This is an entry from the Muehlhausen family of Stillwater, Minn., in the Pioneer Press’ Peeps contest:

Now marking the tardiest U.S. Senate race in Peep history, Al Franken Peep and Norm Coleman Peep have argued for months about ballots. Now Peep Judges Elizabeth Hayden, Denise Reilly and Kurt Marben are left to decide Minnesota’s next Senator — all while Pamela Howell’s ‘missing trunk ballot’ testimony is allowed-not allowed-allowed-not allowed again, angering Lizard People across the nation, and putting the media and Peep-le across the state to sleep.

Franken’s motion to dismiss can’t be a completely unwelcome development in the three-judge court’s chambers. They’ve already rejected out of hand Coleman’s assertions of Florida-level electoral chaos and fined the former Republican senator’s side for wasting their time. And some points in Franken’s motion (pdf via UpTake/MinnPost) are so indisputable that even Coleman’s camp has already conceded them.

But throwing out Coleman’s case — however tempting that might be to the judges after more than five weeks at trial  – would risk delivering to the public a TKO (to use a not-so-far-out boxing term) that offers a diminished sense of resolution compared to a unanimous decision after proceedings that have run their full course. And that result could be achieved be within two weeks.

So Franken’s motion to dismiss, while not exactly DOA, is likely to find a home in the same dead-letter office that has since Jan. 13 been home to his petition (pdf) asking the state Supreme Court to force the governor and secretary of state to issue him the certificate of election he needs to be seated in the U.S. Senate.

UPDATE: What do you know? The day after this post, the state Supreme Court did rule on Franken’s election certificate. (Al won’t be pleased.)

Harry Reid (WDCpix)

Senate Majority Harry Reid is drawing a new line in the snow, naming a date by which he’s pledging to have Al Franken seated as Minnesota’s next senator: April Fool’s Day. Democrats will invoke the Senate’s privilege to seat members to the body regardless of where former Sen. Norm Coleman’s court battle stands at that time, Reid told reporters.

Republicans said Reid must hold off until Coleman exhausts legal options for undoing Franken’s election recount lead and threatened to filibuster any effort to seat the Democrat. Reid offered advice: ”Norm Coleman should have a five-minute conversation with (Sen.) John Ensign (R-Nev.),” … John Ensign wound up as a real hero in Nevada (after bowing to Reid rather than pursuing a recount in their 1998 Senate contest).

Photo via The UpTake

Testimony from a witness for Norm Coleman was stricken from the court record today when the three judges in Minnesota’s election contest trial agreed with Al Franken’s side that Coleman lawyers should not have shared notes with her during a break. As seen and reported on The UpTake, it was a dramatic blow for Coleman’s effort to upend his Democratic opponent’s 225-vote recount victory in the fight for Coleman’s old U.S. Senate seat, especially for a team still smarting from other smackdowns Tuesday.

UPDATE: The judges changed their minds and un-struck the testimony (pdf). (They all three signed the order  – does that make three un-strikes?)

Minneapolis election worker Pamela Howell, a Republican, was on the witness stand today to attest to polling place errors that could have led to double-counting of votes. She was under cross-examination by the Franken side when the court adjourned for a short break — during which Coleman attorney Joe Friedberg gave her notes she’d prepared earlier.

When court resumed, Franken attorney David Lillehaug  first demanded to know what the document was and the reason it hadn’t been shared with his team — and then demanded that the court strike Howell’s testimony from the record.

Coleman attorney Tony Trimble’s explanation of the incident as a simple mistake didn’t satisfy the judges. Instead, they had Howell leave the stand having left not an official ripple on the proceedings — though her brief appearance had crashed like an unwelcome wave across the former Republican senator’s deck.

In other court action today, Coleman attorneys argued that a St. Louis County absentee ballot envelope rife with X marks where voter information belonged should not have been counted. The two sides clashed over whether Coleman could solicit evidence from far-flung counties via e-mail. And Cindy Reichert, the Minneapolis elections manager, took the stand later in the day to be quizzed about 133 ballots that went from the city’s Ward 3, Precinct 3. She also said some absentee ballots that may contain registration forms inside remain unopened. Her testimony resumes Thursday.

On Tuesday, Coleman continued to lose ground in his effort to have some ballots counted and others not. And at the end of the day, the court issued an order (pdf) rejecting his request for an injunction to stop state officials from blotting out marks linking 933 ballots tallied in the recount, some of which Coleman now contends aren’t legal.

The interminable quality of the back-and-forth legal battle, now in its fifth week, isn’t lost on the combatants closest to the conflict. An end-of-day interview by The UpTake’s Noah Kunin with East Coast-based Franken attorney Marc Elias included this exchange, after Coleman attorney Joel Friedberg, a Minnesotan, passed the pair in a courthouse corridor:

KUNIN (relaying a question from Elias’ wife, who Elias has said is following the trial via The UpTake “religiously”): When are you coming home, or is that too speculative?

