Ellison, Conyers Demand Documents About Paulose and Heffelfinger

Eric Black:

U.S. Rep. Keith Ellison of Minneapolis and House Judiciary Chair John Conyers have moments ago sent a letter to the acting U.S. attorney general demanding all communications from the staff of the Minnesota U.S. attorneys office to the Justice Department about Rachel Paulose’s management of the office, documents relating to the evaluations of her predecessor, Tom Heffelfinger that might shed light on why he was on a list of U.S. attorneys to be fired, and all documents reflecting the search for Heffelfinger’s replacement, which led to the appointment of Paulose.

Goodling gone... Gonzo gone... Paulose going soon?

Rachel Paulose Investigated by Office of Special Counsel

Another Eric Black scoop :

The federal Office of Special Counsel is investigating allegations that Rachel Paulose, U.S. attorney for Minnesota, mishandled classified information, decided to fire the subordinate who called it to her attention, retaliated against others in the office who crossed her, and made racist remarks about one employee.

The allegations:

*As U.S. attorney, Paulose received regular reports about the status of the war on terror, drawing on up-to-date information assembled by intelligence and law enforcement agencies. The reports, classified “secret,” were supposed to kept locked up. For about a year, Paulose regularly left the reports loose in her office, sometimes unattended, where they could have been seen by unauthorized people. Marti spoke to her about it and, as required by regulations, filed a report with the national office that oversees U.S. attorneys.

Paulose began threatening Marti with the loss of his position as the No. 2 attorney in the office. He heard from colleagues and even from a federal judge that Paulose was bad-mouthing him, making false allegations against him and telling them that she was going to replace him.

*Paulose committed large and small acts of retaliation against others in the office whom she accused of disloyalty to her. In one instance, after changing the job assignment of one employee, Paulose allegedly said that she would make the woman so miserable that she would want to quit. In some instances, Paulose allegedly ordered those in charge of performing job evaluations to downgrade the reviews of those she considered disloyal, or turned down requests that they be allowed to perform work outside the office. The allegation is that Paulose took these actions against employees for reasons other than the quality of their work, but rather for offenses like advising her that some actions she was contemplating would exceed her legal authority.

*Paulose allegedly denigrated one employee of the office, using the terms “fat,” “black,” “lazy” and “ass.”

Paulose has got to go.

Timeline Update--Heffelfinger Cancelled Press Conference on Zimmermann

According to then Fifth Congressional District Green Party chair Steven Eisenmenger:

Eisenmenger said two members of the Zimmermann campaign were subpoenaed to testify Monday before a Hennepin County grand jury, but were told Friday their appearances had been cancelled. He also questioned why U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger cancelled a Friday press conference where he was to release a statement on the case. “He should hand down an indictment or close the investigation,” Eisenmenger said. “It’s well within a citizen’s right to make this reasonable request in asking for that.”

Why did Heffelfinger cancel his press conference?

Did the raid on Zimmermann's house yield information that complicated the investigation?

Were there any e-mails to prominent Republicans on Zimmermann's hard drive that could have gotten Heffelfinger into trouble with loyal Bushie Monica "Buzzsaw" Goodling?

Did Republicans Fund MN Green Party Senate Candidate in 2002?

From a comment on TPM Muckraker:

The third issue is much less direct -- it was about Rove pushing money through Norm Coleman's campaign in 2002 to support the Green Party Native American Candidate in the Wellstone-Coleman race in 2002. (The Greens ultimately settled this by defeating their own candidate in the September 2002 primary). But it was hot news in the summer of 2002 that Rove was spending money through Coleman to support someone who might fool progressives, and take votes away from Wellstone. At the time it was a big issue, Heffelfinger did comment that he might investigate the matter of Coleman's campaign funds being used for two candidates and two parties -- but it never went beyond that. Again, that probably alienated Rove who was shoveling in the campaign cash.

Really!!!???!!!

I never heard that Republicans were funding Ed "Eagle Man" McGaa or that Tom Heffelfinger said anything about it... but, it would make sense in light of what was revealed during the Zimmermann trial.

For me and other former Greens, Ed McGaa's endorsement was when we realized that something was terribly wrong with the MN Green Party:

But my dissatisfaction with the Greens grew. The watershed moment, in retrospect, was the Green Party convention in 2002 where the party nominated Ed McGaa when clearly he had no credentials as a Green Party member or a Senate candidate. We know how that story turned out. The Green's gubernatorial candidate, Ken Pentel, had to publicly pull his support from McGaa when the truth came out about McGaa's "green" philosophy, which included burying toxic sludge on his home reservation for a price.

