Billionaire Backer Of Right-Wing Causes Is Down On His Luck

Zachary Roth | November 6, 2008, 3:42PM

The casino company Las Vegas Sands, which is owned by right-wing billionaire Sheldon Adelson, has said it may default on debt and face bankruptcy, reports Bloomberg. In trading today, stocks in the company plunged.

The news wire adds:

Today's admission comes after Adelson, who holds a stake of more than 64 percent, invested an additional $475 million in September to avoid violating the terms of a loan, and hired an unidentified investment bank to raise more capital with his help.

But as recently as July, Adelson, who is said to still have considerable resources, had assured reporters on a conference call the company will not have liquidity problems."

Adelson, a Bush pioneer, last year worked with ex-Bush-administration officials to found the group Freedom's Watch, which advocates an open-ended commitment to the war in Iraq. As The New Yorker recently reported, he's fiercely opposed to a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue, and is a close ally of hawkish Israeli politician and ex-PM Benjamin Netanyahu. He has been a major contributor to AIPAC, and over the years has funded numerous congressional trips to Israel.

And in May, the Boston Globe reported (via Nexis) that Adelson has "waged some bitter anti-union battles in Las Vegas."

ACORN

Ohio and Minn. Sec Of States: No Reports Of Voter Fraud

Zachary Roth | November 6, 2008, 2:39PM

Since we're rounding up the evidence (or lack thereof) of voter fraud taking place yesterday, it's worth also noting what the top election officials in Ohio and Minnesota told us on Tuesday night.

Ohio secretary of state Jennifer Brunner, a Democrat, said in a statement released toTPMmuckraker the night of the election: "We have received no reports of election irregularities in Ohio today - and we have been on the lookout for any hint of illegal voting or voter suppression."

And her counterpart in Minnesota, Mark Ritchie, also a Democrat, told TPMmuckraker in an interview that his office had received no reports of voter fraud.

In both states, Republicans or their allies had raised concerns about the possibility for fraud. Brunner had reportedly received death threats after she fought a GOP lawsuit aimed at cracking down on voter fraud. The Supreme Court sided with Brunner.

Barack Obama

Clinton Vet Tapped To Run DOJ Transition

Zachary Roth | November 6, 2008, 1:04PM

David Ogden, who during the Clinton administration led DOJ's civil division and also served as chief of staff to Janet Reno, is leading the transition team for the department, reports the Washington Post. Ogden is currently a partner at the WilmerHale law firm.

And the paper adds that "Democrats and interest groups have been developing "to do" lists for Justice, which had deemphasized antitrust, civil rights and environmental enforcement work under President Bush."

Ogden's deputy on the transition will be Thomas Perelli, who, according to the Post, "supervised the government team suing cigarette makers and oversaw the Justice unit that defends federal agencies in complex legal disputes."

We'll be watching closely to see what direction the department moves in under the new administration. But initial signs suggest the grownups may be back in charge.

voter fraud

PA: No Voter Fraud Issues, Despite GOP Suit

Zachary Roth | November 6, 2008, 11:53AM

In Pennsylvania, where the state Republican party had filed a grab-bag of a lawsuit related to concerns over the integrity of the vote, there were no such problems yesterday.

Voting did not always go smoothly, reports the Associated Press. Fox News showed footage of a man in Black Panther attire holding a nightstick at the doorway of a polling place. There were long lines at many other locations. And according to voting rights groups, some voters whose names were missing from registration books were sent away without being given provisional ballots, as required.

But none of these problems related to voter fraud. That issue had been the major underlying concern of a lawsuit filed late last month by the GOP. It sought, among other things, to force ACORN air public-service announcements reminding first-time voters that they must bring identification to the polls, and to compel the state to provide more provisional ballots.

A judge rejected the suit.

voter fraud

NV: GOP Voting Fears Unfounded

Zachary Roth | November 6, 2008, 11:36AM

In Nevada, where the state GOP had raised concerns about possible voter fraud if election officials didn't take a more restrictive approach to voting -- and where authorities had raided an ACORN office -- everything seems to have gone smoothly.

Robert Walsh, a spokesman for Secretary of State Ross Miller, told the Associated Press: "We've been preparing for virtually every possibility we could imagine. But to this point, none of those scenarios have come to pass.

Walsh added that no formal complaints were filed with the state's election office. And the AP confirms that state and federal court officials reported no election-related lawsuits.

