Norm Coleman's Campaign Conflicts?

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/campaignmatters/356658

Norm Coleman's Campaign Conflicts?
posted by Ari Berman on 09/08/2008 @ 08:55am


John McCain and Sarah Palin weren't the only big winners at last week's Republican Convention. Behind-the-scenes, the convention was also a major boon for Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman and his political allies. Coleman helped bring the RNC to St. Paul--where he used to be mayor--and attended a dazzling array of fundraisers and closed-door parties for Republican donors. His longtime confidante, political consultant and lobbyist Jeff Larson, was named CEO of the convention's host committee, making a pretty penny off the week. "We're going to make sure our donors get in front of all the right people and the media, to get plenty of exposure," Larson said last month.

Coleman and Larson have an unusually tight relationship. Larson owns a townhouse in Washington, which also houses a branch of his consulting business, FLS Connect, and Coleman lives in the basement. Coleman had no lease until July 2008 according to National Journal, a year after he moved in, and now pays $600 a month for the one-bedroom in Capitol Hill, well below market value. Accepting an apartment from a Washington lobbyist for free or below market value is a violation of Congressional ethics laws. Watchdog groups like Citizens for Ethics and Responsibility in Washington have urged the Senate Ethics Committee to investigate Coleman's housing arrangement. Wrote the Washington Post: "Coleman appears to have a good friend in Larson and a great place to live in D.C. Now he probably needs a good lawyer."

Coleman is locked in a tough re-election fight against comedian-turned-politician Al Franken, with polls showing a virtual dead heat. Coleman's campaign and political action campaign have paid FLS Connect almost $645,000 in consulting fees in 2007-2008, and Larson is the treasurer of his PAC. Two of Larson's clients, the Chamber of Commerce and National Federation of Independent Business, have begun running tv and print ads against Franken, knocking his support for the Employee Free Choice Act and accusing Franken of supporting tax increases while failing to pay back taxes.

The fact that Coleman resides in the same home as Larson's company has prompted questions about whether the Coleman campaign is coordinating campaign expenditures with Larson's clients in violation of federal election law.

Says Franken spokeswoman Colleen Murray: "Norm Coleman literally lives in the office of the consulting firm for both the Chamber and the NFIB, so I'm not sure his claim of no coordination passes the laugh test. But sadly it's not surprising - that kind of ethical lapse is business as usual for the Special Interest Senator."

The Coleman campaign did not respond to a request for comment. Stay tuned.

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others, like the Bajagua owners. Because pay-to-play money was funneled into his campaign coffers even before he was elected, we know who his friends are. Coleman was a Rove project from Day One, and there are now criminal inquiries into his supporters and some are under indictment.