Norm Coleman has been dodging answering the charges of illegal coordination between himself, FLS Connect and others. MNpublius posted about this on Thursday and every time it’s been brought up by the media since, Coleman spokespeople have dodged it. As a refresher, here are the charges Brian Melendez made and the questions Norm Coleman has yet to answer:
The all-too-cozy relationship between Senator Coleman, his best Republican operative friend, his roommates at his best friend’s house and his roommate’s clients simply doesn’t pass the smell test. There’s nothing ‘independent’ about it.
Today the DFL Party has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission, alleging the possibility of illegal coordination — between the Coleman for Senate campaign on the one hand and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Federation of Independent Business on the other — and asking the commission to open an investigation. We make several allegations:
First, that the NFIB may have made in-kind contributions in excess of the legal limit of $5,000.
Second, that the Chamber of Commerce, which is a corporation, may have made, and Coleman may have accepted, illegal in-kind corporate contributions.
Third, that both the NFIB and the Chamber of Commerce may have failed to properly report their in-kind expenditures on Senator Coleman’s behalf, in violation of federal reporting requirements.
And fourth, that Senator Coleman may also have violated federal reporting requirements by failing to report the in-kind contributions from NFIB and the Chamber of Commerce.
Minnesotans deserve some answers from Senator Coleman — because if Senator Coleman sleeps under the same roof as the consultants to the outside groups that are advertising on his behalf, how can Minnesotans be sure that illegal coordination is not taking place right in Coleman’s Washington home?
Senator Coleman can clear this issue up, however, by coming clean on the following questions:
Which clients does FLS-Connect do business with in the million-dollar townhouse where Senator Coleman lives?
Which FLS-Connect employees work in the townhouse, and what do discuss or coordinate with those clients?
Which FLS-Connect employees have worked both on Norm Coleman’s campaign and on independent expenditures?
Finally, has Senator Coleman ever been a party to any FLS-Connect business transactions that have taken place in his home?
Senator Coleman can easily clear this issue up by answering these questions, but to date, he has refused to do so.
For this reason, and to honor Minnesota’s long tradition of open elections, it is imperative that the FEC open an investigation into the specter of illegal coordination.
Will Coleman come clean?
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Will Coleman come clean?
Of course not.
One of the most surreal events I’ve ever covered, was a press conference at the capital by John Stiles of the DFL. Immediately after Stiles was done, Team Smokescreen flack Mark Drake commandeered the podium, and started talking about how “open” and “transparent” ol’ Smokescreen has been about RentGate and UtilityGate. So a member of the “credentialed” media asked Drake about something very, Very, VERY simple: “Can we see an actual copy of one of Coleman’s actual utility bills for the apartment?”
Drake told the press he’d check, and get back to ‘em. He may have checked, but he hasn’t gotten back to ‘em.
Coleman is as corrupt a politician as Minnesota has ever seen.
Coleman’s going to have to come out of that million dollar basement SOMETIME!