More Questions for Norm Coleman Over Donor Lawsuit--UPDATED

See update below

At a press conference today, Minnesota Republican Senator Norm Coleman reacted angrily to a lawsuit alleging that $75,000 was funneled to his wife, Laurie, by a major donor to Coleman.

Coleman blamed the lawsuit on his Democratic challenger, Al Franken, saying: "Each and every allegation in this lawsuit relating to me and my wife is false and defamatory."

I first blogged about the lawsuit yesterday, posting a copy, and since then new details have emerged. The lawsuit was withdrawn by the plaintiff's lawyers on Monday and then resubmitted yesterday. The plaintiff has signed an affidavit under oath and the updated lawsuit includes new exhibits showing invoices of payments between Deep Marine Technologies--controlled by Coleman donor Nasser Kazeminy--to the Hays Companies, which employs Coleman's wife.

The Politico's Glenn Thrush explains:

The documents, intended to bolster a lawsuit McKim filed Monday against Kazeminy over the latter's handling of the company's finances, includes an invoice for an April 2007 payment of $25,000 to the Hays company and a wire transfer showing the payout.

But the most interesting exhibit in an apprent ledger of "past due" payments to vendors that includes a $25,000 Hays payment -- circled in pen, with the handwritten instruction: "Please pull this detail and delete... 8/19/08."

The Coleman campaign says Laurie Coleman is a legally licensed insurance agent, but there is no record of her, or the Hays Companies, being licensed in Texas. This new evidence seems more consequential than the "11th hour, sleazy attack," the Coleman campaign is alleging.

Polls show Coleman and Franken in a dead heat. Even if Coleman survives a tough re-election battle, he may soon have to answer these questions under oath. Just ask Ted Stevens, who was convicted earlier this week for accepting gifts from a major donor and failing to disclose them.

There is not the first favor Kazeminy has allegedly done for Coleman. The Iranian-born businessman has flown Coleman to the Bahamas, Paris and Jordan, hooked him up with a cushy law firm job in between election campaigns, donated tens of thousands of dollars to his campaigns and reportedly even bought suits for him at Neiman Marcus.

What could Kazeminy have gotten in return from Coleman and why was he so insistent on allegedly funneling money from Deep Marine Technologies to Coleman's wife?

DMT specializes in offshore energy exploration. Coleman has emerged as a major proponent for offshore drilling, introducing an energy plan in June calling for increased exploration of the Outer Continental Shelf. "Let the world know that we're gonna be opening up the outer continental shelf, we're gonna be drilling, expanding, that will suck the speculation right out of the market so we need to be drilling off the coast of Florida, of Louisiana," Coleman said. "We had a debate about ANWR for 50 years for 20 years, we're going to keep having it, so rather than debating, why don't we start drilling like right now?"

Stay tuned as more details emerge about the lawsuit in the campaign's final days.

Update: A second lawsuit has been filed in Delaware substantiating the charges against Coleman, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports. A confidential source quoted in the lawsuit says Coleman donor Kazeminy said: "We have to get some money to Senator Coleman" because the senator "needs the money."

Comments (14)

1. I'm still betting on a Coleman win.

   Barkley dropping and apparently his votes are going to Coleman, not Franken.

   Posted by Maskdelta at 10/31/2008 @ 4:21pm

2. Posted by Maskdelta at 10/31/2008 @ 4:21pm | ignore this person | warn this person

   if so, at least maybe we'll get al back on air america...

   Posted by dexter666 at 10/31/2008 @ 4:52pm

3. Norm Coleman is occupying the Paul Wellstone seat and is a poor substitute. For the Dems to get to a 60 seat majority in the Senate we need Al Franken to win. The race is a dead heat. Norm has filed suit already against the Franken campaign. Now he has a hotter suit to try to hide from until the election is over. Even if he wins he may end up jail. Then Tim Palenty can appoint himself to the Senate. What a mess in Minnesota.

   Posted by iver at 10/31/2008 @ 5:37pm

4. Coleman will lose. Period.

   Posted by chaoszen at 10/31/2008 @ 8:31pm

5. Sen. Norm Coleman makes Minnesotans flinchy. I'm betting Al Franken would've snatched victory from grinning Norm's greasy palms -- even without the latest example of Coleman's lust for graft.

