Rick Santorum

GOPers Gathered Signatures for PA Green Candidate

Paul Kiel | August 5, 2006, 12:06PM

The farce continues. From The Philadelphia Inquirer:

Six staffers on Sen. Rick Santorum's campaign - including an intern who tailed Democratic candidate Bob Casey Jr. in a duck costume - collected voter signatures to help place the Green Party on the fall ballot.

The intern, petitions show, collected signatures from voters in five counties in one day.

T.J. Rooney, the state Democratic Party chairman, and other Democrats disclosed details of the petition drive that they said offered further evidence of involvement from Santorum supporters to get Carl Romanelli, the Green Party's Senate candidate, on the ballot. Not only did Santorum aides help collect signatures for Romanelli, but Republicans and Santorum supporters put more than $60,000 into the petition drive.

It's examples such as the apparent one-person, five-county petition tour - plus unregistered voters, multiple signatures by the same person, and fake names - that could form the basis of a challenge, Rooney said. John Michael Glick - the Santorum intern who has worn a duck costume to hound Casey for "ducking" issues - appeared to have collected signatures in Beaver, Washington, Fayette, Juniata, and Schuylkill Counties, Rooney said.

John Doolittle

Doolittle was Abramoff Island Client's "Hero"

Paul Kiel | August 4, 2006, 12:30PM

Why did a congressman from California adopt the cause of a distant cluster of islands that his constituents most likely had never visited, much less heard of?

Two words: Jack Abramoff.

While Tom DeLay was the Northern Mariana Island's "biggest supporter on Capitol Hill," there is another congressman whose efforts for the islands deserve special mention: Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA). Doolittle, who took tens of thousands of dollars from Abramoff and his clients, was such an ardent advocate for the Marianas that Jack Abramoff referred to him in an email as the islands' "hero."

What did he do to deserve such an honor?

A TPMmuckraker investigation shows that Doolittle stayed in close touch with the island's needs through Abramoff and his team. According to billing records from Abramoff's lobbying firm in 2001, Doolittle met several times each month with members of Team Abramoff to discuss the concerns of the Northern Marianas (CNMI) government, which had been an Abramoff client since 1994*. He signed "Dear Colleague" letters praising the islands; he met a number of times with island officials; and he was responsible for earmarking at least $400,000 in federal funds for the CNMI.

Doolittle's office did not respond to my request for comment on this story.

The California lawmaker's work for the Marianas and Abramoff's other clients won him consistent and substantial support from the now-disgraced superlobbyist. Dating back to 1999, Abramoff, his associates, and their clients contributed at least $140,000 to the lawmaker's campaigns and political action committees.

Perhaps Doolittle's most significant favor for the islands was the $400,000 he secured in 2001, his first year on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. The money funded a study by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on possible "improvements to [the CNMI's] water infrastructure," according to the bill.

Appropriations bills do not list the sponsors of earmarks, but a story in the local paper The Saipan Tribune credited Doolittle with securing the money; and billing records from Abramoff's firm show several meetings between one of Abramoff's lobbyists and both Doolittle and his staff regarding appropriations for the Marianas that year.

"It stinks," said Keith Ashdown of Taxpayers for Common Sense of the earmark, noting that the Corps of Engineers was one of Congress’ biggest pork barrels. "It looks like pay to play."

Read more »

Bernard Kerik

Bush's Would-Be DHS Chief Faces 2nd Probe

Paul Kiel | August 4, 2006, 12:12PM

Woops! Bush's one-time pick for Homeland Security Secretary ("he has demonstrated a deep commitment to justice, a heart for the innocent, and a record of great success") is facing a second investigation.

Bernard Kerik, the former NYC Police Commissioner whose nomination to head DHS imploded in December 2004 over a spate of problems (an illegal-nanny scandal foremost among them), has already pled guilty to accepting illegal gifts from a mobbed-up contractor. He got away with no jail time -- though he did suffer the indignity of the Manhattan Bernard B. Kerik Complex quickly and quietly dropping his name from the jail.

This time, the FBI is looking into how hundreds of thousands of dollars disappeared from a nonprofit affiliated with New York City's Department of Corrections when Kerik headed the agency. Heckuva commitment to justice, Bernie!

