Franken campaign sues for lists of rejected absentee voters, shoots itself in foot

As Pat Lopez reports in the Strib, the Al Franken campaign has filed suit against Ramsey County to compel disclosure of the names and addresses of voters whose absentee ballots were rejected.

Legally and politically, it’s a perfectly legitimate move to ensure that every vote is counted, but Team Franken stepped into a PR nightmare by embellishing the news of their lawsuit with the high-pathos anecdotal case of an 84-year-old Beltrami County woman whose ballot was rejected because a stroke had altered her signature.

Coleman/Kazeminy: Norm told us this was coming almost a month ago

Contrary to Norm Coleman’s claims to media on Friday and yesterday, when Coleman a) said that the media (specifically, the Star Tribune) first received information about the claims “last week,” and b) implied that this late, low blow could only have been the work of the Al Franken campaign, Coleman had been asked by reporters about the matter in early October.

Who said so? Norm Coleman. Details inside.

Coleman/Kazeminy roundup: With second lawsuit, Norm has even more ‘splaining to do

This morning’s news of a second lawsuit alleging the transmission of funds from Nasser Kazeminy to Norm Coleman poses serious complications for Coleman’s “they’re out to get me” defense. Coleman can and probably will claim that this is just further evidence of the vast left-wing conspiracy to do him in, but that seemed unlikely yesterday and seems exponentially more unlikely today.

More about lawsuit number two and other matters inside.

Coleman, Kazeminy and the lawsuit: Five reasons to doubt that it’s all just ‘sleazy politics’

Norm Coleman stood before a gaggle of reporters and fans at what was supposed to be a routine campaign stop in Moorhead this morning and addressed the story that’s been chasing after him for the past few days. Allegations that Coleman pal Nasser Kazeminy had funneled money to Laurie Coleman for doing a non-existent job were “absolutely false,” Coleman said. But that was only the starting point of his remarks, which sought for the better part of five minutes to paint the whole affair as a fabrication wrought by “Al Franken and his political allies.”

Only the plaintiff, Paul McKim, can answer with certainty as to his timing and motives. But ultimately, the question of whether politics played a role in the timing of the lawsuit has no bearing on the merit of the claims in the lawsuit.

Let’s take a closer look at the legal complaint.

Coleman and Kazeminy: How are local mainstream media outlets playing the story?

A commenter points out this morning that the print edition of the Star Tribune has relegated Paul McEnroe and Tony Kennedy’s story about the Texas lawsuit against Friend-of-Norm Nasser Kazeminy to a bottom corner of the metro section’s front page.

Placement means a lot in terms of readership — not only in print but on the web. So we decided to see how the Twin Cities’ mainstream news outlets are playing the story on their home pages.

AP: Coleman will address Kazeminy lawsuit this morning in Moorhead

The AP’s Fred Frommer writes:
“Sen. Norm Coleman is planning to make a statement on a lawsuit that claims his friend and donor funneled $75,000 to an insurance company that employs the senator’s wife.
“The Coleman re-election…

Texas lawsuit alleging that Coleman received tainted $75,000 from pal Kazeminy is re-instated

The Texas lawsuit alleging that Sen. Norm Coleman fraudulently received $75,000 from longtime political patron Nasser Kazeminy has been re-instated, according to attorney Casey Wallace, who is representing plaintiff Paul McKim in the case. The lawsuit had been “unsuited,” in the parlance of Texas courts, as the two sides pursued a settlement.

“We entered into serious settlement negotiations,” says Wallace. “Those broke down today.”

Latest Coleman & Kazeminy connection: The Star Tribune needs to tell the story

The figure of Nasser Kazeminy — longtime Norm Coleman friend and patron — is once again casting a shadow over the US Senate campaign. Kazeminy, the man who may or may not have purchased suits for Coleman at Neiman-Marcus once upon a time, was reportedly accused in a lawsuit filed (and withdrawn) this week of funneling money to Coleman’s wife, Laurie Coleman, through a third party.

We know this because there is videotape (published this morning at MnIndy) of Star Tribune reporter Paul McEnroe asking Coleman — or rather, the closed window of Coleman’s SUV — about it.

But whereas McEnroe and Kennedy’s previous inquiries into the Coleman/Kazeminy relationship (the Neiman-Marcus affair) never yielded a story in the paper, this one has to. A quick recapitulation of the main known facts in the matter explains why.

Report: Coleman campaign to sue Franken campaign?

We stress that this is unconfirmed, but Minnesota Independent has now heard from two different sources that the campaign of Sen. Norm Coleman is holding a press conference this afternoon to announce it will file a legal complaint against…

ACORN fires back, alleges GOP vote suppression in new TV spot

The Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), which has come under fire this year for voter registration practices that have resulted in the submission of fake registrations in some states, has released the following 30-second ad, which is…