Attack on OH election whistleblower & leaked Blackwell threats--Free Press

[emlev]

This just in from Free Press

"The potential firing of Ohio whistleblower Sherole Eaton, Deputy Director of the Hocking County Board of Elections, has re-fired bitter controversy over the stolen 2004 presidential election.
And newly released documents confirming a pre-election threat by Secretary of State J. Kenneth Blackwell against election board  officials has added to the mix, as has the dismissal of Blackwell's highly publicized sanction attempt against attorneys who challenged the election outcome.
A paid Hocking County Election Board staff official, Eaton gained national notoriety when she blew the whistle on a Triad vote count technician. The technician reprogrammed at least one voting machine in her precinct before a statewide recount could be completed..."

Full story:

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1284

[The Doctor.]

1. This has got to blow open...

Let's media blast this.

[emlev]

6. Wouldn't it be more effective...

to wait and blast it if/when she does get fired? What do you think?

[kster]

7. Federal whistleblower

I don't think she can be fired ?

[emlev]

12. I assume you mean can't *legally* be fired? n/t

[tandem5]

2. damn, these people... nt

[emlev]

3. Let's find someone to offer Eaton a better job with more $

We've got to have the backs of whistleblowers.

Maybe Google would like to hire her to repair their tarnished image here on DU (just kidding, sort of).

Let's organize now to:
--let her know we'll support her and find out what kind of support she'll need
--actually give her that support

Whether or not she'd accept a job offer, I think it'd be great if she got one or more really attractive ones. If someone is willing do some legwork on this project, I have some ideas about how to begin that I'd be happy to share.

[Im with Rosey]

4. Great article again FREEPRESS

While the premise is the firing of Eaton, another question surfaced in my head. Why haven't we heard *anything* about the lawsuit(s) that were brought oh so many months ago?
Back to the article- why doesn't Eaton have whistleblower protection?

[emlev]

5. I noticed article said she was a "federal whistleblower"

Do you know what that means? Also, will you share what you know about whistleblower protection?

Thanks.

[KaliTracy]

23. Attorneys involved in failed presidential election suit won't face punishm

punishment

Listen to audio here:
http://statenews.org/story_page.cfm?ID=8383&year=2005&month=5

Attorneys involved in failed presidential election suit won't face court's punishment.
By Bill Cohen - May 19, 2005


Lawyers who filed that unsccessful court suit charging President Bush and his supporters stole the Ohio election have been chastised by the leader of the Ohio Supreme Court. But the chief justice has decided not to penalize the attorneys. Statehouse correspondent Bill Cohen reports.

[Peace Patriot]

8. A very important part of this story is the threatening letter that Ohio...

...Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell sent to the Cuyahoga Board of Elections (and that was leaked, thus becoming a threat to all), in October 2004, which shatters the illusion that these Boards had any independence from Blackwell, to resist his partisan agenda or act in the public interest...

Same story at FreePress.org: http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1284

"In a letter dated October 5, 2004 to Republican Chair of the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections Robert Bennett, Blackwell specifically threatened removal of any board member who refused to follow his direct orders. The threat undermines Republican arguments that the election was fair because both Democrats and Republicans serve on election boards. 'Be advised that your actions are not in compliance with Ohio law and further failure to comply with my lawful directives will result in official action, which may include removal of the Board and its Director,' Blackwell wrote Bennett.  

"Under Ohio law, all election board members serve at Secretary of State Blackwell's pleasure. Cuyahoga Election Board member James Vu mentioned the letter at a Congressional hearing staged at the Ohio statehouse by Republican Congressman Bob Ney. Ney brought the hearing to Columbus in part because Blackwell refused to testify in Washington. The hearing was highlighted by angry, bitter exchanges between Blackwell and US Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones, who co-introduced (with Senator Barbara Boxer of California) the historic Congressional resolution challenging the seating of the Ohio Electoral College delegation for Bush.

"In his October letter Blackwell made it clear that any Election Board official, Republican or Democrat, who challenged Blackwell's decrees would be summarily removed. Election Board positions are well paid, and Blackwell's threat erased widespread claims the presence of Democrats on Election Boards guaranteed that the election was administered in a neutral, bi-partisan manner.  

"In fact, with the club of a loss of substantial salaries, this leaked letter makes it clear Blackwell was running the election with an iron partisan hand, and that claims of true bi-partisanship were strictly for show."  

[emlev]

9. I agree that it's very important! n/t

[FreedomAngel82]

10. Kick

Very important!

[Virginian]

30. Dino?

How do you know a Dem is really a Dem?
When we sign on to be election officers (poll workers) in Virginia, no one asks for proof of party. How would you prove it anyway? We don't register under one party or the other, all voters in VA can vote in any primary.

edited for punctuation.

[AtLiberty]

11. Is that Stephanie Miller broadcast last week archived?

I would love to hear it. Thanks.

[MelissaB]

13. I keep asking myself how long they can hide it.

:kick: and nominated! This deserves a "pile on" nomination if a thread ever did.

[NoBushSpokenHere]

14. Sherole HAS already been fired

http://www.logandaily.com/main.asp?SectionID=1&SubSectionID=1&ArticleID=119029

I wonder how long Hocking County will keep those Democrats on the Board of Elections who voted along with the Republicans to fire her? This is OUTRAGEOUS!

[AtLiberty]

15. Were they Democrats in name only or what?

???

[NoBushSpokenHere]

16. Evidently in Name Only

I heard there is alot of unrest in Hocking County over this. I sure hope they fire the board members who voted to do this - also, I sure hope there is a good DUer who can give this HEROINE a decent job! She deserves accolades, not to be fired! Can anyone get these articles to John Kerry?

[riqster]

38. Most likely, yeah

Board Members serve at the pleasure of Kenny Blackwell. Any hard-core Dems are filtered out, except in locked-up Reep counties. And sometimes even then.

[emlev]

18. Thank you for this link! n/t

[Stevepol]

17. Kick! n/t

[NoBushSpokenHere]

19. Link Revised

http://www.logandaily.com Then look for the headline of

Election panel axes Eaton, suit looms

Deputy claims ax retaliation for blowing whistle on recount tampering

[kster]

20. kick.nt

[dchill]

21. Nominated

Spread the word...

[KaliTracy]

22. drip drip drip..... Drip... DRIP.... n/t

[NoBushSpokenHere]

24. Same County Board Voted for Diebold n/t

[GetTheRightVote]

25. Kicking to stay in the open, more need to know what is happening now

:kick:

[Spiffarino]

26. Kick it up...this is how they're going to keep stealing elections

First Florida, then Ohio...where will the next swing-state coup be? Unless we expose their tactics for election thievery, they'll keep using them. Keep it kicked.

[blue4barb]

27. You think John Conyers is on this? He's been so great pursuing lots

of issues, including election fraud/reform.

[emlev]

28. I know he is. Read the link in response #16. n/t

[emlev]

33. Oops! I mean #14 n/t

[Griffy]

29. well.. what you call Clint Curtis? We still need the media to TELL ppl!

Clint Curtis's story can be heard in the archives of the BRADSHOW ...

Programmer that was asked to make software to control election results...

www.bradshow.com

[rodeodance]

31. he really has a big head (and stupid)

........In his October letter Blackwell made it clear that any Election Board official, Republican or Democrat, who challenged Blackwell's decrees would be summarily removed. Election Board positions are well paid, and Blackwell's threat erased widespread claims the presence of Democrats on Election Boards guaranteed that the election was administered in a neutral, bi-partisan manner.

In fact, with the club of a loss of substantial salaries, this leaked letter makes it clear Blackwell was running the election with an iron partisan hand, and that claims of true bi-partisanship were strictly for show.

Fair election proponents did get some good news with the dismissal of sanctions pressed by Blackwell against four attorneys who sued to question Ohio's official 2004 vote count. Ohio Supreme Court Chief Justice Thomas Moyer threw out a sanctions attempt against attorneys Cliff Arnebeck, Bob Fitrakis, Susan Truitt and Peter Peckarsky.

Blackwell legally assaulted the election protection team after it sued in December to prevent a delegation from casting Ohio's Electoral College votes for George W. Bush. The team alleged that exit polls and widespread evidence of fraud, intimidation and incompetence fatally compromised Ohio's 2004 vote count, which they asserted should have gone for John Kerry. Blackwell's demand for sanctions evoked harsh national criticism, including an editorial from the New York Times.

Shortly after the threat of sanctions was lifted, Columbus hosted the first on-site "scene of the crime" national radio broadcast with a May 20 public appearance by Air America's Stephanie Miller. Before a hall overflowing with paying attendees, and a national radio audience, Miller blasted the theft of the Ohio vote in a special live three-hour broadcast, the first nationwide talk show to come to Ohio with the express purpose of highlighting the realities of the stolen presidential election.

[emlev]

32. I assume you mean Blackwell, not Curtis? n/t

[lyonn]

34. Just read this Freepress Article

on TruthOut and got so excited and came directly here to be sure this had been posted, sure enough, great. If ever an investigation needs to be started, again, it is this. This need to be on the homepage. Stir up some trouble or something.

[KaliTracy]

35. kick

:kick:

[kster]

36. kick.nt

[LongTomH]

37. RICO?

Can a RICO case be made from this? We need to hear from someone with more of a legal background.

[NoBushSpokenHere]

39. Hocking Election Board Member Illegally Appointed?

http://www.freepress.org/columns/display/3/2005/1133

Was Hocking County Board of Elections member illegally appointed?
May 25, 2005

The battle between Deputy Director Sherole Eaton, a recently fired federal whistleblower, and the Hocking County Board of Elections (BOE) she worked for, is becoming a bare-knuckled political brawl.

The Free Press has learned that Eaton supporters will protest at the Hocking County BOE Thursday, May 26 and plan to allege that Susan Hughes, a Democrat who seconded the motion to fire Eaton, is illegally on the BOE.

[riqster]

40. From the article:

As one supporter told the Free Press, “This is a battle between the real Democrats and the Blackwell Democrats.”

Says it all...