Tom DeLay

DeLay Will Appeal Today's Ruling

Paul Kiel | August 3, 2006, 3:55PM

How badly does Tom DeLay want to avoid running again for his seat? He's taking his case all the way to the Supreme Court: a statement just out from the Texas Republican Party says they will appeal today's ruling by the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals.

The full statement is below.

Read more »

Rick Santorum

GOP-Funded Green Candidate: "I Bring Charisma, Depth" to PA Sen Race

Paul Kiel | August 3, 2006, 11:45AM

The Green Party's Senate candidate in Pennsylvania doesn't mind that his candidacy is completely paid for by Republicans. In fact, he says he was the one who approached them for donations.

In an interview yesterday, the Green candidate Carl Romenelli didn't flinch when I noted his campaign was funded entirely by GOP money. "It's quite possible," he said. "We received a lot of money from Republicans." Romanelli made the ballot, you'll remember, due to a voter signature drive funded by $66,000 from 20 conservative donors. The private company he hired was able to roust up over 90,000 signatures despite there being fewer than 20,000 registered Greens in Pennsylvania.

But Romanelli disputed the notion that he was being used by supporters of incumbent Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) in order to draw votes away from their Democratic challenger, Bob Casey. He said it showed that there was "enough mutual respect" between himself and his donors to have "a free and open debate."

"I respect the fact that people on the complete opposite side of an issue could respect my point of view," he told me. As Justin wrote yesterday, that respect came from an unlikely pool of GOP lobbyists and extremely wealthy donors.

Read more »

Claude Allen

Guilty Plea for Claude "Sticky Fingers" Allen

Paul Kiel | August 3, 2006, 12:22AM

Say it ain't so, Claude! Who put him up to it? The evil twin?

Claude Allen, the former Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, is set to plead guilty, McClatchy reports. He'll admit to a single misdemeanor: for "fraudulently stealing items worth less than $500 from a Target store." He'll get no jail time - just $850 in restitution to Target Corp. and one month's probation. That's a pretty sweet deal considering police alleged that he stole over $5,000 from Target and Hecht stores. He faced up to 18 months in jail.

So what's next for Allen? Oh, he'll bounce right back:

Friends of Allen, a well-known conservative who rose from a senator's press aide to one of the top jobs in the White House, said Wednesday that the criminal conviction shouldn't keep him from a future in politics.

"You know, people are more forgiving than you generally expect," said Carter Wrenn of Raleigh, N.C., a friend who was a political strategist for Helms and has known Allen since the early 1980s, when the recent college graduate was a spokesman for Helms' re-election campaign.

For those of you who have forgotten the details of Allen's forgivable crimes, he shoplifted from a Target store, and also repeatedly returned items he'd never bought.

Rick Santorum

GOP Donors Funded Entire PA Green Party Drive

Paul Kiel | August 2, 2006, 4:00PM

OK, we've done it. We've nailed it down: Every single contributor to the Pennsylvania Green Party Senate candidate is actually a conservative -- except for the candidate himself.

The Luzerne County Green Party raised $66,000 in the month of June in order to fund a voter signature drive. The Philly Inquirer reported yesterday that $40,000 came from supporters of Rick Santorum's campaign (or their housemates). Also yesterday, we confirmed that another $15,000 came from GOP donors and conservatives. Only three contributions, totaling $11,000, remained as possible legit donations.

Today, I confirmed that those came from GOP sources.

- The Green Party listed a $1,000 check from a Bill Wickerman of Covington & Burling. There is no such person. However, a Bill Wichterman works there. He's a Republican lobbyist who has also given to Santorum this campaign.

- James Holman, who in the past has supported GOP House candidate Howard Kaloogian, Sen. Sam Brownback (R-KS), and Rep. J.D. Hayworth (R-AZ), was incorrectly listed by the Greens as "James Howmen." He disclosed that he was an editor at the San Diego Reader; a James Holman is the publisher there.

- The Green Party disclosed that a "Franklin Schoneman" of Pottsville, Pa. gave $5,000. A "Franklin Schoeneman" of Pottsville has given $8,000 to Santorum so far this election.

That leaves only one contribution, for $30, as a legitimate donation from a Green Party supporter. That came from the candidate himself, Carl Romanelli. He made it to his own campaign fund, not the local Green Party.

