Coleman Holds $25,000 In Contributions From Stevens, $6,000 From Other Indicted Executives At Center Of Scandal

Coleman Patron Ted Stevens Indicted: Will Coleman Divest Dirty Money?

Saint Paul [07/29/08] – U.S. Senate candidate Al Franken today called on Republican Senator Norm Coleman (R – Big Oil), currently being investigated by the Senate Ethics Committee, to return $31,000 in contributions Coleman accepted from indicted Senator Ted Stevens and an Alaska corporation implicated in a growing corruption scandal.

Communications Director Andy Barr:

“Norm Coleman is already being investigated for his own ethical lapses – but now that his political patron has been indicted for breaking the law, he needs to return those contributions immediately and explain his role in this scandal. It’s this kind of corruption that keeps Minnesotans from getting a fair shake in Washington – and that’s why Norm Coleman and the rest of his special interest friends need to go.”

In addition to accepting $25,000 from the indicted Senator and another $6,000 from executives from the disgraced VECO Corporation, Coleman attended Stevens’ infamous Kenai River Classic fishing junket, where lobbyists and executives from Big Oil and other special interests were invited to rub shoulders with Republican officials, on multiple occasions.

According to one GOP operative, Coleman even made a private promise to Stevens to switch his vote and support drilling in ANWR “if Republicans could assure him that their side would prevail.”

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 29th, 2008 at 13:18 and is filed under Press Releases. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.