A photo of Norm Coleman, after his "indignation" rant where he was pointing his finger and blaming others instead of defusing, if possible, the allegation he took a bribe. And not a lump sum bribe, but one in installments, over time, presumably to assure he'd stay bought.
And in thinking whether it was a bribe or merely a "questionable gift" remember Coleman pushed for outer continental shelf drilling [deepwater work of the kind the Kazeminy firm specializes] while opposing drilling in ANWR [where there'd be no need for or profits for the operation Kazeminy runs out of Houston, TX].
The evidence is circumstantial in that Coleman flat-out denies wrongful conduct and wrongful motive. So, with only that denial and no controverting paper trail offered to counter the charges and proof against him, only hunkering in the bunker, you have to judge things early, on election day, before the judicial process has wended its way. And the headline of this post IS the basic question. Was Hays Companies a mere conduit for illegal money to be flowed entirely through it to the Coleman spouses? Or did it take a normal part of the funds, as its share? What do the books and records say, and why are they being withheld and not promptly disclosed as exculpatory?
Perhaps Hays Companies books and records are not exculpatory, which is the most reasonable inference, given circumstances.
Go figure. It's an incomplete record. But it's all you have before election day. And Norm Coleman could give you more, but chooses not to. Norm Coleman has elected to provide no contrary paper trail evidence against quite serious (and documented) charges. The refiled complaint Strib put online, here, has exhibits also excerpted and analyzed on Crabgrass, here.
It is all out there, a paper trail against Coleman. All you have to do is read it. That, and wait to see if Coleman has any controverting paper trail to offer.
After the opening Coleman reactive rant and finger pointing, the photo says it all. Norm, don't stonewall. People won't trust that. Either you produce a vindicating paper trail, or deny and stonewall if there is no vindicating evidence, those seem the only two options. And we see the Coleman response.
Politico succinctly updates things about there being a new second lawsuit, and discusses the Coleman reaction:
A second lawsuit had been filed against Sen. Norm Coleman's supporter Nasser Kazeminy, accusing him of using a Texas company to funnel secret cash to the senator's wife Laurie.
The Coleman campaign says both suits are part of an Al Franken-inspired smear campaign designed to destroy his reputation. The Franken camp says they have nothing to do with the litigation.
Minneapolis Star-Tribune reporters Paul McEnroe and Tony Kennedy, who have led the coverage, report today that a group of minority investors in Deep Marine Technology are making allegations against Kazeminy and Coleman nearly identical to the lawsuit filed in Houston last week .
The new suit was filed by a New York attorney in Delaware, where DMT is chartered, on Friday.
The second suit, brought by FLI Deep Marine LLC and Bressner Partners LTD, attributes its allegations to a "confidential source.''
According to the lawsuit, the source was told by Kazeminy in 2007 that "we have to get some money to Senator Coleman'' because the senator "needs the money."
The lawsuit is very similar to one filed earlier in the week in Houston by McKim. Both actions allege that Kazeminy told executives at Deep Marine that he wanted to provide financial assistance to the Colemans through an insurance consulting arrangement between Deep Marine and Hays Companies. But the second suit cites a "confidential source."
Coleman's campaign denied the latest suit as another ploy by Coleman opponent Al Franken. The Minnesota Republican is taking a shoot-the-messenger tack against the Strib reporters -- who were rebuffed by the senator when they tried to get direct comment from him after campaign events.
Coleman's campaign manager, Cullen Sheehan, said Friday night that the suits are "baseless and false claims ... being used to influence the outcome of the election."
Sheehan also said that the Star Tribune, by reporting on the lawsuits, "is actively participating in the destruction of the reputation of Senator Coleman and his wife."
[emphasis added] So, when you vote, decide - is the circumstantial evidence in the public domain without controverting evidence offered by Coleman, (beyond a posturing denial and finger pointing), sufficient to convince you the incumbent U.S. Senator in the race took a bribe?
Or at least took an improper and inadequately disclosed "gift"?
YOU vote in secret, so if all that is okay with you and you'd have done the same in Norm's place, well it is a secret ballot. You have that.
