Abramoff's Diebold Ties. Has anyone made the connection yet?

[radwriter0555]

Yikes.

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&rls=GGLR%2CGGLR%3A2005-43%2CGGLR%3Aen&q=Greenberg+Traurig+abramoff+diebold

[Vinca]

1. Yikes is right! It's a circular universe, isn't it? nt

[FreedomAngel82]

14. It all ties together

and it'll all fall together. (I hope)

[babsbunny]

29. Send This To John Conyers!

Keith Olbermann!

[mod mom]

2. Abramoff-Greenberg Traurig-Diebold-Ney-HAVA

I heard this was the links to the biggest scandal.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. Is he tied to Hagel too (ES&S machines)??

[acmavm]

24. I've never heard that he was, and I can't find anything that says so. But

maybe someone else smarter than me with better research skills can help out.

[Ian David]

3. Input: Abramoff money --> Output: Election

<snip>

Input: Abramoff money --> Output: Election fraud

Mother-of-all-election-fraud: In 2002 House Administration Chair Congressman Bob Ney of Ohio was a prime sponsor of the (sic) "Help America Vote Act" (HAVA). In fact, HAVA was actually written in Bob Ney's office. HAVA, under the guise of resolving the 2000 election fraud issues, was actually written to promote the distribution of computerized voting systems across the nation. The bill was designed to send $3.8 billion taxpayer dollars straight into the pockets of corporations like Diebold, whose voting equipment has now been unequivacolly proven to provide an open door to election rigging. Diebold, one of the prime lobbyists for HAVA, was at the time a client of Greenberg Traurig, Abramoff's firm.

I have compiled plenty of information on this issue, which I am ready to provide in order to get this story out. I have access to eye witnesses and players who were physically present and participating in Bob Ney's office when HAVA was written. As sexy as congressional scandal is, it pales in comparison to the real story behind the Abramoff affair: the theft of our democracy.

More:
http://markcrispinmiller.blogspot.com/2006/01/abramoff-money-election-fraud.html

Also:
Diebold Check stub from Diebold to Abramoff
http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/2197/15714.html

[Junkdrawer]

10. I've always thought Florida 2000 was a "too close call" ...

for the Republican Election Fraud team.

If your main hack was to pre-load votes, you're still vulnerable to a landslide by your opponent. And so every trick was pulled just to get Bush over the top - include the ham-fisted GEMS hack in Volusia country. When the latter was caught just before Gore's election night concession speech, a manual recount was ordered - a cheater's worst nightmare. James Baker was quickly sent and soon the recount was an under-votes only recount.

Still reeling from almost exposing a decade of election fraud that saw statehouses and the US Congress swing Republican, HAVA was born.

[FreedomAngel82]

16. I've heard that happened in Florida

Some got voting papers that were already voted on. Bush's name was already filled in the hole and if someone didn't notice it and voted for Gore that vote didn't count.

[northerdar]

23. Regarding Florida...Gore won

check this out.
From Florida state U.
Battlefield Florida

A Chat with Lance deHaven-Smith

Al Gore really did beat George W. Bush in 2000. Six years on, this is still a problem?

by Julian Pecquet



http://www.research.fsu.edu/researchr/winter2005/features/battlefield.html

[acmavm]

4. Okay, now is the time for all the dems, especially anyone involved

in the Ohio lawsuits, to start going very public with this information.

[FreedomAngel82]

17. Send to David Cobb and Cliff Arnebeck and Bob Firtakis

They've been working the hardest on the Ohio issue.

[babsbunny]

26. That email for Bob Fitrakis is...........

[e-mail], unless someone knows him personally.

[mod mom]

27. I do. Will get it to Harvey + Bob.

[babsbunny]

28. WOW!

Thanks Mod Mom! :hi:

[Emit]

5. Greenberg Traurig

Represented Bush in the 2000 (s)election:

There’s a backstory that lurks behind Bush’s decision to stand by DeLay. It involves Greenberg Traurig, the firm that employed the powerful lobbyist who paid for palatial DeLay junkets, and Abramoff staffers, who were footsoldiers in the Florida recount...

~snip~

Indeed, some members of the firm mention their roles in the recount in their biographies to this day. In a release last year, Greenberg dubbed themselves “the international law firm that successfully represented President George W. Bush in the 2000 presidential election litigation.”

Four of Abramoff’s colleagues—all of whom have left Greenberg in the wake of investigations surrounding Abramoff’s activities—were foot soldiers in the Florida recount. Two of them bragged of their recount work on their official online Greenberg biographies, which have since been removed.

Shawn Vasell noted that he was a “team leader” in Broward and Duval counties in his bio; Duane Gibson was photographed in the acclaimed “Brooks Brothers riot” of Republican operatives outside the Miami-Dade County polling headquarters; Todd Boulanger boasted of being on the Broward and Duval recount team in his profile. Also on the ground was former DeLay deputy chief of staff Tony Rudy.

