TPM Muckraker

« previous | MUCK HOME | next »

CREW Files Complaint About Sen. Norm Coleman's Cheap Rent

Last week we pointed out what a great deal on rent Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) appears to be getting on his Washington apartment.

A National Journal reporter found that Coleman pays just $600 a month to live in the Capitol Hill townhouse that belongs to his longtime friend and Republican political operative Jeff Larson. And he's missed a couple months rent, too.

Apparently the scenario didn't pass the smell test with the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, who have filed just an ethics complaint.

They want the Senate ethics committee to take a look at the relationship between Coleman and Larson. Larson's firm, FLS Connect, pulled in more than a million dollars from Coleman's campaign committees and leadership PAC since 2001.

And they're also curious about how Larson's wife used to work for Coleman until just recently.


CREW is asking the Senate Ethics Committee to look into whether or not Sen. Coleman is paying fair market value for the apartment, whether Sen. Coleman would have paid the November 2007 and January 2008 rent had National Journal not raised the non-payment as an issue, whether Sen. Coleman and Mr. Larson had agreed that Mr. Larson would not cash the March 2008 rent check, why Sen. Coleman suddenly made up his back rent after National Journal asked questions about it, and why Sen. Coleman's office announced that Ms. Kainz would be leaving the senator's employ after National Journal asked about her role.


FLS 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.



5 Comments

| Leave a comment

Norm Coleman is the Green Goblin.

STOP THIS! Hasn't Franken written something offensive, somewhere sometime? Let's go on and on and on about that!

user-pic

Ethics? Washington?? Ethics Committee???

This must be just another fairy tale...

Too bad it isn't real... Ethics And Washington are on opposite ends of the poles... they stopped working together a long time ago... as did a viable ethics committee... IMHO

user-pic

As I have written before . . . Good on Melaine Sloane and good on CREW.

If he is paying less than fair market rent in a less than arms length transaction, CREW (or someone) should also report it to the IRS- in case Coleman did not declare as income the difference between fair market rent and what he paid- probably at least 25-40 K per year.

The question that needs reviewing re Larson's wife is whether she showed up every day, or was considered a ghost employee. The fact that she was terminated as soon as questions were asked makes it difficult to believe that she had a real job.

Leave a comment

Advertisement
Please disable your adblocker!
Ads are how we pay the bills!

Subscribe
Tip Line

Josh
Marshall

Bio

Zachary
Roth

Bio

Advertise Liberally
Share
Close Social Web Email

"To" Email Address

Your Name

Your Email Address