Romanelli's latest FEC report shows his campaign currently has $17.20 on hand.

Rick Santorum

PA Dems Will Challenge GOP-Backed Green Candidacy

Paul Kiel | August 2, 2006, 1:20PM

We reported yesterday that the Green Party candidate in the race for Rick Santorum's seat is almost completely funded by Republicans. The Greens used the Republican money to hire a private company to collect enough signatures.

Today there's news that the Pennsylvania Dems will be challenging the signatures. From the Hotline:

The chairman of the PA Dem party, T.J. Rooney, said today he'll challenge the signatures that Green Party candidate Carl J. Romanelli submitted to join the Senate ballot. A number of those signatures were collected by JSM, Inc.

Rooney: “This is a questionable and controversial firm that has a history of fraudulent activity where many signatures, and candidates in some instances, have been thrown off the ballot in various states. We will ensure that this doesn’t take place in Pennsylvania and that the integrity of the electoral process is safeguarded.”

As the Hotline points out, "the Green Party counts fewer than 20K members in PA; it took 67K signatures to earn a spot, and Romanelli turned in more than 90K."

Rick Santorum

GOP Milks Net Neutrality Issue for Campaign $$

Paul Kiel | August 2, 2006, 12:31PM

Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) big telecom bill has stalled on the matter of "net neutrality" -- it's just too controversial (and technical) to deal with at the height of a heated election season, Roll Call reports today.

But there may be another reason that the Senate's GOP leadership is holding back on the bill, the paper tells us: it's generating a ton of campaign donations to Republicans, especially helpful in tight races. Why decide an issue today, when you can make millions by putting it off?

As it happens, "net neutrality" is a dream issue for Senate fundraisers, as it pits two prodigiously deep-pocketed interests (the telecom giants on one side, the internet giants on the other) against each other. Wishing to influence the outcome, both sides are reportedly writing checks at a furious pace, fueling a "torrent of campaign cash" for the GOP:

Vulnerable lawmakers are loathe to cut off that spigot before they are in the clear.

“Another reason some don’t want it to happen is from the fundraising perspective,” a GOP Senate aide said. “Some in leadership are saying, ‘Let’s not vote until the election.’”

The piece names Sens. Rick Santorum (R-PA), Mike Dewine (R-OH) and Lincoln Chafee (R-RI), all of whom are in tight races, as senators wishing to avoid a controversial vote.

Conrad Burns

Ethics Committee Refuses to Exonerate Burns on Abramoff Dealings

Paul Kiel | August 2, 2006, 10:45AM

Sen. Conrad Burns (R-MT) to Senate Ethics Committee: Tell me I didn't do anything wrong.

Senate Ethics Committee: No, there's an ongoing criminal investigation.

Burns: “That’s a feeble excuse.”

Rick Santorum

Republicans Sponsor Green Candidate in PA Senate Race

Paul Kiel | August 1, 2006, 3:31PM

It's worse than we knew. Is the Green Party candidacy in the race for Rick Santorum's seat a wholly Republican sponsored affair?

As reported today by the AP and the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Green Party managed to get their candidate Carl Romanelli on the ballot with a costly petition drive, which was mostly funded by contributors who had also given to Rick Santorum's campaign. The party raised $66,000 for the effort, all of which they spent on a private company to collect signatures. TPMmuckraker was able to establish that at least $55,000 of that came from conservatives.

Virginia Davis, Santorum's spokeswoman, told the Inquirer that their office had encouraged the contributions. Why? Because a challenge from the left is seen as a liability for the Dem candidate, Bob Casey.

The $66,000 came from twenty donors, in contributions ranging from $1,000 to $5,000. None of the donors have a history of giving to the Green Party.

The Inquirer reported that $40,000 came from donors who either had given to Santorum's campaign or lived at the same address as a Santorum supporter. But even more than that came from Republicans. That raises the question whether any of the $66,000 - which comprises the total sum collected by both the local Green Party and Romanelli (with the exception of his $30 contribution) this election cycle - came from actual supporters of the Green Party.

But there's evidence that even those who didn't also give to Santorum's campaign are Republicans.

Read more »

George Bush

White House Briefing to Become TV within TV

Paul Kiel | August 1, 2006, 12:14PM

The medium is the message. From the Wall Street Journal (subs. req.):

For a decade, the daily White House news briefing has been televised. Now it is becoming television.

