Politico: “Coleman’s finances draw attention”

Aaron Keyak — February 5, 2009 – 10:44 am | Democrats | Election 2008 | Republicans Comments (0) Add a comment

This morning, Politico’s Kenneth Vogel ran a piece titled, “Coleman’s finances draw attention.” The article begins with Coleman’s explanation for some of actions concerning his finances.

Norm Coleman has a strong interest in convincing voters that he hasn’t given up hope of returning for a second Senate term. But as the fight over Minnesota’s Senate recount moves through the courts, Coleman recently signaled the opposite by taking a consulting job for a little-known Beltway political group.

It’s not exactly a smart political play but neither is it entirely out of character. Coleman’s efforts to make ends meet on a public servant’s salary were a persistent theme throughout his 2008 reelection campaign — and burned him politically time and again.

Coleman explained his recent decision to take a job as a “consultant and strategic adviser” to the Republican Jewish Coalition, a second-tier political action committee run by a friend, by remarking that he’s “not part of the millionaire’s club.” [Although, Coleman might be almost there.] Since he’s no longer receiving a Senate paycheck, he noted, he needs cash to pay his mortgage and college tuition for his two children.

But then Vogel outlines a “steady drip of stories about Coleman’s own finances.”

First, Coleman confronted allegations last summer that he received discounted rent for a Capitol Hill basement apartment from a political ally named Jeff Larson, whose company was paid more than $1.5 million by Coleman’s political groups and whose wife worked in Coleman’s Senate office.

Then there were reports in October alleging Coleman accepted free suits from a longtime friend and supporter named Nasser Kazeminy, who — according to a pair of lawsuits that surfaced in the final days of the campaign — also allegedly tried to steer $75,000 to Coleman through his wife, Laurie Coleman.

“These are baseless, politically motivated rumors and innuendo,” said Sheehan, who accused Politico of “carry[ing] the water of Sen. Coleman’s political opponents” as they try to “deflect attention away from Al Franken’s efforts to disenfranchise Minnesota voters.”

After the November election, Politico revealed that Coleman and his wife had refinanced the mortgage on their St. Paul, Minn., home a dozen times in 14 years — more than quadrupling their debt in the process.

Click here to read the entire article.

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