   Posted by Comeupsweet at 10/31/2008 @ 9:13pm

6. if so, at least maybe we'll get al back on air america...---Posted by dexter666 at 10/31/2008 @ 4:52pm

   It's still on the air??!?!? Rachel Maddow moved on and Randi Rhodes is on Nova...who's left???

   Posted by Maskdelta at 10/31/2008 @ 9:42pm

7. If we dodge Palin, but get Franken...

   I guess we still are ahead, as Franken will only be 1/100. But come on! Al Franken?

   Posted by crabwalk at 10/31/2008 @ 10:29pm

8. It's still on the air??!?!? Rachel Maddow moved on and Randi Rhodes is on Nova...who's left???

   Posted by Maskdelta at 10/31/2008 @ 9:42pm

   I thought Rachel was double-gigging, but perhaps not?

   Posted by yutsano at 10/31/2008 @ 10:52pm

9. Crabby

   A lot of Cheeseheads living on the border have been very impressed by Al Franken in his debates with Coleman and Barkley. To be honest much as I love his books I thought the campaign was a joke or a publicity stunt, but the guy has seriously Minnesota head. He is smart and understands the problems of the working class. He has surprised a lot of people.

   Minnesotans are hard to figure. they do have that dour Lutheran thing going no matter what religion they are, yet they gave us Bob Dylan, Jesse Ventura, Paul Wellstone and Garrison Keillor. They are really quite odd and special people.

   Except the Vikings. They suck of course.

   Posted by Pogge at 10/31/2008 @ 11:39pm

10. Drilling sure seems like a preoccupation with the repugs. Must be some confusion in their ranks over whether its practice for the troops in that domestic homegrown gitmo unit, punching the crust for Exxon or presenting flash cards to SP.

    Posted by Sorelish at 11/01/2008 @ 01:39am

11. Mark my words. Al is very smart and will give the Republican senators fits by pointedly exposing their hypocrisies, distorted values, and untruths, with his wit, satirical logic AND meaningful legislation.

    Posted by iver at 11/01/2008 @ 7:48pm

12. We need sixty!!

    Send Al money.

    Damn.

    Posted by bleedingheart at 11/01/2008 @ 8:20pm

13. I'm a Minnesotan. Al Franken is incredibly smart. For years he radio-interviewed the country's top policy minds. He also seems remarkably sincere about moving the country forward, with the peoples' interest (vs. special interests/big money) at heart - a Wellstone friend and fellow.

    Coleman supposedly "stopped his negative campaigns" here because they were backlashing on him. The RSCC then took up his dirty work. The ads the RSCC is running on Franken now are unbelievably NASTY - they are saying he kicks the handicapped, demeans women, writes pornography - blah blah blah. Give me a break! Supposedly Norm "can't do anything about the negative ads from RSCC." If you believe that, I've got a bridge to nowhere you may be interested in. BTW, Coleman is also running for chair of the RSCC.

    Our local paper ran the Kaseminy story today in the B section under the fold with the headline: Coleman calls on foes to 'stop attacking my family'. Huh? When you read the article, it explains very clearly that Franken had no knowledge of and nothing to do with the lawsuit. It was filed by a Republican... (Great journalism on that headline and placement, Star Tribune.)

    Bottom line: Coleman is a crook. I know - innocent until proven guilty - but this isn't the first slick maneuver we've seen from this guy.

    So lucky us. MN has Norm Coleman and Michelle Bachmann. Please donate to Franken and Tinklenberg. It can only get better.

    Posted by lynnie at 11/01/2008 @ 10:34pm

14. I wonder what the MN take on Pawlenty is. As you all know I'm no political maven, but my impression is that he is a moderate kind of guy who may have been blindsided at least once by the CChimps, when it came to the development on the Mesabi. How did he feel about the bridge horror? Inquiring minds want to know (but are too busy and exhausted to think about much of anything these days - a weak har har)

    Posted by A_Pax_On_Your_Houses at 11/02/2008 @ 3:41pm