Of course, they weren’t really Palin’s purchases — and that’s another Minneapolis connection in the Times story. Jeff Larson, the locally-bred Republican consultant whose FLS Connect GOP phone-solicitation firm has been in the news again lately, fronted Palin the $130,000 for her clothes. (The Republican National Committee paid him back.)

The occasion for retelling the story of Palin’s Minneapolis shopping spree is her new book, in which Palin has her own version.

The Times interviews Lisa Kline, the designer who dressed Palin and the members of her family for the 2008 GOP convention. An excerpt:

Neiman Marcus opened for Ms. Kline and her assistant at 7 a.m. on Wednesday, she said, and the two split up and spent a rushed 90 minutes or so gathering what they needed. Ms. Palin and her family were not there; nor was anyone from the campaign. Instead, the two stylists relied on a couple of salesclerks and a store manager.

“There was no conversation. There was no chitchat. It was just, ‘We need two pairs of pants in size yadada,’ ” Ms. Kline said. The purchases were rung up, but Ms. Kline was not asked for payment of any kind.

“Apparently it had been prearranged,” she said. …

Ms. Kline said she does not recall who asked her to expand her styling to the entire Palin family or who set up the appointment at Neiman Marcus, which later became so controversial because it undermined the candidate’s image as a populist.

The Burberry brand that Palin favors has had a bad rap back in Britain as having become too populist:

During the 1970s, the brand became popular with the British football casual cult, leading to it to being associated with chavs, hooligans and members of football firms by the 1990s. The brand became something of a national joke, particularly when actress Danniella Westbrook was photographed with her young daughter wearing matching Burberry outfits. South Wales police ran a drive against anti-social behaviour under the name Operation Burberry and Burberry admitted that “Burberry is now synonymous with Chavs and thugs.”

Palin will make a return visit to Minnesota on her book tour, with a stop at the Mall of America on Dec. 7. (But don’t go there dressed like a chav in your Burberrys, or the security guards’ll be on you.)

Elsewhere in Minnesota news this morning …

MINNEAPOLIS: Wobblies wobble but they don’t fall down. The Industrial Workers of the World opens a local office. [Workday Minnesota]

ST. PAUL: Ex-cons off the hook. Republican activist Jeff Larson’s FLS Connect fundraising operation is accused by a former employee of letting felons take down credit card numbers. [Politics in Minnesota]

STATE CAPITOL: Panel mulls deficit. The deliberations come weeks before the next budget forecast. [Associated Press]

HENNEPIN COUNTY: Homeless program has nowhere to go. Sixty clients are on their own after state cuts doom the Street Case Management Project. [Star Tribune]

THIEF RIVER FALLS: Cop stole stuff. Like lawn mowers, boats, ATVs. He got fired. [Grand Forks Herald]

MINNEAPOLIS: Stadium Village bar cited for underage sales. Stub & Herbs has also been a sometime political home to libertarianism. [Minnesota Daily]

Photo: Sara Taylor, YouTube

The Minnesota governor’s PAC is rolling out today with a media blitz reflecting the talent of his staff (such as former Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant) and the credibility he’s built up in the political press corps. Tim Pawlenty’s Freedom First PAC is co-chaired by William Strong of Morgan Stanley and former Rep. Vin Weber (R-Minn.), whom 2008 campaign veterans remember as a key, quotable ally of Mitt Romney.

One surprising hire: Sara Taylor, the former Director of the Office of Political Affairs for President George W. Bush. Taylor was a key figure in the 2007 controversy over the firing of U.S. attorneys who declined to press 11th hour cases of “voter fraud” before the midterms. She may be best remembered for her revealing comment during hearings on the issue that she “taking that oath [of office] means that I need to respect, and do respect, my service to the president.” Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) reminded her that her oath was to the Constitution, not the president.

Tim Pawlenty Announces “Freedom First” PAC

PAC’s Leadership Team Includes Experienced, Respected, Diverse Talent

ST. PAUL, Minnesota – Seeking to help elect conservatives in 2009 and 2010, Tim Pawlenty today filed forms with the Federal Election Commission to create the Freedom First political action committee. The new federal PAC will offer financial support to candidates committed to putting freedom before government, and provide organizational support for Pawlenty to promote his innovative, conservative message. The new PAC will have an unprecedented approach to citizen engagement, and features a website at www.TimPawlenty.com, where supporters can add their voice to Pawlenty’s message.

