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Once again, the Election Contest Court’s desire to keep from giving Team Coleman any sort of justification to appeal this to the Federal level has trumped the need to spank them for their egregious misconduct. Instead of tossing the double-counting gambit or even Pamela Howell’s tainted testimony from the case, the ECC will allow it — but at the same time, Coleman lawyer Tony Trimble’s firm will be required to pay $7500 in court costs related to the delay caused by Team Coleman’s failure to provide the Howell information to the court as well as to the Franken legal team.
Speaking of Howell, Eric Kleefeld of TPM thinks that she may have actually been telling the truth about alleged ballot problems in her precinct. But (and a big hat tip to WineRev for spotting this) a Minneapolis StarTribune reader familiar with local election procedures strongly suspects not:
Where is Howell’s Incident Report?
What stinks the most about Howell’s testimony is that it directly contradicts the paperwork filed on the day she claims it happened. IF there was an election irregularity such as inadvertently counting ballots that should not have been counted, state law REQUIRES an Incident Report be filed by Howell. None was.
Instead Howell came up with this story only AFTER the double-counting accusation was made by Coleman. Even then, instead of going back and filing an Incident Report, or going to the SOS, she went directly to Coleman and reported it just to Coleman. At that time, the recount was still active, and she was still obligated to file an Incident Report. She did not. She has violated the law regarding reporting at the least. At the worst, she is committing perjury.
I went and checked the pertinent statutes (Chapters 8220 and 8230) and sure enough, state law does indeed require an incident report to be filed. And, sure enough, Howell apparently didn’t file one — or at least it’s nowhere to be found. (In David Lillehaug’s cross-examination of Howell today, she claimed that she called the Secretary of State’s office and that they allegedly told her to call the Republican Party — and if you believe that, then I have some lovely oceanfront property in Wyoming for you.)
So how much longer will Minnesota be down one senator? According to Al Franken, who is going to be that senator, the Coleman contest trial will be over in "two to three weeks" and he hopes to be seated soon afterwards. [UPDATE: Per The UpTake -- who really could use your donations, if you can spare them -- the Coleman camp has finally, albeit "provisionally", rested their case. Franken arguments start tomorrow at 9:00 am. Whoohoo! ]
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Thanks PW.
digg is open
Eric Kleefeld is reporting that Normies’s legal beagles are being fined
As I mentioned in the post, they’re going to have to pay court costs related to the delay their little stunt caused. Haven’t heard if there are any fines on top of that.
Ah, just checked again — nope, there aren’t. Just the court costs incurred.
Arrgh, correcting myself again! The challenger, if he loses (which he will) already is on the hook for all COURT costs. What the sanction here involves are the extra fees run up by Franken’s people because of Coleman’s people’s futzing around. So Tony Trimble gets to pay the fees of Franken’s legal team for the time the ECC judges was wasted as a result of the Howell chicanery, exact amount to be determined.
Ahh, extra court costs. I likee. thanks for keeping up with all the contortions of Team Coleman. Not a pretty job.
Thanks, PW, and thanks for the reminder about donating to UpTake. I sent them what I could afford; wish it could be more. Like $30 billion.
Thanks, Mauimom! You’re a star.
I’m imagining Coleman’s next YouTube fundraiser. “Help me pay Al Franken’s legal bills.”
That Wyoming oceanfront property is quite tempting, as I understand it offers a splendid view of neighboring states Alaska and Russia. Unfortunately, the bank won’t give me credit.:-)
Putin reared his head into our airspace and scared the banks away!
I understand Gorbachev’s head was also spotted…
The Mark of the Beast! AIIIIEEE!
Any chance that Howell might end up facing charges? Not that I would consider it more than a footnote but when her sworn testimony is indicative of legal impropriety…
Maybe once the trial and appeals are done. But not now — the Election Contest Court is doing all it can to deny Coleman any grounds for anything resembling a successful appeal, especially one that might take the case into the Federal courts system.
watertiger upstairs at the Mothership!
Limbaugh to Steele: All Your Republicans Are Belong to Me!
PW…if what WineRev has found is true…then I don’t think that the MN Supreme Court could legally accept a belated suspicion of a miscount from Howell. She inappropriately handled it. And after all the flaws in her testimony before the Court, it’s highly unlikely that her claim that she actually did report it, and then was sent by the SoS office to the Republicans, is credible.
For one thing, isn’t she supposed to be a “neutral arbiter” at her precinct. Second, if there was evidence of an error then why would it necessarily have been only of interest to the Republicans at that stage? It could have helped the Democrats. No one KNEW how, statistically, the absentee ballots were going to turn out. So why “tell the Republican Party”?
If anything this amplifies the suss that Howell is a GOP plant, and will say anything her Republican handlers want. I wish the lawyers had run her around on this a bit more, maybe they can recall her as a Franken “witness” ;-) She has, after all, been pretty good for them.
I’ve been a warden and I’ve been clerk for elections here in MA and you are basically required to make an incident report for *anything* that happens in your precinct on election day. If someone comes in and vomits on the floor you are required to note it in your incident log (this happened to us once). Still more so are you to note any irregularities or queries or even just people coming in and needing to be redirected to another precinct or ward. The log the log the log. NOthing gets handled indirectly or merely verbally, especially nothing having to do with the counting of the votes. Hell, we are required to count up and record all votes at the end of the evening that are write ins including blank spaces and votes for “any honest politician” or “my cousin bob.” Nothing is reported verbally.
aimai
Boy o Boy, have we come a ways!
I remember back in the day when the common folk relied on the federal courts to uphold the rule of law and the Constitution. I am thinking specifically to the Eisenhower years when the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting at New Orleans, almost as a matter of course beat back the efforts of the troglodytes to subvert the law. I remember how Judge Johnson, a Republican, as well as his family, were not only ostracized socially but had to have police protection – the price paid for upholding the law.
PW@15: the Election Contest Court is doing all it can to deny Coleman any grounds for anything resembling a successful appeal, especially one that might take the case into the Federal courts system.
Sweet Jesus, today we have to suffer the likes of the buffoonish Roberts, Scalia, Alito, Thomas and Kennedy, from time to time, and the 5th has become a bastion of repression and right wing radicalism.
It is some commentary when we fear these sorry people, their courts, and their rulings.
Sheesh, pleased on the one hand – appalled and depressed on the other.
Okay, so there’s a faint argument for bending over backwards to avoid frivolous appeal grounds….but but — this is a COURT!!!
Oops – accidentally hit send -
Courts are supposed to rule according to the law and the rules of procedure and evidence.
Your side offers false evidence, it gets STRICKEN from the record!!!!!!’
Yes, I’m yelling. Sorry.
Are these judges or mice????
Anyway, PW, thanks for your yeoman work. Wish I could toss some coin the way of Uptake – have very little such coin these days. If I come into money, they are on my list, too.