Did US Atty Malfeasance Play a Role in Ohio '04 Election (Noe Scandal):

[mod mom]

I found this letter from Rep John Conyers and Rep Marcy Kaptur on Free Press website.
It appears like Conyers and Kaptur had concerns about Ohio US Attorney and mention a Rove intervention for Gregory White to obtain his post:

Conyers-Kaptur seek special counsel for Noe probe
by John Conyers, Jr. and Marcy Kaptur
August 4, 2005

The Honorable Alberto Gonzales
Attorney General of the United States
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20530


Dear Mr. Attorney General:

We write to request that the U.S. Department of Justice immediately appoint an outside special counsel to assume the Department's investigation into alleged illegal contributions by Mr. Thomas Noe to federal and state political campaigns. In light of recent disclosures that Governor Taft's office, which is a subject of the investigation, made a direct political appeal to Karl Rove for Gregory White, the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio to receive his job, there is little doubt that this is a textbook case for the appointment of a special counsel.

-snip

As a matter of fact, the numerous delays in the investigation have already raised the specter of political favoritism. From documents that have been made public, we know that the U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, Gregory White, who is leading the federal investigation, had prior knowledge of the losses before the 2004 presidential election, as did the Governor of Ohio and other officials.16 At the same time, no investigation was initiated on these matters until spring of this year.17

The fact pattern present in this case, particularly with the new disclosure that the lead federal prosecutor may well have gotten his job as a result of a political appeal by Governor Taft's office to Karl Rove, make it abundantly clear that a special counsel is necessitated. We urge you to make such a designation immediately to help restore public trust in this very important investigation.

Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
Marcy Kaptur

http://www.freepress.org/departments/display/19/2005/1400

[woodsprite]

1. I love how DUer's connect dots! I didn't remember a thing about this. n/t

[mod mom]

2. I wasn't sure if letters written by public officials are allowed to be printed in their

entirety, or else I would have used the entire letter. (vs 4 paragraph and a link)

[LisaM]

3. I don't think we can overstimate the importance of the '06 midterms

We are clearly in the grips of a cabal. I'm guessing they didn't expect the Democrats to win in 2006 and the fact that we managed it in spite of all this tampering makes me think the win was probably much larger than it actually appeared.

[tanyev]

4. Absolutely.

It looks like they were trying to get the US Attorneys to pre-empt the issue of election fraud and turn it into widespread voter fraud, supposedly benefitting the Democrats, of course. Fortunately that didn't go very far. I would like to see one of them really go after Ann Coulter for her voter fraud, though.

[blm]

13. That way when revelations came out about them they'd be filed under 'They ALL do it'

to coverup the worst of their criminal actions.

[robinlynne]

6. bingo!

[autorank]

5. Good grief! There are so many scandals, it's hard to keep up. K&R

This makes perfect sense. Where was the US Attorney in Ohio? On the bench, to be sure.

Hypothetically, since I have not read up on this, it would make perfect sense to put a "friendly" in
place if you planned to do something in that place; but that's just speculation.

As I recall, Kaptur has been rock solid on election fraud form day 1 so this is good to see.

Thanks!!!

[starroute]

7. There was an earlier letter to White directly on July 5

I haven't been able to come up with the letter itself, just some descriptions of it in articles like this one from the Toldeo Blade:

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050706/SRRARECOINS/307060005

A prominent Michigan congressman is criticizing the U.S. Justice Department’s handling of the Tom Noe investigation, saying it “delayed” its probe until after the re-election of President Bush.

U.S. Rep. John Conyers (D., Detroit), in a letter to Gregory A. White, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, criticized progress on the case that involved one of the President’s highest-profile fund-raisers in Ohio.

“In particular, I am concerned that your office delayed investigating this very serious matter until after the 2004 presidential election and as a result prejudiced the government’s ability to pursue justice in this case,” Mr. Conyers wrote.

In his letter, Mr. Conyers asked Mr. White to answer a number of questions, which boil down to: What did he know about Mr. Noe and when did he know it? The congressman also wants to know if officials within the Bush administration talked with Mr. White’s office about the case.

