Franken Lawyer: Coleman Team Not Doing Homework
As the testimony continues today in Minnesota, Franken lawyer David Lillehaug has made a very tough criticism of Norm Coleman's legal team: They haven't done their homework.
Lillehaug has now begun cross-examining Washington County elections official Kevin Corbid, who was called by the Coleman team to explore their case that there remain unfairly excluded ballots. Earlier today, Corbid mentioned that he'd gone back to his office yesterday and done further research on four rejected ballots that the Coleman team had brought up.
Lillehaug decided to explore this, having Corbid go over his review of those four cases mentioned above. It turned out one of the voters went to the precinct on Election Day; another had obtained a second absentee ballot, after the first one had problems, and has been properly counted; another one was actually counted on Election Night, but the empty ballot envelope was accidentally placed in the rejected pile; and one remains rejected, with Corbid standing by the decision.
It appears the Coleman campaign was not aware of any of this, as indicated by their questioning of Corbid about these cases yesterday -- or they had the evidence, and were questioning him anyway.
Earlier in this exchange, Lillehaug had Corbid affirm that the precinct voter rosters are all public record, and anybody can place a data request to obtain one. The roster would be a very important tool for reviewing these cases.
"And if you happened to have started a lawsuit," Lillehaug asked very pointedly, "then you have the power of subpoena that can be used to deliver that information to your office?"
(By the way, showing up at the polls after casting an absentee ballot is not illegal in Minnesota -- it's a valid way to change your vote or correct a mistake if you found out your absentee had been rejected. The built-in safeguard is that the absentee ballot will be rejected.)


















What does it say about a person who puts his own petty ego or his party's petty ego above the health of his own state or nation? Are the Republicans at this juncture just the most immature and petty human beings you have ever seen all the while myopic to the screaming hypocrisy of it all? Like the Repugnitans so worried all of a sudden about the deficit with the stimulus package? Ok. Only NOW are you "concerned" about it or is it because the money will actually be spent on American citizens? We might actually get something for our tax dollars? Is this what galls the Repugnitans right now? That the citizen who has paid taxes all his/her life might now finally get some recognition of this and get some goddamned HELP?
Does this bother you Repugnitans? Is this it?
February 4, 2009 5:29 PM | Reply | Permalink
I wonder if the judges now regret letting Coleman go over 4700 ballots. They must feel rooked.
February 4, 2009 5:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
I'm convinced that this has become nothing more than an orchestrated effort by the Republican Party to delay the inevitable outcome.
Obama just gave these creeps 3 cabinets positions and got nothing for it.
February 4, 2009 5:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Whatever Coleman is paying these lawyers, he deserves a rebate.
February 4, 2009 6:11 PM | Reply | Permalink
Norm is merely a tool.
February 4, 2009 6:55 PM | Reply | Permalink
Or from a schadenfreude perspective, either 1) you get what you pay for, or 2) Norm is getting severely ripped off. I'm happy with either one.
February 5, 2009 10:45 AM | Reply | Permalink
Their game seems to be simply to delay as long as possible, so that the Democrats remain one man down in the Senate when these important votes (you know, like the stimulus package) come up.
That's all they can hope to gain from this. And, to them, it's probably worth the money, and looking like a bunch of fools.
-- ARG
February 5, 2009 11:12 AM | Reply | Permalink