KSTP TV Interview – Coleman: "I Will Be Ahead”
Tom Hauser
KSTP-TV
January 20, 2009
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In a one-on-one interview with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, Norm Coleman said he’s convinced the case is far from over.
While Franken attended President Barack Obama's inauguration in Washington D.C., his attorneys were busy in Minnesota preparing for the first hearing in the Senate recount.
"I certainly wish that I was ahead in votes rather than behind right now, but I believe in the end we'll be where we were on Election Night. That I will be ahead," Coleman told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.
Two key elements of his legal case include the possible double counting of some ballots and the non-counting of thousands of rejected absentee ballots.
"Nobody's vote should be counted twice and every vote that should be counted hopefully will get a chance to be counted in this process. I think all Minnesotans will be served by that. You can't hold office if people think that somebody else's vote was double-counted or your vote wasn't considered," Coleman explained.
Click Here To Watch Interview
To: Interested GOP Parties and Norm Coleman Supporter
From: Mark Drake, Republican Party of Minnesota Communications Director
Date: Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Re: Election Contest Update
January 21, 2009 3:52 pm
Today begins the first hearing in this new phase of the post-election activity here in Minnesota, and accordingly, we wanted to provide you with a brief snapshot of what you can expect to see and hear in this Contest phase. First, we are pleased that this new step of the process is now getting underway. The trial itself is scheduled to begin Monday. As we’ve said, we want to get to a final result in this election as quickly as we can, but speed isn’t the goal here, fairness is. We will help move things along as expeditiously as we can as long as this is a fair process that finally allows every valid vote to be counted.
At 2:30pm central today, the 3-judge panel will hear arguments in Al Franken’s latest attempt to short-circuit Minnesota law in an effort to seat himself in the U.S. Senate in a seat he didn’t win. Al Franken claims that the judicial system in Minnesota doesn’t have the power or authority to hear this election contest, despite the clear provisions of Minnesota law. Instead, he claims that the three-judge court should simply act as a human abacus and do what the canvassing board already did in re-certifying these flawed, inaccurate and invalid numbers from the canvassing board, and kick this matter to the floor of Democrat Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s U.S. Senate.
Al Franken’s fundamentally flawed argument steps all over Minnesota state law, and blatantly ignores the will of the people of Minnesota and their Constitutional rights to choose their own elected officials. Our case, supported by Minnesota statutes, Minnesota case law and decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, needs to be heard in a court of law, which both the Minnesota Supreme Court and state canvassing board declared was the proper authority and jurisdiction for such a matter, and that the trial should move forward next week as it is set to do. This is an important part of the process to ensure that every valid vote is counted, and that no vote is counted twice.
We expect this hearing to last about an hour, and given the extensive schedule laid out by the 3-judge panel for the trial slated to start next week, we strongly believe this panel will agree with the statements of the Governor, Secretary of State and Minnesota Supreme Court and won’t allow Al Franken’s umpteenth attempt to take what is not rightfully his out of the hands of the people of Minnesota.
In this new phase of the post-election proceedings, you will see the trial attorneys on our legal team conducting the majority of the business before the court. Today, the 3-judge panel will hear from Coleman attorneys Jim Langdon and Joe Friedberg. After the hearing today, Ben Ginsberg, Fritz Knaak and Tony Trimble will be making brief comments and be available to answer questions. As the lawyers on our legal team trying this case concentrate on their work in the courtroom, Ben Ginsberg will serve as our legal spokesperson to help answer all your questions and explain the legal proceedings as this case moves forward.