ELIAS: You should have asked Mr. Friedberg. (Turning to shout down the hall) When am I going home?

FRIEDBERG (in an off-mike remark, as relayed by Kunin): The sooner, the better.

Judge Hayden. Photo: UpTake

If only they’d used washable markers.

The Norm Coleman campaign this morning asked the judges in Minnesota’s Senate election contest trial to stop the secretary of state’s office from marking out numbers (pdf) on 933 absentee ballots that link them to the envelopes in which they arrived. But state workers have already blacked out almost all of the numbers, according to The UpTake.

UPDATE: The Secretary of State’s office now says half of the ballots remain unredacted. 

In a motion filed this morning, Coleman asked the court for a temporary injunction order to halt the redacting of the ID numbers. The work of separating envelopes from absentee ballots and marking out the numbers was included in the court’s Feb. 13 order, which also ruled out a dozen or so categories of absentee ballots from future re-examination.

Presiding Judge Elizabeth Hayden opened today’s session by announcing that the three-judge panel would hear arguments on a motion — possibly Coleman’s request for temporary injunction — later this afternoon.

Votes from the 933 ballots were added to the official election tally by order of the state Supreme Court during the last phase of the recount that ended last month. Attorneys for both Coleman and his rival, Democrat Al Franken, have since agreed those votes belong in the count.

But Coleman now contends that some of the 933 ballots fall into categories that the election trial court has refused to review as unlawfully cast. Because he might want to disallow some of the 933 votes on that basis — in itself, an about-face from pledges he wouldn’t seek to remove already-counted votes from the tally — he wants the redaction ordered a week ago to stop.

According to the UpTake, Deputy Secretary of State Jim Gelbmann said re-linking redacted ballots and envelopes would require forensic research. Still, the move could serve to bolster equal-protection claims that Coleman’s attorneys have been pressing with increasing vigor in and out of the courtroom.

Sen. Richard Burr

Norm Coleman’s campaign sent another e-mail plea for money today, this time linked to a new video featuring nearly a dozen Republican leaders also asking for cash to help the former U.S. senator regain his seat. The e-mail cites Democratic opponent Al Franken’s use of the title “Senator-Elect” to draw donations and quickly ramps up the rhetoric:

“… Al Franken and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are getting more desperate — and more dangerous — with every passing day.”

The video and the Coleman campaign’s e-mail intro to it, after the jump.

The video crams quickie testimonials from nine senators and two others into 108 seconds. Flashing by, one after another, seated in front of the same American flag are Sens. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky.; Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; John Thune, R-S.D.; James Inhofe, R-Okla.; Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.; Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska; Bob Corker, R-Tenn.; and Richard Burr, R-N.C., along with House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, and Michael Steele, chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Briefly, some lines. Cornyn: “We want him back.” Thune: “Norm is high quality.” Inhofe: “A little bit of money right now could make the difference.” Graham: “Anything you can do to help Norm to make sure he can tell his story to the court is much appreciated.” Burr: “We need 42 Republicans.”

Here’s the video:

Here’s the text of the Coleman for Senate e-mail plea:

Dear Friend,

As Norm continues his legal challenge to make sure that every vote is counted fairly, accurately and honestly, our support continues to grow.

Our party’s most influential leaders have rallied to Norm’s defense in this short, 2-minute video.

But as our support grows, Al Franken and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid are getting more desperate — and more dangerous — with every passing day.

Just this week Franken began to call himself “Senator-Elect”… even though Minnesota state law prohibits anyone from taking office until all legal challenges have been concluded!

Reid is even more blunt, telling reporters that “Norm Coleman will never ever serve [again] in the Senate”… even though a fair, accurate and honest accounting of every vote has yet to be determined!

Franken, Reid and their liberal allies see their filibuster-proof majority slipping through their fingers. And there’s no telling what they’ll do next to try to negate the will of Minnesota voters for their own partisan gain. That’s why we can’t let up the fight — not even for a minute!

As Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina says, “Anything you can do to help Norm financially to make sure that he can tell his story before the court is much appreciated.”

And looking to the future, Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina states, “We need to start the trend of growing the Republican minority so that we can be the majority in the United States Senate. Norm can accomplish that with your help.”

I urge you to take a few moments right now to watch the video, and then contribute $15, $25, $35, $50, $100 or more — up to the legal maximum of $2,300 per person — to help make sure that Norm’s case is heard before the court, and that every vote is counted fairly, accurately and honestly.

Thanks so much for all that you’ve done — and hopefully will continue to do.