Late last month, the chair of the state Republican party wrote to Miller, a Democrat, arguing that voters who had to correct discrepancies in their voter registration at the polls should be forced to cast provisional ballots.

Miller quickly responded with an interpretation of state law that rejected the GOP argument.

And earlier last month, state authorities raided the Las Vegas office of ACORN, as part of an investigation into voter registration fraud.

Voting

IN: Despite GOP Warnings of Voter Fraud, "It Was a Good Clean Election."

Zachary Roth | November 6, 2008, 10:58AM

In Indiana, Republican fears of voter fraud appear to have been unfounded.

Before the election, GOP secretary of state Todd Rokita, a fast-emerging TPMmuckraker favorite, had called on law enforcement authorities to investigate ACORN, claiming he had found evidence of widespread registration fraud perpetrated by the group.

And the Lake County Republican party had filed suit, unsuccessfully, to shut down early voting "satellite" centers in three Democratic cities in the northern part of the county. The GOP argued, among other things, that allowing early voting at the satellite centers, rather than limiting it to the county seat, which is in a more Republican area of the county -- could increase the chances of fraud.

But yesterday, the man who led the Republicans' legal effort in Lake County, party chair John Curley, told the Chicago Tribune: "The election is over and it was a good clean election."

Curley even added, according to the paper, that early voting "might be the wave of the future."

The final margin of victory for Obama in Indiana was just 22,986 votes -- close enough that Republicans might have been expected to raise concerns over fraud if such evidence had existed.

James Tobin

Tobin Pleads Not Guilty To Lying In Connection With Phone-Jamming Scheme

Zachary Roth | November 6, 2008, 9:07AM

James Tobin, the former GOP official accused of participating in a plot to jam Democratic phone lines in New Hampshire on Election Day 2002, appeared in court yesterday and pleaded not guilty to new charges related to the episode.

Tobin was earlier convicted of telephone harassment in connection with the scheme, but the conviction was overturned last year, and this year he was acquitted. He never served jail time. Prosecutors had appealed, but recently filed new charges, alleging Tobin lied to FBI investigators during questioning about the plot.

The case is being heard in federal court in Portland, Maine, Tobin's home state.

Two other people -- the head of the New Hampshire GOP and a Republican consultant -- have served jail time for their roles in the phone jamming.

Phone records released in the case show that Tobin, at the time a New-England-based staffer for the National Republican Senatorial Committee, made two dozen calls to the office of then-White House political director Ken Mehlman within a three-day period around Election Day 2002. Mehlman has said none of the calls involved the phone-jamming incident.

But the Republican National Committee has admitted to paying Tobin's legal bills during that case, totaling nearly $3 million.

Department of Homeland Security

Myers Stepping Down As ICE Chief

Zachary Roth | November 5, 2008, 5:07PM

The Department of Homeland Security has announced that TPMmuckraker favorite Julie Myers will step down as head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), effective November 15th.

Myers, the niece of former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Richard Myers, had little experience in homeland security issues when she joined DHS, but was known for her loyalty to the White House. Her husband, John Wood, has served as chief of staff to DHS Secretary Michael Chertoff.

ICE has been in the spotlight during her tenure -- and not for the right reasons.

First, there's this from earlier this year:

Last Halloween, at a fundraising event for charitable organizations held at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Headquarters Building, they held a costume contest. And the winner was a white lawyer dressed in dreadlocks and prison stripes.

When it came time to present himself to the judges, among them Julie Myers, the chief of ICE, he said "I'm a Jamaican detainee from Krome -- obviously, I've escaped." Krome is an ICE Detention facility in Miami that is mostly filled with Jamaican, Haitian and Latin American detainees. The judges, Myers among them, laughed, according to a report (pdf) issued yesterday by the House Committee on Homeland Security.

(Click through to see the picture of Myers and the contest winner -- it's worth it!)

Then last week, on the eve of the election, law enforcement sources leaked to the Associated Press the news that Barack Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango, had been denied a request for asylum four years ago. The leak, which is being looked into by internal investigators at ICE, appears to have violated government regulations, and, as TPMmuckraker reported Monday, may increase the chances that Onyango could be persecuted if she's deported.

In a statement announcing Myers' departure, Chertoff said that Myers approached him about stepping down in mid September.

ACORN

Minnesota Sec of State: No Reports Of Voter Fraud

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 8:45PM

Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie says that his office received no reports whatsoever of fraudulent voting occurring today.