“Right now, our freedoms are being challenged on many fronts,” Pawlenty said. “This organization is dedicated to putting freedom first again in America. By helping candidates and translating our ideas into policies that everyone can relate to and support, we can turn back the growth of Washington and renew the promise of freedom.”

Freedom First PAC will be co-chaired by William H. Strong, the Vice Chairman of Morgan Stanley, and the Honorable Vin Weber, former Minnesota congressman, and partner at Clark and Weinstock.

“Tim is an authentic leader with a record of results,” Strong said. “I’m excited to work with him to elect great candidates across the country. His record of fiscal conservatism in Minnesota makes him a credible voice on the issues facing our country.”

“There’s a big debate about the role of government and personal freedom raging at the moment, and I’m excited to help promote fresh new ideas, and new leaders.” Weber said. “Given Tim’s successful record in Minnesota, he’s in a unique position to harness that energy and help other candidates.”

The PAC’s first Minnesota fundraiser will be held on November 4 in Minneapolis and will be anchored by a diverse and distinguished group of Minnesotans who will serve as the Freedom First PAC Minnesota Co-Chairs. They include:

* Al & Cathy Annexstad, Shorewood, Minnesota
* Bill Cooper, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer, TCF Financial Corporation, and former Chairman of Republican Party of Minnesota.
* Mark Davis, Chairman, Cambria
* Megan Doyle, Founder, Hope for the City
* Jeff Larson, Former CEO, 2008 MSP Host Committee and Partner, FLS Connect.
* Susan Marvin, President, Marvin Windows
* Tim Owens, CEO, Voyager Bank
* Tom Stauber, President & owner, Edwards Sales
* Bob Ulrich, Former CEO, Target

Providing management, strategic and political planning will be a cadre of campaign veterans serving as senior advisors, including Phil Musser, President of New Frontier Strategy and former executive director of the Republican Governors Association; Terry Nelson, Partner, Mercury Public Affairs and former RNC and Bush-Cheney 2004 political director; and Sara Taylor, President of BlueFront Strategies and former White House political director. Former FEC Chairman Michael Toner of Bryan Cave, LLP will serve as the PAC’s counsel.

The PAC’s communication director will be Alex Conant. A Minnesota native, Conant most recently served as the Republican National Committee’s national press secretary and senior advisor. Online strategy and outreach will be led by Patrick Ruffini and Mindy Finn of Engage. Ruffini previously headed the RNC’s online department as well as working with the Giuliani Presidential campaign and Finn oversaw Mitt Romney’s online strategy during his 2008 presidential campaign. Liz Mair and Patrick Hynes of Hynes Communications will handle online communications outreach. Hynes served as blog outreach consultant for John McCain’s 2008 Presidential campaign, and Mair served as the RNC’s online communications director during 2008.

The Minnesota Finance Director will be Trisha Hamm, who was previously the political director for Pawlenty’s gubernatorial campaign. Annie Kelly, who formerly served as the deputy campaign manager for Pawlenty’s campaign in 2006, will be responsible for PAC operations, and Don Stiles will serve as Treasurer.

Photo: Chris Steller, Minnesota Independent

Being out of office has its privileges. One consolation for Norm Coleman after finally conceding defeat to Al Franken: seeing ethics complaints and investigations in his rearview mirror.

Most of the complaints lodged against Coleman over the past year won’t survive his transition to former U.S. senator, but at least one federal investigation and allegations made in civil court continue. Here’s a rundown.

Rentgate
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the U.S. Senate Select Committee on Ethics last summer regarding Coleman’s living arrangements in the nation’s capital, following reports that the then-senator leased a basement apartment from GOP operative Jeff Larson for a mere $600 per month.

“We imagine our ethics complaint will die — as the committee no longer has jurisdiction over Mr. Coleman,” said CREW’s Peter Bjork.

