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Sen. Norm Coleman Rents Cheap Crash Pad From Political Pal
Serving in Congress and trying to maintain two places to live -- one back home and one in Washington -- can get expensive. (Not everyone has the money for a mansion like Hillary Clinton.)
Luckily, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) has found a cheap place to crash when he's working inside the beltway -- renting an apartment from Republican operative and "robo-call" expert Jeff Larson. Larson and his wife bought the townhouse on Capitol Hill in March 2007 for $989,900, according to National Journal.
Coleman pays just $600 a month for a one-bedroom place in a Capitol Hill townhouse. That's remarkably cheap for the neighborhood, and a fraction of the $1,780 monthly rent Coleman paid on the Washington apartment he left in June 2007, according to a report this week from the National Journal.
Well, at least he usually pays. As the magazine discovered, Coleman doesn't pay his rent as promptly as many Americans.
Earlier this month, after National Journal questioned Coleman and Larson about the living arrangement, the senator said he discovered that his rent for last November and January had not been paid. In mid-June, Coleman covered the back rent with a personal check for $1,200 made out to Larson and signed by the senator's wife. Last year, Coleman sold furniture to Larson to cover one month's rent, according to Larson. And Larson held on to yet another month's rent check for three months, cashing it a few days after NJ's inquiries.
Coleman told the magazine that he moved into Larson's building to cut costs in July 2007. Coleman's Senate salary is $169,300.
It's unlikely Larson will evict Coleman anytime soon, since Larson has derived a lot of financial benefit from his relationship with the senator.
Larson's St. Paul-based company, FLS Connect, is a critical component of Coleman's political operation. The firm, which has raised money and hustled up voters for Coleman, has been paid about $1.6 million since mid-2001 by Coleman's Northstar Leadership political action committee and two Senate campaigns, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. Larson serves as the PAC's treasurer and provides it with office space in St. Paul; Coleman's Senate campaign stopped renting space from Larson last year.
FLS Connect is a go-to shop for the Republicans nationwide for fund raising and providing "robo-calls." In fact, the firm was targeted by the attorney general in Indiana for violating that state's automated call laws. The firm is also linked to The DCI Group, a lobbying firm that came under scrutiny for its work in Myanmar and its ties to the John McCain campaign. They're known for "Astroturf" organizing as well as robo-calls.
Also, Larson's wife has worked for Coleman:
Larson will get no argument on that score from his wife, Dorene Kainz, who went to work for the senator in September 2005 handling requests from Coleman's constituents in his St. Paul office. Senate records show that she has been paid $101,218 through March 31.
FLS and DCI are connected to an under-the-radar 501(c)(4) operations called "Iowa Future Fund", "Iowa Progress Fund" and "American Future Fund" which seem to overwhelmingly support Coleman's re-election.
Using 501c's to advocate for an individual candidate is, of course, illegal.
Mrs. Panstreppon has done much research on both of these groups.
As for the DC townhouse, well, Mr. Larson is claiming a DC Homestead credit but lists his mailing address as Wisconsin. If Mr. Larson does not live in this house (or if he or his wife are not registered DC voters) then he's breaking the law.
June 27, 2008 12:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's how realtor Phyllis Jane Young described the property in her listing:
June 27, 2008 12:34 PM | Reply | Permalink
Ironically, the previous owner of that house was Rev. Brenda Peterson.
Rev. Peterson was a DNC religious outreach coordinator who had to resign as a 2004 Kerry Campaign consultant following manufactured outrage about her support for a Supreme Court case that propsed to remove "under God" from the Pledge of Allegiance.
http://washingtontimes.com/news/2004/aug/05/20040805-113248-2858r/
Larson's DCI would have been a perfect group to manufacture such outrage.
And now he's living in her house.
DC really is too small a place!
June 27, 2008 12:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
Here's how Coleman decribed his apartment in Pound's National Journal article:
Here's how Phyllis Young, the realtor that sold the place decribed the apartment:
(In DC-parlance, CofO means that the city has certified the aparement is seperate from the house and has its own amenities and electical meter. Most "apartments" on Capitol Hill do not have this feature - and is MUCH sought after)
SO WHO IS LYING?
June 27, 2008 1:17 PM | Reply | Permalink
Yes . . . But did he pay the state taxes in Minnesota and all states he does not live in on the home?
Oh look . . . yet another Republican Hypocrisy.
June 27, 2008 12:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
Poetic justice, really. Members of US Congress living in the basements of their political consultants/lobbyists. A real Upstairs-Downstairs situation.
June 27, 2008 12:37 PM | Reply | Permalink
Will the honest person Washington please stand up?
I guess eveything's still okay... every one of them just stood up... again!
If things were awry, all these legislators would be writing new laws with enhanced penalties for corrupt lawmakers, wouldn't they?
They are ALL crooks, folks. It doesn't matter if they are republicans or democrats. Honest folks with integrity would be busy writing new laws and letting voters know who is not supporting them.
June 27, 2008 12:48 PM | Reply | Permalink
No, not all are crooks. There are folk there like Bernie Sanders doing good works. There are cowards like Howard Berman continuously hiding from commitment by running with the crowd. There are full-on idiots and wackos like . . . Okay there is a boat-load and a half of idiots and wackos. Don't get me wrong there are a crap-load o' crooks BUT that is our fault.