Ritchie, a Democrat, told TPMmuckraker that one young man did attempt to sell his vote on eBay(!), but he was quickly apprehended and charged with a felony. No one voted fraudulently in his name.

Minnesota Majority, a conservative group, had raised concerns about voter fraud in recent weeks.

Earlier tonight, we posted a statement from Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner, saying she also had received no reports of illegal voting in her state.

Ritchie said his office would conduct a review of the state database in the coming weeks, and that it was possible that they would find a very few cases of ineligible voters casting ballots.

But he stressed that, in his experience, genuine voter fraud "does not happen."

He added: "The specter of this is raised as a political strategy," by losing candidates, to explain their losses. Ritchie called the strategy "despicable."

Jennifer Brunner

Ohio Sec of State: No Reports Of Illegal Voting

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 8:24PM

A statement from Jennifer Brunner, the Ohio Secretary of State:

"We have received no reports of election irregularities in Ohio today - and we have been on the lookout for any hint of illegal voting or voter suppression.

Republicans in the state had raised fears of voter fraud after the Supreme Court rejected their lawsuit against Brunner, over discrepancies in some voters' registration information.

Voting

Security Assigned To Ohio Dem Sec of State

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 7:05PM

Security has been assigned to Ohio's Democratic secretary of state Jennifer Brunner, reports the Toledo Blade.

Brunner was sued by the state Republican party over a dispute about discrepancies in the registration information of newly registered voters. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in favor of Brunner last month.

Brunner has reported receiving death threats after the ruling, and her office was the target of a security breach.

Voting

RNC Ready To Sue Over Computerized Voter Fraud?

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 6:36PM

Is the GOP now laying the groundwork for claims of computerized voter fraud?

The computer forensics company Forensicon just sent out the following press release:

Republican National Committee Prepares for Computerized Voting Fraud Legal Battle

CHICAGO, IL--(Marketwire - November 4, 2008) - Forensicon, Inc., a Chicago-based computer forensics company, was contacted last Thursday by a security firm lining up vendors to assist the Republican National Committee with consulting related to potential allegations of computerized voter fraud. It has been widely reported that electronic voting machines in many states are vulnerable to hacking by anyone with the right equipment and a few minutes' access to the voting machine.

Yesterday, noted Chicago resident Oprah Winfrey attempted to cast her vote for her candidate, but the vote failed to register correctly.

It has been widely reported that electronic voting machines in many states are vulnerable to hacking by anyone with the right equipment and a few minutes' access to the voting machine with a handheld computing device. The lack of printed voting receipts in many of these systems leaves the election ballots in many areas vulnerable to rampant fraud and abuse.

"If the election returns vary significantly from the polled numbers in any precincts that proves crucial to the election outcome, I expect that a legal struggle over the validity of the election results will ensue," said Forensicon's President, Lee Neubecker.

Voting

Bogus Texts Tell Florida Students They Can Vote Tomorrow

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 4:50PM

Students at the University of Florida have received text messages falsely informing them that voting has been extended until tomorrow.

Steve Orlando, a spokesman for the university, told TPMmuckraker that the administration had heard from several students who reported having received the bogus texts. He said he then was contacted by the office of the county elections supervisor, who told him that they were aware of the messages, and asked the university to make clear to students that the messages were bogus. The administration quickly did so in an email.

Orlando said he couldn't imagine that too many students were fooled by the texts. Still, he added: "If even one student didn't know [that the message was false], that would be a terrible thing for them to miss the opportunity to vote for the first time"

Earlier today, we reported that a bogus email was sent from the account of the provost of George Mason University in Virginia, informing recipients that election day is tomorrow. Authorities are said to be investigating the source of the email.

ACORN

No Restraining Order For Rogers -- Voter Intimidation Suit Continues

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 3:27PM

A judge declined today to grant a temporary restraining order against Pat Rogers, the New Mexico GOP lawyer who is being sued by MALDEF for alleged voter intimidation.

Nina Perales, a lawyer for MALDEF, told TPMmuckraker that despite the judge's decision, her organization believed it had achieved its goals, because Al Romero -- the private investigator hired by Rogers -- testified under oath that he would not go back to the home of one of the plaintiffs, Dora Escobedo, to question her about voting.

Romero's visits to Escobedo and another Hispanic woman in Albuquerque -- during which he questioned them about their right to vote -- triggered the lawsuit.