[mod mom]

9. Thx Starroute, I believe this is a portion of the letter you refer to:

Dear Mr. White,

I write to you because of my very serious concerns regarding the manner in which your office has handled the investigation into alleged federal campaign finance violations involving the 2004 Bush-Cheney campaign and other Republican candidates. In particular, I am concerned that your office delayed investigating this very serious matter until after the 2004 presidential election and as a result prejudiced the government's ability to pursue justice in the case.

It is my understanding that on October 13, 2004, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Ohio was provided evidence from Lucas County grand jury proceedings suggesting extensive federal campaign finance violations took place involving Tom Noe, the leading Bush-Cheney campaign official in the region for the 2004 campaign. On the same day, it was reported that your office shared this information with the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section, and that later that day, the Section e-mailed to the U.S. Attorney's Office authorization to investigate the matter. Two days later, on October 15, it was reported that the local prosecutor's office gave their evidence to the FBI.

It has been further reported by the Toledo Blade that you began your investigation into the case around early March 2005. Subsequent news reports stated that federal grand jury proceedings occurred on June 1, 2005, well after the presidential election and approximately seven-and-one half months after the Department was notified of the potential violations.

If this series of events is accurate, the delay may have violated federal guidelines as well as bar rules of professional conduct requiring impartiality and promptness in criminal investigations. First, federal law directs that each United States Attorney "shall prosecute for all offenses against the United States." The U.S. Attorneys' Manual reiterates this requirement and further explains that "their professional abilities and the need for their impartiality in administering justice directly affect the public's perception of federal law enforcement." While I am well aware that the principle of prosecutorial discretion grants your office latitude in determining which cases warrant prosecution, that doctrine in no way permits political considerations—including the fact of a high profile and closely contested election—to intrude on the prosecutorial process....

-snip
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/govt_docs/2005/3228conyers_ohio_ltr.html

[mod mom]

10. RELATED? Lucas Co Dem Prosecutor Informs on Oct 13, Dem HQ Break-In Oct 11

COULD THIS BE RELATED (THINK SURVEILLANCE)?

In 2004, Lucas County prosecutor Julia Bates came into possession of information that Noe may have violated Federal campaign finance laws, a criminal offense. This involved Noe's alleged illegal conduiting of funds to individuals in order for them to contribute to the Bush-Cheney campaign, at an October 2003 fundraising dinner in Columbus, Ohio that netted the Bush campaign $1.4 million.

On Oct. 13, 2004, Prosecutor Bates informed U.S. Attorney White of these very serious violations by Noe. White did not open grand jury proceedings until June 1, 2005. Representative Conyers states in his letter to White—who works for the Bush Justice Department—"I am concerned that your office delayed investigating this very serious matter until after the 2004 presidential election, and as a result prejudiced the government's ability to pursue justice in this case." Conyers also pointedly asks: "Did the U.S. Attorney's Office and other officials in the Bush administration ... communicate with each other about this case of Mr. Noe?"

-snip
http://www.larouchepub.com/other/govt_docs/2005/3228conyers_ohio_ltr.html

LUCAS COUNTY PROSECUTOR JULIA BATES WAS UP FOR RE-ELECTION IN '04. SHE IS A DEMOCRAT.

http://www.lucasdems.com/elected_officials.php

COULD THIS BREAK-IN 2 DAYS EARLIER AT LUCAS COUNTY DEM HQ POSSIBLY BE RELATED ?

Article published Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Lucas County Democratic headquarters burglarized

BLADE STAFF

The Lucas County Democratic Headquarters was burglarized overnight, and three computers, including the party’s main system, were stolen.

The computers contained highly sensitive information, including the party’s financial information, names and personal phone numbers of hundreds of party members, candidates, and volunteers.

The computers also stored e-mails from candidates that included discussion about campaign strategy.

A second computer, belonging to an attorney-volunteer working to ensure voters’ rights, also was taken, officials said. The headquarters on 1817 Madison Avenue does have an alarm system that volunteers believed they set late Monday when they left.

However, it apparently wasn’t tripped during the night. Workers arriving about 7:30 a.m. yesterday noticed the back window had been shattered and called police.
http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041012/NEWS03/41012016

[glitch]

8. This is the first USA that should be looked at.

Krugman's advice is the low hanging fruit, ripe and juicy: what about the ones who weren't fired? You know these 8 weren't the only ones tasked with targeting Dems with false charges.

