CALLING KEN? (NH phone jammers called Mehlman 75 times)

[TomInTib]

In the days before and after the state Republican Party’s 2002 Election Day phone-jamming scheme, the man who now chairs the Republican National Committee was the White House director of political affairs.

And a Democratic-affiliated advocacy group says that court records show Ken Mehlman’s office received more than 75 telephone calls from now-convicted phone-jam conspirator James Tobin from Sept. 30 to Nov. 22 of that year.

The Senate Majority Project, a brainchild “527” of former Senate Democratic leader Tom Daschle, wonders why Tobin called the White House so often. Tobin at the time worked for the Republican National Committee and the affiliated National Republican Senatorial Committee — and a hot race that year was the New Hampshire Senate contest between Republican John Sununu and Democrat Jeanne Shaheen.

On election morning, a telemarketer hired by the state GOP jammed the telephones of five state Democratic and one firefighters union get-out-the-vote phone banks.

4th story down:

http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Granite%20Status%3A%20Meridian%20to%20guide%20Coburn%20race%20for%20governor&articleId=1a0f8a86-a086-40a6-8963-65395f7767fc

[drm604]

1. K&R

This could be an important story.

[Coexist]

2. Guy James was just discussing this - McCain has HIRED him

not a smart move!

[PA Democrat]

4. Which one did McCain hire, Tobin or Mehlman? n/t

[Coexist]

7. it was Nelson, Tobin's supervisor:

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000159.php

CALLER: Thanks, I had a question for the senator. For a reformer, I'm kind of curious why he would hire a guy like Terry Nelson as a senior advisor.
Here's a guy who was actually in the indictment of DeLay on his money laundering charges. When he was at the RNC, he agreed to take the corporate contributions from DeLay's PAC and then recycle them back into the Republican congressional races.

And he was also, this guy Nelson was also the supervisor of James Tobin, who was the guy convicted last year for helping jam the Democratic get-out-the-vote lines in New England a couple years ago.

So I'm curious why would you hire someone with such a shady background?

MCCAIN: None of those charges are true.

CALLER: You don't believe what was actually written in the indictment from Texas?

MCCAIN: No.

CARLSON: All right.



MCCAIN: I will check it out. But I've never heard of such a thing. I know that he was a grassroots organizer for President Bush year 2000 and 2004, and had a very important job in the Bush campaign as late as 2004, but the other charges I will go and look and see if any of them are true, but I've never heard of them before.


You might be skeptical that McCain was actually ignorant of Nelson's past, but when I spoke to Carlson's producer Dave Carson, he said that McCain seemed "surprised" by the call and that afterwards he "started asking his handlers" what all this was about. So that might be true.

I'm not sure what would be worse - if McCain actually was ignorant or just pretending. In either case, it would be yet another page out of the Bush playbook.

[PA Democrat]

8. Thanks. So, McCain will follow the Bush play book

of claiming ignorance. There's a shock.

[AlCzervik]

10. it would be pretty amusing if Nelson was a mole.

[EFerrari]

3. These people have no morals and respect no boundaries.

:wow:

[FULL_METAL_HAT]

9. Sorry, but -- DUH!!! ;^) They have complete disregard for anything

that gets in their way.

Like the constitution ...

When you take that into your heart, you'll see everything they do in the proper light. :)

{B^> FMH

[EFerrari]

11. Sure, duh! But there are levels and more levels of

getting it.

I'll be Clear any day now.

lol

:hi:

[crispini]

5. Freaking jerks

They stoop at nothing and the corruption goes all the way to the top.

[fooj]

6. Treasonous, rat bastards........

:nuke:

[formercia]

12. We may find out soon

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2006/03/01/another_indictment_expected_in_phone_jamming/

Another indictment expected in phone-jamming

March 1, 2006

CONCORD, N.H. --Federal prosecutors reportedly intend to indict a fourth person in the jamming of Democratic get-out-the-vote telephone lines in 2002.

WMUR-TV reported Wednesday that an indictment is expected at the end of the month.

Former state Republican Executive Director Chuck McGee pleaded guilty to devising the idea of jamming the lines and served seven months in prison. Telemarketer Allen Raymond pleaded guilty to executing the plan and is to serve a three-month sentence.


Just about the end of the Month. Anybody want to bet?

[whometense]

13. This is a huge story.

Josh Marshall has been following it all along.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/007973.php

http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/000172.php