The visits were reported last month by TPMmuckraker and others.

Perales said MALDEF's lawsuit against Rogers and Romero continues, and will move to the discovery phase.

Voting

Virginia Looking Like Ground Zero For Voting Problems

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 3:03PM

Virginia, perhaps this year's most crucial swing state, is also shaping up as the center for voting problems.

For weeks, voting-rights groups have been warning that the state -- which does not allow early voting -- has not adequately prepared for the huge turnout it was likely to see on election day. Last week, the NAACP filed suit, trying to require the state to extend voting hours and provide more voting machines in heavily-populated African-American areas. But the board of elections insisted it was following the law, and the effort failed.

And so, predictably, we've already seen a slew of problems in the state today.

The Nation reports:

As of 10:30 am ET, more than two dozen polling places across the state were reported to be close to a standstill because of machine failures, lack of back-up paper ballots and other problems. Dozens of other locations were experiencing abnormal delays and long lines, raising serious questions about the ability of Virginia voters to exercise their democratic rights before the scheduled close of voting at 7 pm.

Many of these problems were concentrated in key Democratic areas of the state, including the DC suburbs and the African-American heavy Hampton Roads area.

The Nation's report adds more detail:

Some polling locations did not open on time. In others, electronic or optical-scan voting machines failed to function properly. Precincts either did not have back-up paper ballots available, or else chose to regard them as provisional ballots--something they should not do, according to election lawyers. In Richmond, where it was raining, some voters accidentally got their ballots wet, causing the optical-scan readers processing the votes to jam.

Virginia's governor, Tim Kaine, is a Democrat, and the head of the Board of Elections, Nancy Rodrigues, is a Kaine appointee.

John Greenbaum of Election Protection told the magazine: "The problems are so widespread, it's going to take action on part of state election officials to deal with problems they are facing today. If they don't, we might potentially have to seek other recourse."

voter fraud

Fox Desperately Stokes Fears of Flawed Election

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 2:22PM

Check out FoxNews.com's frantic effort to lay the groundwork for the claim that Obama's expected win is illegitimate, the product of a chaotic and fraud-prone election system and voter intimidation carried out by violent African-Americans.

At one polling site in Vermont, voters could maybe even look over and see each other's ballots! The election is ruined!

Not to pooh-pooh the importance of a secret ballot, but this is really grasping at straws.

In a way, you can't blame Fox. In stoking fears of an illegitimate election, it's only following John McCain's lead.

Voting

Call Tells Californian To Vote November 5th

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 12:43PM

Dan Daugherty, a reader in Pasadena, California, reports that he received a call on his answering machine teling him to vote November 5th.

Daugherty provided TPMmuckraker with an audio recording of the call, which you can listen to here:

Click To Play

Here's a transcript:

...is a message for (um) all people (um) in Pasadena. The (um) place for (uh) people in Pasadena is for you to vote at Jackie Robinson on Wednesday the 5th, November 5th. The (uh) ballot can be delivered on November 5th at Jackie Robinson.

Election day, of course, is today, November 4th.

California is not a presidential swing state and has no competitive statewide races, though it does have a controversial initiative -- Proposition 8, which aims to outlaw gay marriage -- on the ballot.

Pasadena is a liberal-leaning city, adjacent to Los Angeles.

Voting

EDITED: Calls Give Wrong Polling Location To Virginia Voter

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 11:25AM

NOTE: This post has been significantly edited since posting.

A TPM reader in Northern Virginia reports getting three different calls directing her to the same incorrect polling location, with the callers claiming to be volunteers from the Obama campaign.

Rebecca Kingery of Arlington, Virginia, a heavily Democratic area, told TPMmuckraker that all three calls directed her to a housing complex in Arlington which is not close to where she votes.

Kingery, a graphic designer who was recently laid off, answered two of the calls. The caller ID for one said "Master Replica," and listed a 925 area code, which is in the Bay Area. For the other, the caller ID said "Olude Novosiore" and had a 408 area code, which is in central California and San Jose.

Kingery said she wasn't confused about her voting location. She added that when she responded to one of the callers that she was being given incorrect information, the caller insisted that the information was correct.

Calls by TPMuckraker to the numbers that Kingery provided were not immediately returned.

After speaking to TPMmuckraker, Kingery went to cast her ballot -- at the correct location.