[mod mom]

11. REMEMBER NOE'S WIFE WAS R CHAIR OF LUCAS CO BOE IN 2004:

SOME OF YOU WILL REMEMBER OF MY INTEREST IN INVESTIGATING LUCAS CO AFTER THE '04 THEFT. FOR THOSE UNFAMILAR AS TO WHY:

Blackwell, OH SOS Investigation of the Lucas County BOE after 2004 Election

includes the fact that REPUBLICAN VOLUNTEERS were allowed UNSUPERVISED ACCESS to UNSECURED BALLOTS prior to the election, as well as this list:

*failure to maintain ballot security
*Inability to implement and maintain a trackable system for voter ballot reconciliation .
*failure to prepare and develop a plan for the processing of the voluminous amount of voter registration forms received.
*issuance and acceptance of incorrect absentee ballot forms.
*manipulation of the process involving the 3% recount.
*disjointed implementation of the Directive regarding the removal of Nader and Camejo from the ballot .
*failure to properly issue hospital ballots in accordance with statutory requirements.
*failure to maintain the security of poll books during the official canvass
*failure to examine campaign finance reports in a timely manner.
*failure to guard and protect public documents.
*failure to guard and protect public documents ....etc.


-One-half of the ballots printed and used in the 2004 general election in Lucas county were stored in an open space on the fhird floor of the county warehouse with no security measures in place.
SOURCE: SOS Investigation on Lucas County BOE page 4



-Live ballots were delivered to polling locations a week in advance of the election. Although the ballots were retrieved, one board employee who was assigned to the warehouse informed the SOS staff that he did not believe all the ballots were successfully retrieved.
SOURCE; SOS Investigation, page 5



-Lucas County BOE failed to record or retrieve ballot stub numbers of absentee voters’ ballots as required by statute OH Revised Code 3505.23. It was reported by an elector that her mother had received not one, but three absentee voter ballots. there was no way to determine if similar incidents occurred and if so how many.
SOURCE: SOS Investigation, page 7




-October 4, 2004 was filing deadline for new voter registrations. At that point there were approximately 20,000 unprocessed voter registration applications with less than a month before the election. One mail tray containing 4,500-7,000 (estimates vary) unprocessed “Project Voter” registrations were discovered on or about October 18,2004.
SOURCE: SOS Investigation pg 10

***Of interest here is information obtained from the SOS website entitled ElectionsVoter/results 2003 and 2004 which show the # of registered voters number change from ‘03-’04 was 11,947 in Lucas County: reg voters 2003 in Lucas=288,190 ; registered voter in 2004=300,137.



-In late September or early October an employee of the Ohio Republican Party contacted Sam Thurber (*involved with politician wife Maggie Thurber in Noe scandal.) wanting to inspect and have copies made of all recently returned voter registrations, Ohio Republican Party offered to furnish volunteers to assist with copying postcards. No one at the Lucas County BOE can confirm that anyone was assigned to supervise Republican volunteers. On their second day of copying, a BOE employee, Jennifer Bernath, Democratic Booth Official) saw republican party volunteers peeling off the yellow return stickers applied by the post office. (Violation of RC 149.43 (B) (I) , and agruably a violation of 149.351.
SOURCE: SOS Investigation, pgs 18-19



-The Swanton 3 poll book turned up missing and has never been recovered.
SOURCE: SOS Investigation pg 16

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1297&mesg_id=1354

SORRY FOLKS BUT THE OLD LINK TO THE OH SOS SITE HAS BEEN REMOVED. I AM NOT SURE IF THIS IS BECAUSE OF BLACKWELL'S DEPARTURE, BUT I COULDN'T LOCATE IT ON NEW SITE.

[ourvoicescount]

12. Way to go mod mom!

Thank you for staying on top of this, very interesting information here.

[mod mom]

14. Thanks ourvoicecount. If you're going to the antiwar protest tomorrow @

the Statehouse remember to dress extra warm as the wind is always bitter there.

BTW thanks to modboy I can now access DU through his wii on the tv. (also quit putting thoughts of a larger tv in the mind of moddad. I keep asking why is it necessary when we only watch KO . :hi: