Spare the Rod
In defense of Blagojevich (kind of).
Jonathan Chait
The New Republic
I fully realize that few complaints are more tiresome than "your party's scandal is worse than my party's scandal." But indulge me for a moment. I can't think of a good reason why Rod Blagojevich has become the most hated man in America while Norm Coleman still walks the streets with his head held high.
What, you say--Norm Coleman? Yes, Norm Coleman! Let me explain. The soon-to-be-former senator's scandal is pretty simple. Nasser Kazeminy, a wealthy businessman and close Coleman friend, allegedly paid him $75,000 under the table.
And by "allegedly," I mean "almost certainly." Here's how the almost certainly true alleged scheme worked. The payments to Coleman came in the form of what Tony Soprano would call a "no-show job." One of Kazeminy's companies is called Deep Marine Technology. Kazeminy allegedly ordered Deep Marine's CEO, Paul McKim, to make a series of $25,000 payments that would go to Coleman's wife. According to McKim, Kazeminy was utterly blatant. He said the reason for the payments was that Coleman needed the money and McKim should disguise them as a legitimate business transaction.
The intermediary they picked was an insurance company owned by Jim Hays, a major Coleman donor who had given contracting work to Coleman's wife, Laurie. Hays admits getting the $75,000, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, but says he "provide[d] insurance advice" to Deep Marine and denies the money went to Laurie Coleman.
(More here.)
Jonathan Chait
The New Republic
I fully realize that few complaints are more tiresome than "your party's scandal is worse than my party's scandal." But indulge me for a moment. I can't think of a good reason why Rod Blagojevich has become the most hated man in America while Norm Coleman still walks the streets with his head held high.
What, you say--Norm Coleman? Yes, Norm Coleman! Let me explain. The soon-to-be-former senator's scandal is pretty simple. Nasser Kazeminy, a wealthy businessman and close Coleman friend, allegedly paid him $75,000 under the table.
And by "allegedly," I mean "almost certainly." Here's how the almost certainly true alleged scheme worked. The payments to Coleman came in the form of what Tony Soprano would call a "no-show job." One of Kazeminy's companies is called Deep Marine Technology. Kazeminy allegedly ordered Deep Marine's CEO, Paul McKim, to make a series of $25,000 payments that would go to Coleman's wife. According to McKim, Kazeminy was utterly blatant. He said the reason for the payments was that Coleman needed the money and McKim should disguise them as a legitimate business transaction.
The intermediary they picked was an insurance company owned by Jim Hays, a major Coleman donor who had given contracting work to Coleman's wife, Laurie. Hays admits getting the $75,000, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune, but says he "provide[d] insurance advice" to Deep Marine and denies the money went to Laurie Coleman.
(More here.)
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1 Comments:
"No show" jobs seem to be a Coleman family specialty. Who was paying Norm's consultant fees while he spent the last few weeks in court?
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