Quick rats. Troubled ship. Not yet sunk. The headline is a paraphrase for the posting of this gentlemens' club's decision to punt without even reaching third down first; and doing it, as expected, via soft phrasing over having taken the money earlier before the smell -
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Sorensen at Bluestem Prairie has detail where tight writing means read it all there because attempting excerpting here would not do that item justice.
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UPDATE: A websearch. Nothing was found online about this operation's regard for or against Jan. 6 Capitol events. Too few tailored suits involved? What?
FURTHER: Apart from Freedom Club as an issue, the Shot in the Dark blog reports; here and here. (While Powerline, for instance, at least early in the story acts as if Lazzaro does not exist.) Alpha News could also have gone MIA on the story, reporting about events instead, e.g.- this link.
It is unclear whether suggestions that Carnahan resign as Minnesota GOP boss are legitimately based on Lazzaro-related outrage, or arise out of other grudges, biases or judgments.
FURTHER: BringMeTheNews.
FURTHER: Gockowski himself authors Alpha News' item on Lazzaro. Alpha News is, itself, powered by REVV - a Republican content-and-contribution solicitation operation. As such, it is biased Republican, in origin as well as editorial content bias. It sucks. But when it jumps the Lazzaro story up front, that means something just as much as Freedom Club being shocked, SHOCKED!, by "allegations" to the point of throwing off Lazzaro's amount of money he'd given Freedom Club, ASAP, unload and disclaim.
Rats, all. Let the story develop to where we can see - Why blame Carnahan?
The Board hiring an audit, ASAP, is the first step toward answering that question. Was the money handled on the up-and-up, or was the handling problematic?
Carnahan has herself disclaimed close ties to Lazzaro.
One thing - this prompt action by the players - on an indictment and not a conviction - is amazing. The indictment was reported by DOJ on Thursday, the 12th. Friday 13th, the unanimous Freedom Club board had convened somehow, magic or whatever, so as to threw Lazzaro to the sharks with its not us, no way, we donate against human trafficking, so there! Notice from a lawyer. Does all that smell funny to you, as if word had spread of a shoe about to be dropped? All we have is collective circumstantial evidence that way - the blazing promptness of all recipients of Lazzaro money, to distance, to disavow, to suggest as many have, look at Carnahan, not us.
FURTHER: MN DFL has posted. Excerpt, showing Jim Hagedon got twice the Lazzaro money as the next nearest candidate, Emmer. (Hagedon got as much as Freedom Club got) -
The FBI believes there may be additional victims. Lazzaro has donated roughly $150,000 to Minnesota Republican candidates, party units, and allied organizations.Lazzaro’s contributions to Minnesota Republicans include:
Congressman Jim Hagedorn $31,000 Congressman Tom Emmer $15,600 Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach $1,000 Congressman Emmer’s NRCC $10,000 Congressman Pete Stauber $8,000 Doug Wardlow for Attorney General $1,150 Kendall Qualls for Congress – via Lazzaro’s PAC $4,800 House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt $1,000 Senator Karin Housley $1,500 The Minnesota Republican Party – Federal Account $21,178 The Minnesota Republican Party – State Account $21,030 33rd Senate District Republican Party of Minnesota $800 59th Senate District Republican Party of Minnesota $1,550 5th Congressional District Republican Party of Minnesota $775 Log Cabin Republicans $500 MN Young Republican Victory Fund $3,200 Freedom Club $30,000 Jesse Pfliger for House $750 Ben Schwanke for State Senate $1,000
Fischbach, Housley and Daudt got small allocations. Minnesota Republican Party fattened up off Lazzaro by ten grand more than Freedom Club got. That factual presentation on the DFL site was followed by a Ken Martin dare.
Ken Martin, Chairman of the Minnesota DFL Party, released the following statement:
“The crimes that Republican strategist and donor Anton Lazzaro was indicted and arrested for are absolutely horrifying. It is also extremely disturbing that a man arrested for sexually trafficking six minors has such deep ties to so many Minnesota Republican officials, candidates, and organizations, particularly Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Carnahan and her husband, Congressman Jim Hagedorn.
“Carnahan, who also invited Lazzaro to co-host the Minnesota Republican Party podcast, must denounce Lazzaro immediately. However, it is not enough for Carnahan and other Minnesota Republicans to just denounce and disavow Lazzaro after collectively accepting over $150,000 from him. As such, I am calling on each and every elected official, candidate, and organization that received a cent from this predator to donate those funds to an anti-trafficking organization.”
[italics added]
https://www.powerlineblog.com/ as of midday, 2/18/2021, has yet to regard Lazzaro as news; (despite the narrowness of Pelosi's House majority and upcoming 2022 federal elections where it might matter among voters; and more keenly, despite how statewide and local elections will be impacted).
The DOJ's Castro Medina press release, second paragraph, begins -
According to court documents, from May 2020 through December 2020, Gisela Castro Medina, 19, and co-defendant Anton Joseph Lazzaro, 30, conspired with each other and others to recruit and solicit six minor victims to engage in commercial sex acts.
Do you suppose that "and others" to recruit . . . caused the disavowal stampede?
Do you guess "with each other and others" might be conspiracy boilerplate language; or might it be specific to actual grand jury testimony known to the Lazzaro prosecution; but secret to the public. It differs from the boilerplate "conspiracy" phrasing of Lazzaro's indictment - Count 1, Paragraph 1.
Between Strib, MNPost, and PioneerPress, detail over the next few months may matter and be published. (Also Bluestem Prairie likely will be publishing added information from time to time).
How quick and thorough an audit do you believe the Republican Party of Minnesota's Board can present press and public? Complete or by synopsis of key findings. Speed and accuracy, re any uncovered wrongdoing seems required by circumstances.
Freedom Club, Carnahan/Hagedon, and the Party could turn out to form a triangle of importance; or it just might be only that Lazzaro wanted to give a lot of money to Freedom Club, it being an elitist thing with credibility which he might have thought to want to glom onto. Things could settle; Lazzaro accepting a plea. The indictment refers to 2020 conduct. That might mean an investigation was ongoing, and might be why the FBI did not seek to instigate a prosecution during the Barr stint at DOJ.