Boulanger drafted a letter DeLay signed urging the Interior Department to favor Abramoff’s client in June 2003—a letter cosigned by the House Republican leadership, including Whip Roy Blunt (R-MO). Boulanger married Blunt’s press secretary earlier this year.

http://rawstory.com/exclusives/byrne/abramoff_florida_recount_bush_505.htm


Here's a good summary of them:

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Greenberg_Traurig

[radwriter0555]

6. *whack*

*thump*

[dusty64]

7. I'm hoping this will

eventually come out in the trials, but once I learned who is in charge ya gotta wonder. Fingers crossed, they will eventually go down.........

[FreedomAngel82]

18. Send to democrats you know who will talk about this

[carolinalady]

8. Prior to being hired by that firm he was hired by Preston Gates

Ellis in 98 or 99? as a lobbyist. Gates of course being Billy's dad. Billy hired Ralph Reed I believe specifically to lobby Pres. candidate Bush due to the monopoly trouble Microsoft was in. Now Ralph and Jack are buddies, and Preston Gates and Ellis are hooked into Microsoft, and who else enters the picture? None other than Walden O'Dell-of diebold fame. The die was cast prior to the first election that GW would win, Microsoft would get off lightly and Diebold would make some money. I have not found a specific source that ties it all together, but have been studying this for days. There is no other explanation as to why Diebold would allow states like NC to kick them out simply because the absolutely refuse to reveal their software.

[GreenPartyVoter]

9. Well, why not? Like seeks out like.

[SmokingJacket]

11. Yes, Greenberg Traurig are lobbyists for Diebold...

http://finance.tc-library.org/Content.asp?uid=1181

Key lobbyists: For voting machine companies: Davidoff, Malito & Hutcher for Election Systems Software; Greenberg Traurig for Diebold Election Systems; Powers & Company for Accupoll; Capitol Group LLC and Featherstonhaugh, Wiley, Clyne & Cordo for Liberty Election Systems.

[Flying Dream Blues]

12. K&R nt

[Junkdrawer]

13. How can we find out who gave money to (hired?) Greenberg Traurig?

At first blush, Greenberg Traurig looks like the ultimate slush fund firm.

Corporations -> Greenberg Traurig -> Abramoff -> Congressional Bribes.

Did corporations report the money as lobbying expenses or legal expenses? :shrug:

[Emit]

19. Here's a couple of Greenberg's lobbyists for Diebold (NYC)

Re: New York City electronic voting machines (actually, the whole article is interesting for those having followed the electronic voting issues):

But Sequoia is not the only firm going the lobbying route. Diebold
Election Systems, based in McKinney, Tex., and known mostly for its
A.T.M.'s, is spending $12,500 a month to retain Greenberg Traurig, a
Manhattan law firm. Greenberg's lobbyists are Robert Harding, former
deputy mayor under Rudolph W. Giuliani, and John Mascialino, a lawyer
and former first deputy commissioner of a city agency charged with
buying equipment and supplies under Mr. Giuliani.

http://lists.hss.caltech.edu/pipermail/votingtech/2003-October/000426.html

[Clark2008]

20. Success fees to Diebold.

Oh...My...God.

Contains a $100,000.00 "unidentified security expense." Also contains a $200,000.00 "additional consulting success fee". The items on this ledger pretty much speak for themselves -- some of the transactions listed are so vague and contain such large even amounts that an appropriate step would be to examine whether this company has paid blackmail or otherwise inappropriate payments.

What would you have to do for these amounts of money? If you do a professional service, how often is your billing "$200,000" flat. What kind of accounting doesn't require a specific payee for such large sums?

The $100,000 is tied into Dix & Eaton, a PR firm. Why PR services would be called an "unidentified security expense" is a good question to begin with. Note that this is a financial statement for the elections subsidiary, not for Diebold Inc., which would tend to rule out things related to the ATM division or any other product line or acquisition. Dix & Eaton may be the entire expense or some of a category of expenses. It is likely that the Dix & Eaton was selected by Diebold Inc., though, because its client list includes Timkin and Diebold (Timken was a Diebold director, both firms from the same area in Ohio).

http://www.bbvforums.org/cgi-bin/forums/board-auth.cgi?file=/2197/15715.html

[babsbunny]

25. Well, here is my question............

Here is the truth, will there be anything done?

[radwriter0555]

34. When enough people get ANGRY and embarrassed, yes. This information

needs to get to every single anti-bush writer on the planet.

[Sydnie]

21. Perhaps this is why Kerry didn't challenge the election?

He's a smart guy and a hell of an investigator and prosecutor. Is it possible that he was putting two and two together and knew there was big fish, hell whales, to be caught in time?

We know that Teresa was investigating what went on with the machines in the west, right?

Could be what she found too.

[IndyOp]

22. How much of Abramoff's money was used to steal Election 2004?

An excellent thread in the Election Reform forum here at DU - and I happen to know that Mark Crispin Miller is/has used this thread as a source:

< http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=203x407684 >

:bounce:

[radwriter0555]

30. I LOVE you guys... Big kisses and hugs, keep it coming, it's all out there

to be found

You ROCK!

[mom cat]

31. Great fetch!

[chat_noir]

32. for posting on other Dem sites

[Independent_Liberal]

33. May the gates open up!

:)