Affidavit says Bachmann approved hidden payments to Iowa senator

[DonViejo]

Source: Star Tribune

WASHINGTON – U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann’s former chief of staff, GOP operative Andy Parrish, stated in a signed affidavit Monday that the Minnesota Republican approved payments made to a top aide who was barred by Iowa Senate ethics rules from accepting money for his work on her presidential campaign.

The suspected payments to Iowa Sen. Kent Sorenson, first alleged in a Federal Election Commission (FEC) complaint filed by campaign whistleblower Peter Waldron, are now the subject of an inquiry by the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee.

Sorenson or his company, Grassroots Strategy, allegedly were paid $7,500 a month through C&M Strategies, a Colorado-based company run by Bachmann fundraiser Guy Short, who was serving as the campaign’s national political director.

“Congresswoman Bachmann knew of and approved this arrangement,” Parrish said in his affidavit. “She, like the rest of us, understood from Senator Sorenson that it did not run afoul of any Iowa Senate ethics rules. We relied on his representations in this regard.”

-snip-

Read more: http://www.startribune.com/politics/blogs/204118041.html

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The affidavit is at the link, above.

[marmar]

1. She'll plead not guilty by reason of mental defect.......

[grantcart]

8. Well as an expert witness I can confirm that it is true.

[rateyes]

26. Well, I happen to know from a reliable source, that her specific diagnosis is

"batshit crazy." Left untreated she is quickly deteriorating into "shithouse rat syndrome." She may very well beat this rap!

[66 dmhlt]

35. So the affidavit proves she knew about the unethical payments ...

I find it telling that it took a sworn affidavit to prove that Bachmann actually knows something.

[Politicalboi]

2. But what about

Benghazi???????????????

I hope she loses her seat over this.

[DonViejo]

3. She's got a new conspiracy to play with...

"Why is the President not treating this bomber as an enemy combatant?"

[Brother Buzz]

7. Has she jumped on that bandwagon?

[DonViejo]

14. Not yet, that I know of, but I expect it any minute now. nt

[Baitball Blogger]

13. I don't see what the big deal is.

That boy is not going anywhere, for the rest of his life.

[jmowreader]

32. I'll tell you about Benghazi

I'll tell you we should box Michele Bachmann, Ted Cruz and Louie Gohmert up and ship 'em right straight to Benghazi so they can get to the bottom of this. Oh...and while they're in the air we should put them on the no-fly list. They can come back from Libya on a fleet oiler...as members of the crew.

[Grins]

4. Republican. Family. Values.

Republican. Family. Values.

Now with election fraud!!!!

[sofa king]

5. Someone smarter than she said "yes," too.

The statement is carefully framed to protect Bachmann and her staff from culpability, instead directing the blame squarely on Sorenson. So I'm gonna guess that Bachmann's people have some very good legal representation.

I would point out that ignorance of the law is no excuse, blah blah blah, but that presupposes that the rule of law exists in the U.S. for Republicans, rich people, and legislators. For them, lawyers are just the grease that keeps the wheels turning.

I have high confidence that we shall see that the rule of law does not apply to those people.

[lexw]

17. It certainly looks to me that most of these Republicans are above the law.

[merrily]

33. Or beneath/below it.

It all depends on how you look at.

"How low can you go?"

She is a grifter. Not above anything in my book.

[dballance]

6. Hmmm, Is Rove Paying Parrish to Come Clean to Get Rid of Crazy Bachmann?

Why would I not be at all surprised if Rove is paying the former Bachmann staffers to rat her out? Could be part of his campaign to get the "crazy" out of the GOP. I'm sure he's probably not able to control her like he does other congress people.

[DonViejo]

9. It's possible someone is greasing someone else's palm...

to get rid of her. I know one of the witnesses against her is a minister, too. I firmly believe someone affiliated with Shrub (maybe Rove?) took some steps to get rid of Tom DeLay.

[sofa king]

29. Possible, I guess.

Bachmann reminds me very much of Dick Armey, an opponent so deeply stupid, self-absorbed, privileged and incompetent that the Democrats want to keep her around more than Republicans do.

It's easier for Republicans to do such a thing to one another, too, because they protect each other from criminal disclosures about themselves, rather than police themselves.

Thus dirt is always available when one Republican wishes to damage a rival Republican.

I disagree about Tom DeLay, though. What we know he actually did, what he could have been prosecuted for, what he actually was prosecuted for, the cushy trial delays, and the eventual hand-slap sentence he got (which he has still yet to serve while he continues to appeal) all point to his fellow Republicans protecting Tom DeLay (and the rest of the GOP) from many more, much larger criminal disclosures.

[DonViejo]

30. But DeLay is out of office...

and I believe that was the goal, get him out of office. That goal has been accomplished. I've seen this tactic used by Democrats on a local level, not on a national one though.

Bachmann and Armey. Oy vey!

[sofa king]

31. That he is.

But part of what was going on with the departures of Armey, Hastert, and DeLay, I am certain, was a very successful attempt on the part of Republicans to apply a tourniquet to hemorhaging corruption allegations dating back to the 1990s. They were all dirtballs long before they found their way into majority leadership positions, and so it was in the best interests of all the other criminals to put those particular mad cows out to pasture.

Armey's case is a little different. He, apparently, had a vestige of conscience that seems to have dampened his enthusiasm for politics, after Dick Cheney lied to him (and probably also threatened him) in order to get the go-ahead to invade Iraq. That's probably the point when he realized, "Mongo only pawn in game of life."

[watoos]

10. Maybe Marcus

can pray away the fraud.

[TeamPooka]

21. +1000

[kestrel91316]

11. Why is anyone bothering with this investigation. What a joke. She's a REPUBLICAN. She will NEVER be

prosecuted.

[Myrina]

12. Can she be censured? Or made to just STFY and go away?

Or at least take away her voting privileges?

[watoos]

15. The Tower Dwellers that Rove represents

are in a battle with the crazy T/Party right. Rove has some formidable opposition now with the Kochs going whole hog in with the crazies. The battle should be interesting.

[bvar22]

16. Looked at by the "Ethics Committee"?

I want this looked at by the Attorney General.

[Hubert Flottz]

18. "Gawd" prolly told her it was okay to lie, cheat or steal...

in order to get what she wanted.

How stupid are the people who elected her again?

[MinneapolisMatt]

19. BENGHAZI!!!!!

BENGHAZI!!!!! BENGHAZI!!!!! BENGHAZI!!!!!

[UpInArms]

20. approving "hidden" payments?

can't blame Sorenson if she was "hiding" the payments.

[OldHippieChick]

22. Talk about your arm's length transactions

She uses a Colorado-based company to fund her national campaign which pays a company shielding an Iowa state senator - whose company was probably registered in Delaware and whose bank account was undoubtedly in the Caymans!!!

[Spitfire of ATJ]

23. "We relied on his representations in this regard.”

[leftyohiolib]

24. sure it's perfectly legal to funnel 7500 a month to me, trust m. - this is like trusting some drunk

named curve-ball for iraq intelligence

[Spitfire of ATJ]

25. What gets me is everyone KNOWS Republicans are a pack of liars...

Which is why the claim they trusted him is seen as a lie as well.

[Initech]

27. GOP = greedy old pricks.

[MoonchildCA]

28. I have a hard time believing that, she, a tax lawyer for the IRS...

...would have a hard time understanding the laws about the funneling of money, or that she would just take someone's word for it.

Even if she is a dimwit...

[blkmusclmachine]

34. Savvy.

[Hubert Flottz]

36. Laws are for

the "Little People"