Late Update: TPMmuckraker has heard back from people at both of the numbers that Kingery reported seeing on her caller I.D. Both people said they were volunteers for the Obama campaign -- one in Oakland, and another in Walnut Creek, Calif. -- and that they were calling as part of a phone-bank to give legitimate voting information. One woman, Dina Bohacek, said that she gave Kingery a phone number at which she could verify her polling location.

So this appears not to have been an effort to mislead voters about their polling place.

voter fraud

Hoax Email Tells Virginia Students To Vote Tomorrow

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 10:23AM

Hackers broke into the email account of the George Mason University provost in Virginia, early this morning and sent out the following email:

Subject: Election Day Update To the Mason Community:

Please note that election day has been moved to November 5th. We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause you.

Peter N. Stearns
Provost

According to Dan Walsh, a spokesman for the university, the hoax message went to the entire student body -- more than 30,000 students -- and about 5000 faculty and staff.

Stearns himself quickly sent out a followup message assuring recipients that it was a hoax, which was being investigated.

Walsh said the university had contacted campus police, who are working with outside law enforcement to look into the hoax.

ACORN

No Ruling Yet On Restraining Order For Rogers

Zachary Roth | November 4, 2008, 8:47AM

The court hearing the lawsuit filed by MALDEF against New Mexico GOP lawyer Pat Rogers did not rule yesterday on the plaintiffs' request for a restraining order to be placed on Rogers, reports the Albuquerque Journal.

The plaintiffs, two Hispanic voters in Albuquerque, want Rogers and Al Romero, the private investigator and ex-FBI agent hired by Rogers, prohibited from intimidating the plaintiffs or challenging their ballots.

The judge, William P. Johnson, questioned lawyers for the plaintiffs skeptically, reports the paper, but said the hearing will continue this morning.

Rogers' attorneys argued that Rogers had hired Romero not because he wanted to intimidate voters, but because he wanted to investigate ACORN for a possible lawsuit. ACORN had registered the plaintiffs to vote. Romero's visits to one of the plaintiffs, Dora Escobedo, and to another voter, were reported last month by TPMmuckraker and the New Mexico Independent.

But Escobedo told the court that Romero came to her home and intimidated her about her right to vote, adding that he "not only threatened me, but he made fun of me."

Romero's lawyer said Romero didn't threaten Escobedo, and that he had good reason to visit her because her voter registration form contained discrepancies.

After the hearing, Rogers told reporters: "This (lawsuit) is clearly a strategy to distract Republican lawyers from the duty at hand, which is getting out the vote."

John McCain

Election Expert: McCain's VA Suit On Military Ballots May Be Barred

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 8:58PM

Earlier tonight we told you about a lawsuit filed by the McCain campaign that seeks to ensure that military ballots not received until after the election are counted in Virginia. Election law expert Rick Hasen writes on his blog that he's now had a chance to look more closely at the suit, and here's his take:

I think there's a strong argument that because of the long delay the suit could well be barred by laches.

More fundamentally, the suit under UOCAVA may be barred for the same reason the Ohio mismatch case failed at the Supreme Court-- there's no private right of action: 42 USC Sec. 1973ff-4 Enforcement: The Attorney General may bring a civil action in an appropriate district court for such declaratory or injunctive relief as may be necessary to carry out this subchapter." The McCain campaign likely doesn't have standing to bring this suit; only DOJ does (and don't count them out!).

So it's by no means clear that the suit will even be heard on its merits. But we're likely to hear more on this...

Alaska

Report: Palin Not Responsible For Todd's Acting Out

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 8:19PM

The key finding of the new Trooper-Gate report is that the earlier report, conducted by the state legislature, erred in finding that Sarah Palin broke state ethics laws by pressuring subordinates to fire Mike Wooten.

The new report finds that:

The Branchflower Report ... states that violation of the scope of code provision may be based on the governor's inaction as opposed to the governor's affirmative acts.

...

But ... the Ethics Act does not require a person subject to its provisions to police the behavior of third parties who are not subject to its provisions. To find that the Governor violated the Ethics Act by failing to control her husband's behavior would require one to add language to the Ethics Act that does not exist.

In other words, Sarah Palin can't be held legally responsible for Todd Palin's actions.

It bears repeating: this was a report that Palin herself initiated, so, despite some other breathless reporting in the press, it's no surprise that it exonerates her. The only independent report into the matter found that she broke state ethics laws.