Earlier this year, Fox News talk show host Tony Snow was hired as press secretary. Next up: a renovation of the briefing room, likely with a video wall that could display everything from "flags waving in the breeze [to] detailed charts and graphs," according to a senior White House official working on the project. For TV viewers, the video feed could be the sole on-screen image, or could share the space with the speaker.

White House officials say they are weighing how -- and how often -- to use the video capability. But the new technology could help transform White House briefings -- midday exchanges with reporters in a utilitarian setting -- into more interesting viewing. Both the planned video capabilities and Mr. Snow's hiring appear to be part of a subtle but sweeping effort by administration officials to deliver their message directly to the public, particularly through video....

Read more »

Scooter Libby

Libby Lawyers Channel Proust

Paul Kiel | August 1, 2006, 10:38AM

What is memory? What is it to remember?

Those are questions that Scooter Libby's lawyers want jurors to be asking along with "Did Libby lie to the FBI and a federal grand jury?"

Libby's lawyers have long signalled that they want to call a memory expert at his trial in order to explain how he might have misremembered details of certain conversations. "The crux of Libby's defense," the AP writes, "will be that he was too preoccupied with national security "matters of life and death" and that he could have easily confused "snippets of conversations" he had with reporters from Time magazine, NBC and the New York Times." Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald charges (pdf) that he lied about those conversations concerning CIA operative Valerie Plame.

Yesterday, Libby submitted a summary of the expert's testimony. It's a brief treatise on the vagaries of memory... amounting to the conclusion that sometimes people forget or misremember things. We've posted it here in our Document Collection. An example:

At the encoding phase of memory ... events and information are not stored in a literal way, but rather are interpreted and then stored in memory with respect to existing memories, expecations, schemas and goals. During the retention interval ... stored memories do not tend to remain in the as-encoded state, but rather are malleable. Existing memory representations are influenced and modified by subsequent and prior related events and information. Finally, .... retrieved memories are reconstructions, rather than exact reproductions of past events.

Libby's lawyers say jurors need reminding of the unreliability of memory. The judge, who's signalled in the past that he's skeptical of the testimony's relevance, will ultimately rule whether the expert may testify.

Tom DeLay

Judges Indicate They'll Rule against Republicans, DeLay

Paul Kiel | July 31, 2006, 4:28PM

If early accounts are accurate, Tom DeLay's likely to remain a GOP congressional candidate, despite his or his party's best efforts.

DeLay and the GOP have been trying to get courts to allow them to remove his name on the ballot in the race for Texas' 22nd District. But The Houston Chronicle reports the judges at the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals were particularly critical in their questioning today.

The Republicans are trying to get the three judge appeals panel to reverse a federal judge's earlier ruling that Tom DeLay must stay on the ballot. The suit stems from a Democratic complaint that DeLay and the Republicans schemed to circumvent candidacy laws by moving to Virginia.

If DeLay loses this round, he'll either be forced to run again or let the Democrats take the seat without Republican opposition.

A decision is expected sometime within the next couple weeks.

Katherine Harris

Florida GOP to Harris: We Never Loved You

Paul Kiel | July 31, 2006, 3:04PM

The AP reveals today that the Florida Republican Party did all they could back in May to convince Rep. Katherine Harris (R-FL) to drop her bid for the U.S. Senate -- even sent her a letter revoking its support. Harris, of course, was undeterred.

From the AP:

Party Chairman Carole Jean Jordan made a last-ditch attempt in the confidential May 7 letter to force Harris out of the race for the nomination to challenge Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson (news, bio, voting record).....

The letter was also signed by national committeewoman Sharon Day and national committeeman Paul Senft.

"Katherine, though it causes us much anguish, we have determined that your campaign faces irreparable damage," the letter said. "We feel that we have no other choice but to revoke our support."

"The polls tell us that no matter how you run this race, you will not be successful in beating Bill Nelson, who would otherwise be a vulnerable incumbent if forced to face a stronger candidate," it said...."

The state Republican Party confirmed the letter's contents Monday. In a statement, Jordan said she was "disappointed" that the private letter had been made public but added that "our concerns about the race and Congresswoman Harris' campaign still exist."