Donorgate
Shortly after Minnesota’s inconclusive U.S. Senate election last November, the advocacy group Alliance for a Better Minnesota filed complaints with the Senate Ethics Committee and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) about allegations that friend and benefactor Nasser Kazeminy had funneled $75,000 to Coleman via a business arrangement with Coleman’s wife’s employer.

ABM’s ethics complaint likely died with Coleman’s hopes of regaining his Senate seat, but any action by the FBI — including, according to news reports, an investigation — would continue “[regardless] of the fact that an individual is in or out of office,” according to FBI spokesman Bill Carter.

Likewise, the civil lawsuits containing the allegations against Kazeminy will proceed regardless of Coleman’s status. “Whether he’s elected or not elected, is embarassed or not embarassed, has no bearing on the case,” says Casey Wallace, plaintiffs’ attorney in a business dispute that only tangentially involves Coleman.

Wallace contends an investigation by the board of Kazeminy’s company that cleared Kazeminy of all wrongdoing is itself “wrong,” and says a companion lawsuit, in Delaware, to the original complaint, in Texas, will soon be re-filed.

Suitgate
The FBI is also said to be investigating allegations that Kazeminy paid for Coleman’s suits. As with looking into the alleged cash gift, the FBI won’t confirm or deny.

Leakgate
When donors’ financial data leaked from Coleman’s campaign website, his lawyers said the U.S. Secret Service would investigate. That investigation is “still ongoing,” according to spokesman Ed Donavan. Whether it’s focused on malicious hackers or the website’s lack of safeguards is unclear. But “the fact that he’s out of office [doesn't matter],” Donavan said. “We’re still going to pursue the investigation.”

Helpgate
Coleman said last December that he would seek advice from the Federal Election Commission (FEC) about whether it would be legal for his campaign to pay for expenses related to the Kazeminy lawsuit, in which Coleman is not named as a defendant. That month, ABM asked the FEC to investigate whether the campaign was in fact already doing so. The FEC did — but it took six months, and in the end the commission decided most payments by the campaign to Coleman’s lawyers would be legal.

The FEC’s advisory opinion applied not only to expenses Coleman incurs in the Kazeminy lawsuits, but also to expenses related to ethics complaints. The FEC specifically avoided ruling on whether Coleman’s recount committee — as opposed to his election campaign fund — could cover his bills. (Coleman hadn’t asked them that question, commissioners said.)

Photo: MnIndy

Two outside organizations and Norm Coleman’s re-election campaign illegally coordinated advertising that aided Coleman via a political consultant they all shared, the Minnesota DFL Party charged in a complaint to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC).

No, they didn’t, the FEC has ruled.

The DFL complaint (pdf) goes back almost a year, to an August 2008 television ad from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce attacking Franken’s position on the Employee Free Choice Act. A month later, the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) SAFE Trust paid for a full-page ad in Twin Cities daily newspapers claiming Franken would raise taxes.

FLS Connect, a political consulting firm owned by Coleman pal Jeff Larson, counted both groups as clients, along with Coleman. The DFL asked the FEC to investigate whether Larson acted as linchpin in a secret scheme that gave Coleman a role in the three Chamber commercials and the NFIB’s ad, in violation of federal law.

Every election season brings a wave of complaints to the FEC, some of which get dismissed without further inquiry, a commission spokesman told the Minnesota Independent today. The FEC investigated the DFL’s suspicions but found nothing to support them, releasing findings to the parties in May (pdf) before commissioners certified the results last month on a 5-0 vote (pdf).

The FEC found that the two groups and Coleman did share Larson as a vendor — but no evidence that Larson worked on the advertisements.

Larson figured in another controversy that dogged Coleman during the campaign, also the subject of a DFL complaint: the low rate at which Larson leased a basement apartment in Washington, D.C. to Coleman.

Here are two of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce TV ads attacking Franken. First, on the Employee Free Choice Act:

On taxes:

In the main atrium of the downtown Minneapolis library, Norm Coleman beams at passersby — from the cover of ”Shared Vision: Norm Coleman and the Remarkable Revitalization of St. Paul.” The 2001 hagiography currently has pride of place in the Friends of the Library shop window. Price? Two dollars. Coleman quotes on miracles, persistence and good karma? Priceless.

