Cochran campaign knew of wife's taping for weeks

thehill.com ^ | 5/19/14 | Alexandra Jaffe

[cotton1706]

Sen. Thad Cochran’s (R-Miss.) legal team apparently held onto information concerning a man’s taping of the senator’s bedridden wife for as many as two weeks before turning it over to the police.

Cochran’s campaign spokesman, Jordan Russell, told The Hill Monday that the campaign was made aware of a video allegedly taken by local political blogger Clayton Kelly of Cochran’s infirm wife on the day it was posted, April 26. He said the campaign conducted its own investigation of the video before alerting Cochran to it and deciding to bring it to an attorney.

Kelly, an apparent supporter of Cochran's GOP primary challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel, was arrested Friday over the alleged taping, and the incident has roiled the bitter race two weeks from the election, as a new survey from a group backing McDaniel shows the race to be within the margin of error.

“We were made aware of [the video] that morning because people were emailing us saying, ‘Did you see this?’” Russell told The Hill. “We conducted our own review for a few days and then went to Sen. Cochran about it, and that was when the decision was made to turn it over to the attorneys.”

Russell said he wasn’t sure how long the campaign conducted its investigation, but the inquiry lasted anywhere from three days to a week before the campaign consulted Cochran’s attorney.

Conservative news site Breitbart.com reported Monday that Cochran’s lawyer brought the information to the Madison, Miss., Police Department on Thursday of last week. Kelly was arrested Friday, and local newspaper The Clarion-Ledger broke the news of the case’s connection to Rose Cochran on Saturday. A local political blog posted a press release detailing the arrest but not the Cochran connection on its website Friday night.

[Black Agnes]

Given that some local political blogs indicated that the taping itself took place sometime in late April I wondered why it was that the ‘outraged police reports’ only came about a few days ago.

Now we know.

[Vigilanteman]

Of course they did. But who’s paying attention to a low-key primary four weeks out? Everything is about timing and, if they can hang a sleezy activity not authorized by State Sen. Chris McDaniel on him by innuendo, then it gives Cochrane an electoral advantage and McDaniel has little opportunity to respond.

[Servant of the Cross]

Clayton Kelly, an apparent supporter of Cochran's GOP primary challenger state Sen. Chris McDaniel ...

An apparently ardent supporter ... kind of like Kathy Bates was of James Caan in Misery ...

This story reeks of a desperate bid by the Barbour machine to prop up tHad (Enough?) and malign McDaniel at the same time. In order to prevent this from being exposed ....

1. Cochran gives Barbour no-bid contracts with Katrina disaster money intended for Mississippians,
2. Barbour gives cronies and family members access to federal contracts.
3. Barbour gives Motorola control over the states radio network,
4. Motorola now wants $13 million more to make the system workable,
5. Barbour registers as a lobbyist for Motorola after leaving office,
6. Barbour is raising millions to keep Cochran in office.

[Texas Eagle]

Pretty sad that after 60 years in office, you have to depend on choreographed outrage to stand a chance of getting re-elected rather than stand on your record.

[txrefugee]

Cochran’s campaign probably set this up to smear his opponent. These political dinosaurs will do anything to hold on to power. Exhibit A: Dirty Dewhurst’s campaign for Lt. Gov. In Texas.

[ken5050]

It’s almost over...latest poll has McConnell ahead 43-36..

[Servant of the Cross]

Cochran’s campaign probably set this up to smear his opponent.

Seeing how the campaign is being run by the Barbour Gang (who can't shoot straight), Henry and Austin Barbour, the nephews of Haley Barbour, the former Mississippi governor who is himself an integral part of the sophisticated political operation seeking to quash Cochran’s primary opponent from the GOP’s right flank, this is a very plausible explanation.

[tennmountainman]

Why did it take Cochran two weeks to report this?
Was he trying to gain some advantage?
Me thinks so.

[Luke21]

Cochran is trying to flip having his wife put away while he runs around. It’s desperate.

[Din Maker]

OK, FReepers; Is this going to do in Chris McDaniel's campaign? Somebody help the boy out here. I don't know what the fallout is from this as of now. If this is a mortal wound to Chris' campaign, what can be done by the McDaniel team to "stop the bleeding"

[WVNan]

AT this point it seems like a good idea to dig into this boy’s background. Just maybe he was a plant from the git go. Our FR sleuths should find something if it’s there. Unless it gets scrubbed before we act.