affidavit at this time to avoid tying you down to any particular testimony

at a bare minimum, that’s reserving the right to commit and suborn perjury

and I don’t think lawyers have a right to commit or suborn perjury

I believe we call that MALFEASANCE, and OBSTRUCTION OF JUSTICE

oh yeah, it also violates the rules of disclosure

I’m pretty sure we don’t want slimy fuckers like this to be members of our courts

DISBARMENT is the only reasonable solution

It’s about OUR RIGHT to have our Courts staffed by DECENT AND HONEST HUMAN BEINGS

john in sacramento February 28th, 2009 at 2:26 pm

Hey PW,

OT but you gotta read this hillarious takedown of Michelle Bachman

http://scienceblogs.com/gregla…..chmann.php

And then her constituents in the 6th district

http://scienceblogs.com/gregla…..s_seat.php

john in sacramento February 28th, 2009 at 2:30 pm

LOL

Here’s a taste of the second link

The Sixth District is White Trash living in Single Wides. The biggest fear of the Minnesota Department of Disaster Related Stuff is that one of our famous tornadoes decides to travel down the Route Ten Corridor. Almost all human-made objects bigger than a car along this corridor are boats for sale, boats in storage, RV’s for sale, gazebos for sale, or trailers people live in. You know what they say in Sixth District?

[Switch to slack-jawed-hick accent]

“What’s the difference between a toe-nado and a dee-vorce?”

“I dunno, Jethro, what’s the difference between a toe-nado and a dee-vorce?”

“Nothin’, Jeeter! Either way, somebody’s gonna lose ‘emselves a tray-lor!”

[/end accent]

The Sixth District is beer bellied hairy motorcycle papas and mamas. Country style crack houses. Crotch rockets and good ol’ American Built Pickup Trucks usually incapable of driving at more than 55 miles per hour. Which is OK because the dog in the back of the truck prefers it this way.