The cover shows then-St. Paul Mayor Coleman in a dark suit with a flag pin on the lapel, in front of a blurred-out background that has to be the inside of the Xcel Center. Whether he’s looking sexier than any other U.S. Senator or a gold bust of Vladimir Putin, as one blogger later attested, is a matter of personal taste.

Here are the Coleman quotes, mostly from a last-chapter Q&A, with text bolded to emphasize ties to Coleman’s actions and strategy in contesting Al Franken’s 312-vote victory in the election for U.S. Senate:

On miracles:

David Ben Gurion, the first prime minister of Israel, said, “Anyone who does not believe in miracles is not a realist.” I believe in miracles. I’m a realist.

On persistence:

We would have come up with another idea [if people hadn't shown up for a concert on the Mississippi River]. We would have brought them down the next week for something else. You have to believe in the vision and stay with it. Individual things don’t always work out. If one door shuts, you walk around and try another one, until you find one that works.

On smoke and mirrors:

[The deal for a National Hockey League franchise] was so unlikely, you almost had to laugh. At times, we were bluffing. We put together an ownership group and submitted an application to the NHL — and we didn’t have a firm dollar commitment from anybody. We didn’t have the money for a deposit. We didn’t have a lead investor until the day we actually needed one. Along the way, there was a lot of smoke and mirrors, but we knew we had the right vision, we knew it would be good for St. Paul.

On karma:

Maybe it’s my 1960s “good karma” thing that still floats out there, but I believe that the arts appeal to the better angels in people.

The book’s listed editor, publisher and (from what I could tell) author is Tom Mason, a marketing exec who earlier served as Sen. Rudy Boschwitz’s press secretary and still does Q&As with people like Republican rainmaker Jeff Larson, a longtime Coleman associate and the former Senator’s Washington, D.C. landlord.

Photo: Lauren Victoria Burke, WDCpix.com

A clothes-shopping spree that Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin started in Minnesota didn’t break the law, in the opinion of the Federal Election Commission, even though it was paid for by the GOP.

Palin dropped $75,062 at Minneapolis’ Neiman-Marcus store while in Minnesota to accept the vice presidential nomination at the Republican National Convention. She went on to run up an apparel tab that exceeded $150,000.

A complaint (pdf) filed last year by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) asked the FEC to find that Palin’s purchases violated rules against using campaign donations on candidates’ personal attire.

The commission decided today that that restriction doesn’t apply to party funds (pdf).

Also named in CREW’s clothes complaint, as an agent of the Republican National Committee, was Jeff Larson. He’s also figured in a separate Minnesota-related scandal, as the lenient landlord who cheaply rented a basement room in Washington, D.C., to former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman.

Coleman’s own wardrobe procurement, allegedly using unreported cash assistance from friend Nasser Kazeminy, is the subject of yet another scandal, now said to be under investigation by the FBI.

Thanks for the memories. Now please go away. Yes, we’re talking about you, Rudy Giuliani. And you, Wolf Blitzer. We no longer wish to be a swing state. Henceforth the residents of the state of Minnesota promise to vote reliably Democratic. Or Republican. It doesn’t much matter which — just as long as you people promise to stop showing up in our little slice of the frozen tundra seeking to feel our pain. But to memorialize the horrors visited upon us during the (still ongoing) campaign season, we offer — in honor of our favorite member of the Statewide General Election Canvassing Board — the G. Barry Anderson Awards.

Betty McCollum

Personally we thought the Andy Rooney date-rape skit had potential: It’s tough to recall now, but back in June it looked as if Al Franken’s Senate campaign was going to run completely off the rails. Despite two years of suffering through fish fries and potluck suppers in East Jesus Nowhere, his campaign was beset by controversies over improperly paid taxes and past writings. But it wasn’t the inevitable frothing of Minnesota Democrats Exposed that put the Franken campaign at risk of losing the DFL endorsement to a little-known challenger from the Trotskyite wing of the party. Rather it was the attacks from Franken’s fellow Democrats, led by Rep. Betty McCollum, that nearly doomed his candidacy. Her sanctimonious outrage over a (rather dull) Playboy article triggered a cattle call of Democratic politicians expressing faux outrage over Franken’s past writings. The comedian’s possibly pending triumph, however, raises hope for a 2014 Diablo Cody campaign.