... and Zimmermann supported McGaa...

But Dean Zimmermann, 6th Ward Minneapolis City Council member and a Green Party member, said that Wellstone is responsible for collecting his votes, not the Green Party.

"They can't take votes away from (Wellstone) ... They're not his votes," Zimmermann said.

So, were the Republicans paying MN Green Party candidates back in 2002? It wouldn't surprise me... here's a few examples from that era of Republicans shoveling money at Green Party candidates:

Republican Offers $100K Bribe to NM Greens - Was It Tom Delay?

Green Party Candidate Finds He's a Republican Pawn 



The Paulose Puzzle - Three Timelines Offer Clues

Why did former U.S. Attorney Tom Heffelfinger resign and why did Rachel Paulose replace him?

Although Heffelfinger insists he left voluntarily, it seems very likely he jumped before he was pushed.

We know the assistant U.S. attorneys he left behind are very unhappy working for Paulose. But, with the exception of a recent open letter complaining about Paulose, they haven't given the media any clues why Heffelfinger was removed and replaced with the boss from hell.

In every mystery, there's a motive.

Dahlia Lithwick at Slate explains the reason for what happened in U.S. Attorney offices across the country:

There is only one narrative that works with the facts. The White House wanted party loyalists placed in either key battleground states, or in states where Republicans were being investigated or they thought Democrats should have been.

If that's so, Heffelfinger should have been popular at the White House, because he successfully prosecuted Democrats such as former Minneapolis City Council members Brian Heron, Joe Biernat, and Loren Jennings, a former state representative.

With that motive in mind, let's take a look at some timelines and see if they point to an answer.

Ed Felein, the editor and publisher of Pulse of the Twin Cities published a timeline in his publication PULSE last week:

Sept. 16, 2005--"What did Dean do wrong?" by Ed Felien. Analysis of the "case" against [then] Minneapolis Council Member Dean Zimmerman.

Aug. 16, 2006--In the wake of "Zimmergate," commentator David Tilsen discusses how he believes former City Council Member Dean Zimmerman was set up, and Tilsen gives advice to anti-establishment leaders.

Zimmermann was anything but anti-establishment. Zimmermann was a one-stop-shop for political favors and corruption in Minneapolis.

Ed Felein is Zimmermann's friend and one of the few people in this town besides David Tilsen who defended Zimmermann in print after his conviction. For Felein and Tilsen, Heffelfinger is the villain. That is probably why the Pulse has ignored the scandal surrounding Paulose.

Another of Zimmermann's friends and supporters is Charley Underwood, the head of the DFL Progressive Caucus and a blogger at Mn Blue. Underwood, who has attacked Rep. Keith Ellison for what he perceives as a betrayal of the anti-war movement, has forgiven his friend Zimmmermann of any wrongdoing.

For Felein, Tilsen and Underwood, Heffelfinger, is the bad guy; a Bush appointee that investigated and indicted Zimmermann, their friend.

Eric Pusey at Mn Blue has posted a timeline of the U.S. Attorney scandal that avoids mentioning Heffelfinger's prosecution of Zimmermann.

One of the facts that Pusey states as reason for Heffelfinger's dismissal is that he was a "moderate".

But if Heffelfinger was a moderate, that would make him one of the good guys, right? Hefelfinger wasn't a "loyal Bushie" like Paulose. This is what Pusey thinks his timeline proves:

It's clear that Heffelfinger would not cooperate in 2008 when the Bush Administration would want some voter suppression to occur in urban, minority areas ... areas that would likely vote against Norm. The Bush Administration considers Minnesota a key battleground state. Hell, they're holding their convention here to help out Norm Coleman in his reelection bid. Rachel Paulose, a trusted neo-con, will do the Bush Administration's bidding unquestioningly, whatever it happens to be.

Pusey could be right. It's also possible that Heffelfinger's dismissal had something to do with the Abramoff scandal.

But, Zimmmermann's reported ties to at least two prominent Republican donors (and politicians) and his possible ties to others suggests that Heffelfinger chose to leave rather than face Monica Goodling's buzzsaw during the crucial 2006 election year.

What did the FBI find in the raid on Zimmemrmann's house in September of 2005?

Did they find e-mails to and from Republican donors and politicians on Zimmermann's hard drive?

Why won't Rachel Paulose release the FBI tapes shown in open court of Zimmermann accepting bribes from Gary Carlson? Is it because Carlson held a fundraiser for Senator Norm Coleman?

Read the Minneapolis Confidential Mn DOJ timeline and see what you think.