Alaska

Trooper-Gate Report Initiated By Palin Clears Her Of Wrong-Doing

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 7:45PM

The Alaska State Personnel Board's Trooper-Gate report has been released, and it clears Sarah Palin of any wrong-doing.

CNN reports:

"There is no probable cause to believe that the governor, or any other state official, violated the Alaska Executive Ethics Act in connection with these matters," Timothy Petumenos, the Anchorage lawyer hired to conduct the probe, wrote in his final report.

Of course, this was an investigation that Palin herself initiated, by filing an ethics complaint against herself. The three members of the Personnel Board are appointed by Palin, and she cooperated with the investigation.

By contrast, the only independent investigation into the matter -- which was conducted by the state legislature and with which Palin did not cooperate -- found that Palin had violated state ethics laws by pressuring subordinates to fire Mike Wooten, a trooper with whom she was embroiled in a family dispute.

The report's "Summary of Public Findings and Recommendations" follows after the jump...

Read more »

Alaska

AP: Second Trooper-Gate Report To Be Released Tonight

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 6:43PM

The Alaska State Personnel Board will release its report into Trooper-Gate tonight, reports the Associated Press.

From the AP:

Timothy Petumenos, an independent investigator hired by the Alaska Personnel Board, says he will release the report during a news conference 7:30 p.m. EST Monday.

A separate legislative panel earlier found that Palin, the Republican vice presidential nominee, abused her office by allowing her husband and other staffers to pressure the public safety commissioner to fire a state trooper who went through a nasty divorce from Palin's sister. She fired the commissioner, but denies it had anything to do with the trooper.

Voting

McCain Camp Sues Virginia Over Military Ballots

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 5:55PM

Here's a possible last-minute effort by the McCain camp to throw a wrench into the vote counting in a key swing state.

The Associated Press reports:

John McCain's campaign sued Virginia's electoral board today, hours before the election, seeking to force the state to count late-arriving overseas military ballots.

The lawsuit asks a federal judge to order the State Board of Elections to count any overseas absentee ballots sent by November 4 and received by local election officials as late as November 14.

McCain claims the rights of military voters are protected by the federal Uniform and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Rights Act of 1986.

The campaign's complaint says that Virginia military voters posted overseas who support the Republican nominee will be denied their right to vote unless the court grants the order.

The report adds that no hearing was scheduled by this afternoon.

Under normal procedures, military ballots would likely only be counted if their number exceeded the total margin of victory of one candidate, meaning they could affect the result. So the suit may be designed to ensure that Virginia can't be officially called for Obama early in the evening, which could depress Republican turnout in other parts of the country.

Late Update: Rick Hasen, an election law expert at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, tells TPMmuckraker that the suit is likely an effort to ensure that military ballots that arrived after election day -- which will likely favor McCain -- will be counted. That was an issue during the Florida recount of 2000, in which the courts ultimately ruled that such ballots could be counted. (Hasen cautioned that he hadn't yet had a chance to look closely at the suit.)

And on his blog, he asks a good question: "Why did this suit have to wait until the eve of the election?"

ACORN

More Use Of P.I.s By GOP In New Mexico?

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 5:00PM

Is the Republican National Committee, too, turning to private investigators to help make it harder to vote in New Mexico?

David O'Niell, a P.I in the state, has told the New Mexico Independent that he was contacted by Todd Stefan of SETEC investigations, who told O'Niell he was recruiting P.I.s to advise poll challengers on election day, and was working on behalf of the Republican National Committee.

Stefan declined to confirm to the Independent that he was working for the RNC, but said: "I was told to see if there were some individuals, people with investigative experience, IT [information technology] experience... to advise attorneys and make sure that everything goes smoothly."

Voting- and civil-rights groups last week filed suit against the New Mexico GOP and Pat Rogers, a lawyer associated with the party, after the Independent and TPMmuckraker reported that Rogers had hired a private investigator who questioned several Hispanics in Albuquerque about their right to vote.

No evidence has yet emerged tying the national GOP to that alleged scheme.

In Wisconsin, the Republican Attorney General has called for law enforcement agents to serve as poll-watchers.

ACORN

Restraining Order For NM GOP Lawyer?