T-Paw

He even cut off his hockey mullet, dammit: We really, really thought Gov. Tim Pawlenty was a shoo-in. When GOP muckety-muck Ken Mehlman hosts a Georgetown cocktail-and-mini-wiener gathering in your honor and it’s revealed that First Lady Mary Pawlenty refers to you as “45″ behind closed doors, it’s time to start measuring the curtains for Vice President Dick Cheney’s secret bunker, no? Pawlenty couldn’t have telegraphed his desire for the post any more strongly if he’d offered to take on eBay’s Meg Whitman in a steel-cage match. But when it became clear that Sen. John McCain’s appeal was largely limited to (some) former guests of the Hanoi Hilton and beer-distributorship scions, the drab choice of Pawlenty got scuttled for a moose hunter with a unique ability to arouse the Republican base with just three words: “Drill, baby, drill.” Does M-Paw now cry out “46?”

Xcel Energy Center

Let’s play hockey, please: Barack Obama decided to pee on the ice first. On the night that he finally slew the Pantsuited Beast once and for all, Obama showed up in St. Paul to stir the masses with his magic happy talk. A photo that would become one of the iconic images of the campaign was snapped in an Xcel elevator by Time photographer Callie Shell. It shows Obama, surrounded by his wife and advisers, beaming as if he’d just discovered indoor plumbing. Even better: nobody had time to organize a protest or arm the police with $50 million worth of the latest riot attire.

The Republican National Convention

What a gas: Did anyone other than St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, Gov. Pawlenty and a few other insecure, ambitious politicians have any desire to host this four-day excuse to beat on protesters, arrest reporters, scream epithets at cops and hire really high-priced hookers? Does anyone care about whether the world at large has any clue where St. Paul, Minn., is located on a map and whether people view it as a “first-class” city? Can we please go back to being a Cold Omaha that rich people visit only when their nasal passages can no longer reliably process coke? Nobody was impressed by forced exposure to Minnesota Nice Passive Aggression and the Land of 10,000 Cops in Riot Gear. Anderson Cooper will not be returning this winter to hang out at the St. Paul Curling Club. If “this is what democracy looks like,” as the protesters kept insisting, we don’t want any part of it. To quote Meir Kahane and Kelly Clarkson: “Never Again.”

Palin-tology

Let them eat moose: That damned Katie Couric. She ruined everything. Before Sarah Palin performed her excruciating media belly flop on the “CBS Evening News,” she brought the house down at the RNC in St. Paul. Winking her way through a speech notable for its withering contempt for the Democratic presidential nominee, she had pundits (particularly the male variety) swooning. But even after it became clear that she was about as prepared to take up residence at the White House as your typical TV sports reporter, the GOP faithful were positively loopy for Palin. When she returned to Minnesota for a rally in Blaine (along with the old guy at the top of the ticket) just two weeks later, the delirious Palin-ites nearly filled an airplane hanger. But after it became increasingly clear that McCain had no chance of winning Minnesota, we were stuck with the surrogates. And unfortunately it wasn’t Bristol Palin. Or Levi Johnston. Instead we got the first dude — a man (to put it kindly) not known for his rhetorical gifts. But Minnesotans apparently weren’t offended by this snub. Todd Palin’s whirlwind two-day tour of the state was the biggest thing to hit Grand Rapids since the annual Judy Garland Festival.

The Crazy McCain Lady

Now she would have been a bold VP pick: When McCain arrived in Lakeville for a town-hall meeting in October, we were concerned that Minnesota might not be living up to expectations as a swing state. After all, recent McCain-Palin rallies had featured party faithful so riled up by the red-meat rhetoric that they’d spewed death threats at Obama and gnawed the legs off of anti-war protesters (OK, not really the latter). Were nice Minnesotans psychologically equipped to live up to such demanding standards? But then 75-year-old Gail Quinnell wandered up to the stage and let everyone know that we’re just as loony as the rest of the country. The “Crazy McCain Lady” utilized her moment in the political spotlight to declare Obama an Arab, earning a rebuke from McCain and her own skit on “Saturday Night Live.”