PiPress has this latest report:
Coleman ad rejects Texas suit's claims; Franken denounces spot
By Rachel E. Stassen-Berger and Bob Shaw
Article Last Updated: 11/01/2008 10:01:10 PM CDT
The Minnesota U.S. Senate contest took a new set of accusations and counter-accusations to the air in the final days before the vote.
On Saturday, Republican Sen. Norm Coleman released an ad defending himself from allegations, made in a Texas lawsuit this week, that a longtime friend and contributor tried to funnel $100,000 to him through his wife's employer.
In the ad, Coleman, sitting with wife Laurie by his side, says the claims are "phony accusations filled with lies."
Coleman, as he has to reporters all week, takes the condemnation further in the ad.
He calls the suit, which does not name Coleman as a defendant or say Coleman knew about the alleged attempt to give him unearned money, "Al Franken's 11th-hour attack.'' He goes on to say it is "a vicious personal attack on my wife. This time, Al Franken's crossed the line."
Asked by reporters Saturday, Coleman campaign manager Cullen Sheehan didn't offer any direct evidence that Democratic Senate candidate Franken or Democrats are behind the lawsuit, except that reporters at the Minneapolis-based Star Tribune received word about the allegations before the lawsuit was filed.
Still, Sheehan said, "Franken cannot wash his hands of this despicable act."
Franken and his campaign have resolutely denied being behind the lawsuit and a spokeswoman said the campaign didn't know about it before reporters began asking questions earlier this week.
Learning of Coleman's ad, Franken held a hastily called news conference to denounce it.
"I have just seen the ad," he said Saturday afternoon, "and saw Norm Coleman look the people of Minnesota in the eye and lie."
Franken said news of the lawsuit was discovered by reporters, and he and his campaign didn't tip off anyone.
"They got no information from our campaign. Period," he said. "This is about a CEO from Texas that I have never heard of and a company that I have never heard of."
He said the suit was Coleman's problem.
"To attempt to make it my problem is simply shameful," he said.
Franken was not sure if his campaign was going to produce an ad to counter Coleman's.
"We have a few days to get the truth out," Franken said.
The man who brought the Texas lawsuit, Paul McKim, said his actions weren't politically motivated. He was the CEO of Texas-based Deep Marine Technology, which provides subsea services to oil and gas explorers, and said Nasser Kazeminy, the Coleman friend, has destroyed the company he founded.
"I know how it must look, but it's really not political," McKim said Friday. "I'm not a political guy. I'm just an old deep-sea diver. And I'm a Republican."
On Friday, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, which supports Franken but is not controlled by him, released an ad highlighting the lawsuit.
It shows reporters aggressively demanding answers from Coleman after a Tuesday campaign appearance as Coleman gets into a car without speaking to them.
"Here's why Norm Coleman's running away from reporters. Court documents allege that one of Coleman's top fundraisers secretly funneled $75,000 intended for Coleman's personal use. The same man reportedly gave Coleman free suits and trips on his private jet," the ad says. [...]
BigE at MnBlue has a post with an official Franken email statement, saying about the same thing, equally emphatically.
"I've just seen Norm Coleman's latest attack ad against me. In this ad, Senator Coleman looks the people of Minnesota in the eye and lies, by blaming me for something that I had absolutely nothing to do with.
"Let me be clear: The Star Tribune has said that they didn't receive information about this lawsuit until after it was filed. And they didn't receive any information about this lawsuit from our campaign, period.
"This isn't about me. This is about money.
"This is about a man named Nasser Kazeminy. Nasser Kazeminy is one of Norm Coleman's biggest contributors and closest friends - the man who flew Norm Coleman free on his private jet for vacations in the Bahamas and Paris.
"This is about a lawsuit filed against Nasser Kazeminy by the Republican - Republican! - CEO of a company in Texas, a company I've never heard of. This is about a sworn affidavit describing a conspiracy to funnel $100,000 to a sitting United States Senator.
"And for Norm Coleman to try to deflect attention from this incredibly serious matter by attacking me with false claims is simply insulting to voters who have a right to know the facts before the election. [...]"
Norm Coleman IS a ...
YOU finish that sentence.
________UPDATE________
Blue Man has posted the reaction from the Barkley camp's perspective. It's succinct and worth a look.