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 2:36PM

A hearing is scheduled for this afternoon in the suit filed last week by MALDEF against New Mexico GOP lawyer Pat Rogers. The suit, triggered by reporting from TPMmuckraker and others, alleges that Rogers hired a private investigator, Al Romero, to intimidate Hispanics in Albuquerque about their right to vote. Romero is also named as a defendant.

MALDEF, which is bringing the suit on behalf of two of the voters in question, wants an injunction blocking Rogers from conducting further alleged intimidation of the plaintiffs, and from challenging the plaintiffs' right to vote.

The hearing will occur at 3pm EST today, before U.S. District Court Judge Martha Vázquez in Albuquerque. We'll keep you posted on what happens.

Department of Homeland Security

Experts: Leak On Obama's Aunt Could Make Persecution More Likely

Zachary Roth | November 3, 2008, 11:51AM

It looks like last week's leak of information about the immigration status of Barack Obama's aunt might be even more despicable than we'd thought.

The Associated Press reported Saturday morning that an application for asylum made by Obama's aunt, Zeituni Onyango, was rejected four years ago by an immigration judge. It sourced the information to a federal law enforcement official, and another source in a position to know.

We added later that day that the leak -- which is now being probed by government investigators -- appears to clearly violate government regulations, as laid out in a memo written by a US Customs and Immigration Services official.

But the memo also contains one important reason why there's such a strong prohibition against disclosing asylum applications. It reads:

These regulations safeguard information that, if disclosed publicly, could subject the claimant to retaliatory measures by government authorities or non-state actors in the event that the claimant is repatriated, or endanger the security of the claimant's family members who may still be residing in the country of origin. Moreover, public disclosure might, albeit in rare circumstances, give rise to a plausible protection claim where one would not otherwise exist by bringing an otherwise ineligible claimant to the attention of the government authority or non-state actor against which the claimant has made allegations of mistreatment.

In other words, the leak could well increase the chances that Onyango could be persecuted -- maybe even tortured -- for seeking asylum in the U.S. if she is ultimately deported to Kenya. Or that her family members could be similarly mistreated, whether or not she's deported. And thanks to that very danger, the leak could even bolster Onyango's asylum claim.

Immigration experts confirmed to TPMmuckraker that this reading was accurate.

Matthew Hoppock, an immigration lawyer in Kansas City who focuses on asylum cases, noted the regulations in an email to TPMmuckraker, and argued that the leak has "made it more likely that if Ms. Onyango is removed to her home country, she will face persecution for having sought asylum in the United States."

Dan Kowalski, an immigration law expert and the editor of the the online newsletter, Bender's Immigration Bulletin, agreed. In an email to TPMmuckraker, he added that the leak is sufficiently serious that, because of it, Onyango now "has a good shot at reopening her case."

We'll keep you posted on the progress of the investigation into the source of the leak.

Norm Coleman

Key Player Not Denying Allegations Against Coleman

Zachary Roth | November 2, 2008, 3:27PM

In the last few days, Norm Coleman, who's in a desperate fight to hold onto his U.S.
Senate in Minnesota, has had to answer questions about appearing in a suit filed against one of his supporters, a politically connected multimillionaire named Nasser Kazeminy.

Paul McKim alleges in the suit that last year Kazeminy used Deep Marine Technologies to funnel $75,000 to Coleman, a Republican, through the Hays Companies, an insurance brokerage that employs Coleman's wife, Laurie. McKim was formerly the CEO of Deep Marine, which Kazeminy owns.

The suit claims that Deep Marine last year sent money to Hays in three $25,000 installments. These payments, it alleges, were a way for Kazeminy to get money to Coleman, rather than payments for legitimate insurance services provided by Hays.

Of course, these are only allegations -- one reason we've been wary of rushing to judgment here. But it's worth noting that Hay's owner, Jim Hays, doesn't seem to be strongly denying the charges that his firm was involved in the alleged scheme.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday:

Jim Hays, owner of the Hays Companies, could not be reached for comment. His attorney, Dan Walseth, said Hays Companies has "a fee arrangement with them [Deep Marine] ... to provide insurance advice with them. I don't want to go any further than that.

And later, the company issued a statement saying that it provides risk management consultation to Deep Marine Technology, and adding, "We stand by our reputation as leaders in our industry and will not engage in empty speculation that is clearly meant to interfere with the election."

If Hays really had performed legitimate services for Deep Marine, you'd expect its owner to simply declare that on the record.