Cullen Sheehan

In October Harper’s Magazine reported allegations that Norm Coleman’s close pal Nasser Kazeminy financed lavish shopping sprees for the senator at Nieman Marcus. The Republican’s campaign initially refused to answer any questions about the controversy, brushing off inquiries from both Harper’s and Pioneer Press reporter Dave Orrick. “There are very awful things that are said about people on the blogs,” Coleman revealed. But it was the senator’s campaign manager, Cullen Sheehan, who really transformed the story into Intertubes gold. At an excruciating state Capitol press conference, he repeatedly refused to disclose whether Coleman had received any free suits from Kazeminy. Instead Sheehan recited this mantra over and and over and over and over again: “The senator has reported every gift he’s ever received.” Of course Suit-gate was soon trumped by Donor-gate, after two lawsuits alleged that Kazeminy attempted to funnel $75,000 to the senator.

Neiman Marcus

We’re pretty sure that was Rod Blagojevich trying on a houndstooth jacket over in aisle three: What other clothing store in the country can claim a place at the center of two different scandals during this election season? Coleman may have been responsible for the first free Neiman Marcus advertisement, but it took Sarah Palin to truly put the retailer in the national spotlight. After she was tapped as the VP nominee, the GOP brass were apparently fearful she might show up at the convention in camo waders and a blaze orange overcoat. So they tapped local Republican pooh-bah Jeff Larson to lead the Alaska governor on a $75,000, donor-financed shopping spree at Neiman Marcus. No word on whether she ran into Norm (or Nasser) while at the Nicollet Mall store.

Sixth Congressional District Voters

They’re not anti-American, but they’re definitely pro-Scandinavia: After the best-dressed homophobe ever to represent Minnesota in Congress spread her magic to the whole wide world via “Hardball,” it looked as though her congressional career might be over after just one term. Money poured in from across the country to support the underdog campaign of Elwyn Tinklenberg, and polls showed the race deadlocked. But the nice, racist Scandinavian voters of the Sixth Congressional District had an election day surprise for the pollsters. They gave Bob Anderson — a candidate who wasn’t endorsed by any political party, wasn’t invited to most debates, and hardly campaigned — 10 percent of the vote, thus ensuring that Michele Bachmann would return to Washington. We can vividly imagine the thought process of Ole and Sven while hovering over the ballot: “Bachmann? Isn’t she the one who wants to start gulags for everyone with un-American thoughts? Tinklenberg? I do kinda have to use the bathroom now that I think about it. Anderson? Well, I betcha he’s an awful nice gentleman. I’m sure he’d do a wonderful job in Washington, just like Coya Knutson.”

The Recount

This is dedicated to Eric Magnuson’s goatee: The fifth pile. The third pile. Wrongly rejected absentee ballots. Allegedly double-counted ballots. The 133 missing ballots. G. Barry Anderson. Marc Elias. Tony Trimble. The Lizard People. Flying Spaghetti Monster. G. Barry Anderson. Minnesotans have been forced to learn an entirely new lexicon and nomenclature to fully follow the U.S. Senate Contest That Refuses to Die. And now it’s clear that no matter how much we repeat the totemic words “G. Barry Anderson” over and over and over again, the recount is destined to drag on well into 2009. Even if we don’t end up in the swamps of south Florida with hanging chads and Cruella Harris haunting our dreams, it’s still been a rather gruesome process to behold. But here’s a simple proposal to bring this mess to an end: a lutefisk-eating contest on the state Capitol steps. The Uptake will carry a live feed. G. Barry Anderson will officiate. Whichever candidate can cram the most lutefisk down his throat in 15 minutes goes to Washington. With one caveat: He can never come back.

Less than two months after he was elected in 2002, Norm Coleman used the power of his yet-to-be-assumed U.S. Senate office to try to leverage a presidential pardon for convicted money launderer and Tom Petters associate Frank Vennes Jr. And two years after that, Coleman wrote yet another pardon plea on Vennes’ behalf.