We can vote. We must vote.
And in some cases, run for office.
June 27, 2008 1:32 PM | Reply | Permalink
Isn't McCain putting a rather heavy emphasis on Minnesota this election? I find it interesting that both in this case and in the case of the Florida "arms dealers" McCain is only a degree or two away from being involved. Granted, these days there are, like, 6 Republicans so they're all tied together somehow. If you line up the whole team they're a rag-tag bunch. The Addingtons and Yoos and Cheneys in management are the usual talk-tough empty suits with one or two good plays. The players are some of the dirtiest in the game, more interested in endorsement deals than actually playing. So I suppose it's no wonder that a polished turd like McCain would arise out of such a group. He's as dirty as the rest of them, only he tries harder than they do to deny it.
June 27, 2008 1:16 PM | Reply | Permalink
Above, I raised the question if Tom Larson was legally receiving the DC Homestead tax credit he is receiving.
In order to get this credit, one has to be the owner-occupyer of the house and be a registered DC voter.
It appears as though Mr. Larson is a tax cheat, because, according to the article, Larson does not occupy that residence:
Karl Rove was found out to be a DC Homestead tax cheat in 2005.
June 27, 2008 1:22 PM | Reply | Permalink
Then again, the article does say:
Who else is Larson "renting" the shared basement apartment to? Apparently someone lives in there with Coleman.
June 27, 2008 1:23 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if there are days where Coleman's roomy comes home and finds a tie on the doorknob?
June 27, 2008 1:42 PM | Reply | Permalink
Time for a FBI investigation?..sure smells like a "bribery" contract
June 27, 2008 1:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
I hear he is selling cheesecake photos of his wife to help pay his July rent on his new website sheisnotgreenscreenedin.com
June 27, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
This has gotta be an illegal lobbyist contribution. If you get a below-market rate, that is a contribution.
He should be reported to the Senate Ethics Office.
Oh, I forgot. The Senate Ethics Office doesn't do ethics.
June 27, 2008 3:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
Thorough article, but the damaging part, apart maybe from failure to pay two months rent until the press found out (I'd say who cares, but given how he goes after Franken on taxes...), is that FLS's subsidiary (is that the right term?) DCI has been working for the Burmese regime. That means Coleman is tied to one of those real-life lobbyists like Duke in Doonesbury.
June 27, 2008 5:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
DCI has also, pretty conclusively, been illegally using/coordinating with 501(c)(4) nonprofits to get Coleman re-elected.
June 27, 2008 5:13 PM | Reply | Permalink
Nail the bastard.
I want to know where my taxpayer money went in Iraq. How's about an investigation, Sen. Coleman?
June 27, 2008 5:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Citoyen: You are a master! Thanks for the great info. I wonder if the MN papers have this info.
June 27, 2008 5:33 PM | Reply | Permalink
Senator Coleman appears to have scored a great deal.
Skimming through Craigslist, I see that most 1 bedrooms in the Capital Hill area run from $900-$1200, though I saw one at $1800.
Most recent listing:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/search/hhh?query=capitol+hill+bedroom&minAsk=min&maxAsk=max&bedrooms=
Here's the $900 deal: 1 bedroom in a 3 bedroom house, occupied by 2 other men:
http://washingtondc.craigslist.org/doc/roo/736093261.html
June 28, 2008 8:28 PM | Reply | Permalink
Recalling MN scandals, it seems that Senator Coleman would have not gotten in this mess if he had paid attention to an earlier situation. Less than two decades ago "In 1990, upon the recommendation of the Committee, the Senate denounced Senator David Durenberger, in part based on his financial arrangements in connection with a condominium in Minneapolis, finding that his conduct was deemed to have `brought discredit upon the United States Senate' by a `pattern of improper conduct,' although the Committee did not find that any law or rule had been violated in connection with the condominium." (Congressional records)
It would seem that an ethics investigation at a time when there is political interest in how Congress investigates and follows up on alleged violations is very likely. Furthermore, it seems that it may well be just what the Republicans do not want in the state where they will be holding their nominating convention.
June 29, 2008 9:13 AM | Reply | Permalink
So Coleman pays Larson and Beeson's firm $1.6M in fees for robo-calling out of his personal re-election PAC. Larson spends the money on a swank Capitol Hill townhouse. Larson rents a basement bedroom to Coleman at a below-market rate (but doesn't even cash the checks unless public interest watchdog groups start snooping around), while the rest of the house is allegedly occupied by Beeson.
Someone should stop by a few times and verify that Beeson, who is now on leave from the RNC and therefore only employed by Minnesota-based FLS, is actually residing there, and that Coleman doesn't his run of the entire house. Because this looks like a poorly-disguised Coleman scam to fund a DC lifestyle with PAC donations.
June 29, 2008 11:52 AM | Reply | Permalink
Is the cheap shot at Hilary Clinton really needed for this article?
June 29, 2008 2:30 PM | Reply | Permalink
So do the laws allow Coleman to receive goods and services (such as a place to live) at below-market rates?
In particular, does he have to count them as campaign contributions?
And if so, has Coleman knowingly accepted an oversized campaign contribution from Larson?
June 29, 2008 3:09 PM | Reply | Permalink
Some have it that way... http://www.enewsreference.wordpress.com
August 14, 2008 1:51 PM | Reply | Permalink