Coleman, too, has yet to offer a detailed denial. At a press conference held Friday to address the issue, Coleman called the allegations "absolutely false" and "defamatory." But the centerpiece of his remarks was a counterclaim that the Al Franken campaign had conspired with the Star Tribune to embarrass Coleman by exposing the contents of the lawsuit.

And Kazeminy has not publicly commented on the allegations.

Coleman and Kazeminy have had a close working relationship. The Star Tribune reports that in 2005, Kazeminy had provided $2,870 in flights for the Colemans, according to Senate disclosure forms.

And as we noted at the time, last month Harpers reported:

I've been told by two sources that [local businessman and political contributor Nasser] Kazeminy has in the past covered the bills for Coleman's lavish clothing purchases at Nieman Marcus in Minneapolis. The sources were not certain of the dates of the purchases; if they were made before Coleman joined the Senate in 2003, he obviously would not be required to report it under senate rules. But having a private businessman pay for your clothing is never a good idea if you're a public official (Coleman was mayor of St. Paul from 1994 to 2002).

In response, Coleman did not directly address the charge, saying that no one other than he or his wife had bought his suits, and adding: "If my friends have shared gifts with me and my family - or I have shared gifts with them - if they rose to the level of having to be reported - they were reported."

So in the absence of exculpatory evidence -- or even a clear and detailed denial of the charges form the principals in the case -- it looks like the claims will continue to dog Coleman, until election day and beyond.

Late Update: The Hays Companies also released the following statement Friday, which again does not directly deny the charges at the center of Coleman's role in the lawsuit -- that Hays acted as a pass-through for Kazeminy to funnel money to Coleman:

Minneapolis -- We believe the allegations in the lawsuit referenced in a story in today's Star Tribune newspaper -- a lawsuit to which we are not a party -- are libelous and defamatory, and we intend to protect our name and our reputation vigorously with whatever means necessary.

The allegations that we are not licensed to perform services in Texas are simply false, as are other allegations contained in this disreputable lawsuit that refers to Hays Companies.

Laurie Coleman, who is fully and legally licensed to sell insurance in Minnesota, has been an Independent Contractor for Hays Companies since 2006.

We are pleased with her work, and we find any allegations that she accepted money for work she was not responsible for to be outrageous and contemptible.

Laurie Coleman receives no compensation related to the services we provide for our client Deep Marine Technology.

In the first half of 2007, we were retained to provide our risk management consulting services, and that work continues at this time.

ACORN

McCain Camp Can't Give Example Of Registration Fraud Leading To Voter Fraud

Zachary Roth | November 2, 2008, 11:33AM

A member of John McCain's "Honest and Open Election Committee" has admitted that he can't give a single example of voter registration fraud leading to actual voter fraud.

In an interview with Pro Publica, which was also published on Politico.com, Ronald Michaelson, a veteran elections administrator, acknowledged:

"Do we have a documented instance of voting fraud that resulted from a phony registration form? No, I can't cite one, chapter and verse."

The Honest and Open Election Committee was set up by the McCain camp to provide a veneer of expertise and non-partisanship to the campaign's efforts to stoke fears about voter fraud. In a September conference call, one of the committee chair's, ex-Missouri senator John Danforth, highlighted reports of faulty registration forms in Michigan, Colorado, and other states, and tried to link ACORN to Barack Obama.

Michaelson also admitted, in Pro Publica's words, that "an election-rigging scheme starting with phony application forms would not make much sense." But he argued that the mere perception of fraud can do damage to the integrity of the election.

Of course, the McCain campaign and other Republicans have been the foremost creators of that perception. Earlier this month in a presidential debate, McCain warned darkly that ACORN -- the community organizing group that Republicans have tried to turn into a voter-fraud boogeyman -- "is now on the verge of maybe perpetrating one of the greatest frauds in voter history in this country, maybe destroying the fabric of democracy."

Pro Publica adds that a McCain campaign spokesman couldn't do much better than Michaelson:

Asked for specifics about the dangers of fake registration, Ben Porritt, a spokesman for the McCain campaign, provided links to 13 news clips and a 2003 Missouri state auditor's report. Eleven of the cases did not involve registration fraud. Two recounted how felons appeared to have cast illegal votes under their own names. The lone example of a forged registration leading to an illegitimate vote comes from The Wall Street Journal's John Fund, who in April 2006 wrote that a community organizer had improperly registered a noncitizen, and then "someone eventually voted in [the noncitizen's] name."