Vennes, whose criminal record includes 1986 pleas of guilty and no contest to a set of charges involving money-laundering, drug and firearms charges, is currently implicated — though not yet charged — in the Tom Petters financial fraud scandal. As Jon Tevlin reported in the Star Tribune, Vennes’ home was raided by federal authorities on September 24, and “[a]ccording to a federal search warrant affidavit, Vennes was a facilitator who persuaded five major investors to invest $1.2 billion in companies controlled by Petters. The document says Vennes collected more than $28 million in commissions for his work.”

As previously reported at Minnesota Independent [1] [2] [3] [4], Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann wrote a letter in December 2007 advocating a presidential pardon for Vennes’ 1980s conviction, which she subsequently withdrew following public disclosure of Vennes’ alleged ties to Petters-related financial fraud. But a Freedom of Information Act request I sent to the federal Office of Pardon Attorney has turned up two pardon requests from Sen. Norm Coleman, and no sign that either request had been withdrawn.

In a letter dated December 20, 2002 and sent to “President George W. Bush c/o Karl Rove,” then-Senator-Elect Coleman said he was “well acquainted with Frank [redacted portion] and that I want to join “my friend, (former Minnesota GOP Chairman) Ron Eibensteiner and Governor-Elect Tim Pawlenty in urging President Bush to grant Frank Vennes a Presidential Pardon.” (The roles of Pawlenty and Eibensteiner in seeking a pardon for Vennes are unclear; my FOIA request did not turn up pardon letters from either of those men.)

Coleman sent a second letter [p1] [p2] on Vennes’ behalf to the Office of Pardon Attorney in December 2004.

Coleman, Pawlenty and Eibensteiner join Congresswoman Michele Bachmann in the growing list of Minnesota political figures with campaign finance ties to Vennes who have apparently interceded to seek a presidential pardon for him.

Vennes pleaded guilty and no contest to federal charges of money laundering, cocaine and firearms trafficking in 1987. Vennes served 38 months in federal prison in Sandstone, MN before being released on parole. Vennes spent the next several years sueing the federal government for more than $10 million, claiming that he was entrapped by federal agents even though he pleaded guilty and no contest to the charges, and that his attorney rendered him “ineffective assistance” in representing him. Vennes’ claims ultimately were rejected in 1994 following a series of appeals. In 1995, he started working with Tom Petters, where he reportedly earned more than 90 percent of his income, or about $38 million, over the next 14 years.

Coleman states in his 2002 letter that “Frank is indeed an example of successful rehabilitation.” He further states in his 2004 pardon letter that “I assure you that Mr. Vennes’ moral and ethical standards more than justify your consideration of his pardon application.”

However, Vennes has been implicated as a key figure in the massive $3 billion financial fraud investigation of Minnesota businessman Tom Petters. On Sept. 24, federal agents raided Vennes’ $5 million Shorewood home on Lake Minnetonka in connection with the Petters investigation and seized “boxes and buckets of silver and gold coins, trays of jewelry, five stacks of $100 bills, boxes of gem stones, silver plates and Rolex watches,” along with diamond rings and artwork. His $6 million oceanfront home in Jupiter, Fla., which was recently sold, was raided also and among the items seized was a briefcase containing “256 $20 gold pieces dated 1904, and eight uncirculated one-half dollar pieces.”

According to the federal search warrant, Vennes was alleged to have hauled in more than $28 million in commissions for his role in luring five investors to pony up $1.2 billion in Petters’ alleged giant Ponzi scheme. On Oct. 6, the assets and records of Vennes, Petters, Petters’ companies and other Petters associates were frozen by a federal judge.

Still, the multimillionaire Vennes has not yet been charged with any crimes in connection with the Petters case. Nor has he been named as a defendant in any of the lawsuits filed against Petters and his associates by alleged victims of the fraud.

Campaign finance ties

As with Bachmann, Vennes and his immediate family have contributed heavily to Norm Coleman’s campaigns directly or indirectly, Tim Pawlenty’s campaigns, and the Republican Party of Minnesota, which Eibensteiner chaired from 1999-2005.

Frank Vennes gave Coleman’s campaign committees $2,000 prior to Coleman’s pardon letter. However, he gave $8,000 to the Rally for Leadership Fund, which is controlled by Rep. John Kline, on July 19, 2002. A month later, the Rally for Leadership Fund kicked in $168,000 to Coleman’s campaign, and four months later, Senator-elect Coleman wrote his first pardon recommendation letter for Vennes.