Sincerely,

Cullen Sheehan
Campaign Manager, Coleman for Senate

Photo via The UpTake

The Minnesota senate election contest trial could take a turn today, and you can watch it here live (via The UpTake) starting at 1 p.m. Central Time. Lawyers for Norm Coleman and Al Franken will make their pitches for the court to examine or not examine 4,800 absentee ballots that so far aren’t included in the vote tally. On Tuesday, the three-judge panel spelled out 19 categories of ballots (depending on the circumstances for their rejection) and asked the two sides to weigh in on why they should be included or excluded.

You can’t tell the players without a program, so here are pdfs for the answers they got from Coleman (he says count most of ‘em) and Franken (he says only count a few kinds of ‘em).

Here is video from The UpTake. The live stream of the Senate election contest court hearing on ballot categories should start at 1 p.m. Central Time, Feb. 12, 2008. The judges have promised to rule by Monday morning. 

(UPDATE: The hearing ended and court went into recess at 2:10 p.m. The video below may replay the hearing or other proceedings related to the election contest trial.)

Marc Elias. Photo: MnIndy

Al Franken’s attorney, Marc Elias, hailed a ruling today by the three-judge panel in Minnesota’s Senate election trial to count 24 (and possibly 25) rejected absentee ballots. Elias said he was glad to see people enfranchised, but also praised the judges “because of the careful method [they used] in analyzing these ballots.”

Such care — as shown by the judges’ plucking 25 ballots from a pool of 61 belonging to people who sought court action to have their votes counted — is another “data point,” Elias said, that indicates how the panel will approach the 4,800 rejected absentee ballots they say they may examine. And he expected that the court would look favorably upon more of the 61 once the voters provided requested information.

Their careful selection suggest to Elias that the court is hewing closer to Franken’s ballot-by-ballot approach than ruling on whole categories of similarly rejected ballots as Norm Coleman’s attorneys prefer.

Is it spin? Sure — but to hear Elias tell it, the masters of that art are on the Coleman side. What did he think about Coleman attorney Ben Ginsberg’s observation that the U.S. Senate passed a stimulus bill without Franken — in apparent contradiction to remarks Elias made to the state Supreme Court about the bill’s possible failure due to Franken’s absence? “Ben Ginsberg is a very good lawyer brought in to spin,” Elias said. “I have a lot of respect for his ability to turn a phrase and say things like that.”

Asked in a conference call with reporters what he would have done differently, Elias responded: “Pack more winter clothes.”

Al Franken (Photo: Aaron Landry) and Norm Coleman (Photo: WDCpix.com)

As Al Franken and Norm Coleman ready themselves for a fourth month in electoral limbo, are they also readying to serve in the U.S. Senate (as one of them, someday, must)? Al Franken, who’s never been a U.S. senator, says he’s “ready to go on Day 1.” Six-year Senate veteran Norm Coleman, out of office one month, sounds less sure: “I’m trying to be ready.”

Both men talked to the media today after mostly staying silent since the Nov. 4 election, sometimes going into detail about their efforts to get (or stay) prepared to take (or re-take) office. Even their word choice signaled how they’re thinking: Coleman still refers to those now in the senate as “colleagues,” while Franken’s confident they’ll be “future colleagues.”

Franken told the Associated Press (AP), “I admit to being frustrated at times. But it’s a little out of my control. What is in my control is to prepare so that when I get to the Senate, I’m ready to go on Day 1.”

The AP’s Patrick Condon writes: “Franken said he gets regular briefings from Democratic members of Congress and staff. If he were in office, he said, he would support President Barack Obama’s stimulus package but would push for measures to make sure the money is spent wisely.”

Minnesota Public Radio’s Tom Crann asked Coleman, “If this contest reveals that you are the senator, are you ready to dive right into the debate on the stimulus package, for example? Where do you stand on that?” Coleman’s reply:

I’m trying to be ready. That’s one of the great challenges, Tom. And that is on a couple of levels, by the way. It’s not just the policy issues. I’m in contact with my colleagues. I had a conversation with the majority lea–, minority leader, Mitch McConnell, this week. I’ve talked to Sen. Susan Collins, involved in a lot of negotiations on the stimulus package. … I do not support the package in its present form. I’d certainly be among those working for a resolution.

But there’s another side of it, too, and that is the citizen service side. We’re going to– My staff is now going to have to go on its way. My offices are closed. I will move very, very quickly to put in place a team that can respond to the needs of Minnesotans. But that is a challenge. We’re in the unfortunate position where my office is closed, cases have been processed, people are moving on to get new jobs to take care of their families. I will move as quickly as possible, but that is challenging, have no doubt about that. And it’s something I give a lot of thought to, to be able to move as quickly as possible to be able to jump into these issues an into these citizen service cases. …

I’d love to be involved in [the stimulus] discussion more actively. I’m certainly being informed about that right now. But these are the most trying times of my over 30– economic times of my over 32 years of public service. I’d like to be part of the solution. And I have to wait for the outcome of this election contest in order to have that opportunity, there’s no question about that. Minnesota will not certify a U.S. senator until this contested case is over. …

And if he doesn’t win? “I don’t define myself by being a U.S. senator,” Coleman said. “I don’t spend my time wringing my hands.”

UPDATE: MPR also talked to Franken. Some excerpts from his comments:

Since [the recount] I’ve been very focused on getting ready to be senator. I don’t think the results of the recount are going to be reversed, and I think it’s my responsibility really to be ready to step in to be senator. … A lot of my focus has been on keeping abreast of what’s going on in the Senate. And you know, I am a little anxious — eager to get there and start work. … I do get briefings from various– it’s usually staff members of future colleagues. … I would love to be part of this conversation [about the stimulus] because there are parts of it I would like to weigh in on. …

Crann asked, “What’s the first thing you jump into, Priority 1 for Al Franken in the U.S. Senate?”

It really depends what committees I’m assigned to. … I actually asked for more assignments than I– than they could possibly give me.

So I asked for Ag. I asked for Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, which is a committee that is really cradle-to-grave and has a lot of concerns of people that I– of Minnesota. Energy. Armed Services or Foreign Relations, Veterans Affairs and Indian Affairs. So I don’t know what I’m going to get. So a lot will depend on what committee I’m assigned to– what committees I’m assigned to, and where we are on the agenda. …

Crann asked Franken if people in Washington, D.C., are already treating him as a U.S. senator. Franken’s response:

Everyone that I’m talking to is treating me as a senator-elect. And appropriately so. And not as a sitting U.S. senator. I’m not a sitting U.S. senator.

I’m in a very odd position that not many people have been in. And so everyone has to sort of make that calculus in their head: What am I talking to when I’m talking to Al?

But if I talk to Dick Durbin, or  I talk to a staff member who is on top of this stimulus bill and what’s happening, they know who they’re talking to. They know what postition I’m in very well.

No, he's not making a shadow-bird: Coleman shows how ballots could get counted twice.

Norm Coleman suggested in a TV interview Sunday that reporters’ asking about charges of illegally funneled money cost him the Nov. 4 Senate election. “That could have been a quiet story,” Coleman said. “It could have been a story that came out the day after the election.”

The live interview on WCCO-TV’s “Sunday Morning” news program contained other intriguing Coleman quotes. About the Senate election: “It will end soon.” About the idea of taking his fight to federal court: “If somehow there’s a violation of equal protection, you think about that.” About a run for governor in 2010 if he loses and Gov. Tim Pawlenty doesn’t seek re-election: “I’m not looking to the next election.” 

But the most interesting part was a 100-second exchange about charges that a campaign supporter funneled unreported funds to the former Republican senator. The exchange begins at the 5:30 mark in the seven-minute interview (video link). Anchor Esme Murphy’ asks about allegations in a pair of civil suits that Coleman benefactor Nasser Kazeminy directed $75,000 from a Texas business he controls to Coleman’s wife’s firm.

NORM COLEMAN: No money was ever funneled to my family. My wife has a job. She does a job. And there’s nothing that was illegally funneled to her. But you had two Star Tribune reporters appearing in a DFL ad on a story that came out four days –

WCCO-TV NEWS ANCHOR ESME MURPHY: But not of their own volition!

COLEMAN: Not of their own volition but they –

MURPHY: Because I was there, I mean when that was taped –

COLEMAN: But they put themselves in that ad. They put themselves. And so four days –

MURPHY: No, they didn’t.

COLEMAN: Esme, the cameras were there. They could have asked those questions quietly. They could have had a different conversation.

MURPHY: But they had no control over the cameras.

COLEMAN: But they knew the cameras were there. They could have gone back and had a quiet conversation if that was the purpose. My point being they appeared in a Democratic Party ad four days before an election on something that never happened.

And so in the end, I welcome — let’s take a full look at this. But, I can’t, you can’t recreate that. You can’t take that back. And so in the end it’s the nature of this business.

But no — you know, my wife never got any money that she didn’t earn. There was no money funneled to her. You had two guys involved in a lawsuit. And perhaps using that relationship, my relationship with that person to maybe squeeze more money out of him.

But that could have been a quiet story. It could have been a story that came out the day after the election. Instead you had two reporters in front of cameras confront a candidate on something they could have had a quiet conversation about if that was the purpose.

So, be that as it may. No question: Nothing ever happened there. And it’s unfortunate that those last-minute, eleventh-hour charges can have an impact on the race. I’m not lamenting anything. … 

Those other issues will be dealt with. But emphatically, there’s nothing to that. And it’s a shame that those kind of charges can be thrown out. No one – There’s not a single allegation that my wife or I actually received any money. Not one. Not one. And no facts to back that up.

UPDATE: The Star Tribune reporters responded to Coleman’s charges at Braublog. 

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