Vennes also gave $5,000 in 2003 to Coleman’s North Star Leadership PAC, a political action committee controlled by Jeff Larson, Coleman’s Washington, DC, landlord and political consultant.

Vennes’ brother, Gregory, gave Coleman $1,000 in 2001.

Pawlenty has done quite well with the Vennes family. Kimberly Vennes (Frank’s wife), Gregory Vennes, Stephanie Vennes (Gregory’s wife), and Colby and Denley Vennes, who have shared an address with Frank and Kimberly, each donated $2,000 to the Pawlenty for Governor Committee in 2002. Frank, Kimberly, Gregory, Stephanie, Colby and Denley Vennes each contributed $250 to Pawlenty in 2004 and $2,000 apiece in 2006.

During Eibensteiner’s tenure as state GOP chair, Frank Vennes spread the wealth to state Republican Party committees. In 2002, he gave $10,750 to the House Republican Party of Minnesota Campaign Committee, and another $10,000 in 2003. Vennes was one of the top contributors—$5,000—to the Minnesotans for a Republican Congress Committee in 2002, whose sole recipient was the Republican Party of Minnesota (RPM). He gave another $5,000 directly to the RPM in 2002. After Eibensteiner was ousted in 2005, Vennes kept the checks coming: $10,000 to the RPM and $50,000 to the House Republican Party of Minnesota Committee in 2006.

The RPM also got $3,000 from Kimberly Vennes in 2002 and $1,500 from Colby Vennes in 2003.

Personal relationship with Vennes

Like Bachmann, Coleman spoke of his personal relationship with Vennes, wrote glowingly of his character and cited Vennes’ work with faith-based groups like Teen Challenge as evidence of his rehabilitation.

“I personally know Mr. Vennes and find him to be trustworthy, extremely dedicated to his community and compassionate about serving others less fortunate than himself, and a talented, successful businessman,” Coleman wrote in his 2004 letter. “Mr. Vennes’ faith is very real. In turn, he has used his faith and gifts to transform many of the lives in our community. I firmly believe he had earned the opportunity to be granted this pardon.”

Coleman notes that “Mr. Vennes is an active participant in a local prison ministry program and with a pardon, Mr. Vennes could continue this service to federal inmates.” Although Coleman does not identify the ministry, Vennes was treasurer for Charis Prison Ministry as recently as 2005.

A third individual—John D. Raffaelli, founder of Capitol Counsel, a leading Washington lobbying group—sent a letter of recommendation for a presidential pardon for Vennes to the Clinton White House in 2000.

“There are a number of unusual and questionable governmental actions surrounding the original conviction of Mr. Vennes,” Raffaelli wrote, which was during the period when Vennes was pursuing his appeals. “But more importantly, since his release from prison, he has been a model citizen and humanitarian. His story is very compelling.”

Even though Vennes has yet to be charged, Michele Bachmann withdrew her letter recommending him for a pardon and donated a portion of his campaign contributions to Teen Challenge as soon as Vennes’ name became publicly connected to the Petters scandal. Bachmann has refused to explain why she turned on Vennes when he is still presumed innocent.

It is not known whether Coleman intends to stand by Vennes until he’s charged. After the Petters scandal broke, Coleman donated $14,600 to the Boys and Girls Club in October, which represented the amount of money Tom Petters had donated to his campaign in this election cycle.

Neilson will conduct evidence gathering on Wednesday — the day after the election — on Franken’s claim that a non-partisan watchdog group called Coleman the “fourth most corrupt Senator according to a bipartisan watchdog group.”

The Franken campaign contends that the Coleman lawsuit is a distraction from a lawsuit filed last Monday alleging that Coleman friend Nassar Kazeminy asked a business partner to funnel money to Coleman and his wife through her job at a Minnesota insurance agency.

Touting Judge Neilson’s decision Monday, Franken spokesperson Andy Barr said, “We always thought Senator Coleman’s lawsuit was a smokescreen to divert attention from the sworn affidavit in Texas that Norm Coleman’s close friend Nasser Kazeminy conspired to funnel $100,000 to Senator Coleman. The smoke is starting to clear.”