On "Interfering" With Phones

In all the commentary on the SOTU last night, don't miss the Hot Air post about what James O'Keefe might really have been up to:

As you’ll see, an AP reporter who turned up on Matthews’s show this afternoon was apparently on the right track. According to a law enforcement source who talked to NBC, the point wasn’t to wiretap Landrieu’s phones. It was to figure out why so many people had trouble getting through to the office when they called to complain about the ObamaCare “Louisiana Purchase.”

Interesting. Not smart, but interesting.

Read the rest.

Michael McHale's Mysterious Statement on Louisiana Watergate

Update: Thanks to Chad at The Dead Pelican for the link! Welcome Pelicans.

When Michael McHale of the Louisiana Democratic Party made his cryptic statement yesterday about Senator David Vitter having "ties to some of the players involved" in the arrest of four men for attempting to interfere with Mary Landrieu's phone system in New Orleans, I've been curious about what those ties might be.

I contacted McHale's office for a comment but received no response.

Arrested yesterday was James O'Keefe, Stan Dai, Joseph Basel, and Robert Flanagan (pictured).

Fox8 News in New Orleans seems to be on to something though:

Bringing the charges against the four men was Jim Letten, the U.S. attorney in New Orleans and a holdover Bush Administration appointee. One of four arrested Monday in the alleged plot was Robert Flanagan, the son of Bill Flanagan, a career prosecutor who is the acting U.S. attorney in Shreveport, La.

A week ago, President Barack Obama nominated Stephanie Finley for the U.S. attorney's post in Shreveport.

Sen. David Vitter, R-La., is blocking Senate action on Finley's nomination and Obama's other nominees for federal justice system posts in Louisiana until he hears from the White House whether Obama will let Letten keep his job, Vitter's office said Wednesday.

In early January, NOLA reported on Vitter's objections. It appears to be a lot of political shenanigans between Vitter and the House of Obama.

Vitter has not returned his blue slip on the appointment of a Baton Rouge federal judge nominee or for a New Orleans federal marshal job nominee.

Vitter appears set to hold his blue slips hostage until Obama confirms that U.S. Attorney Jim Letten, of Baton Rouge, can keep his job. Letten was confirmed by the Senate during the Bush administration. Vitter wants a promise or a reconfirmation of Letten, which as of yet, has not been granted.

From NOLA:

About Letten, Landrieu said: "All U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president and do not need to be re-nominated by the president or re-confirmed by the Senate to continue their service." She said Letten "continues to serve with my strong support."

It's a little reminiscent of the George W. Bush/Alberto Gonzales controversy in 2006. The controversy at the time was whether the White House and DOJ were using U.S. Attorney positions for political advantage. The defense used then was, of course, just what Mary Landrieu said: "All U.S. attorneys serve at the pleasure of the president...".

With regard to the current situation and Michael McHale's statement, McHale seems to be referring to Letten when he says Vitter has "ties to some of the players involved" as Letten was the one who formall brought charges against the four men yesterday.

Unfortunately, McHale makes it sound like Vitter may somehow be involved with one of the four accused young men. It's a bit misleading.

I'm sure McHale didn't intend for his statement to be so vague and I continue to offer him an opportunity to clear things up.

Correction: A reader corrects me: Letten is in fact from New Orleans. I misspoke and want to correct that! Many apologies.

More at Memeorandum.

Louisiana Watergate: Landrieu Makes a Statement

Via Bayou Buzz, Senator Landrieu has issued a statement regarding the James O'Keefe arrest:

This is a very unusual situation and somewhat unsettling for me and my staff. The individuals responsible have been charged with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purposes of committing a felony. I am as interested as everyone else about their motives and purpose, which I hope will become clear as the investigation moves forward.

Additionally, the Louisiana Democratic Party has issued an odd statement in which they seem to implicate Senator David Vitter in some nefarious doings:

This is a Louisiana Watergate. Louisiana families are shocked and outraged that these men would break the law to carry out their political agenda with this Watergate-like break-in and attempted wiretapping. Given his ties to some of the players involved, Sen. Vitter should immediately denounce the actions of these four men and anyone who may have instigated, supported or assisted them. We call on U.S Attorney Jim Letten to conduct a thorough investigation and to prosecute any wrongdoers to the fullest extent of the law.

The "ties to some of the players involved" remains unspecified, however blogger Lindsay Beyerstein reports the following:

One of the four men arrested for allegedly trying to bug Mary Landrieu's office interned for Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) in 2007, according to his LinkedIn profile. The following year, Robert Flanagan worked as a paid intern for Republican Rep. Mary Fallin of OK. His duties included "brief[ing] legislative staff on issues of national security and international relations." In the summer of 2008, Flanagan volunteered for Chris Gorman's campaign in Shreveport, LA.

The link to David Vitter remains unclear.

Politico points out that "There's no mention of wiretapping or "bugging" in the complaint or press release from the U.S. Attorney's office, and it isn't entirely clear what the foursome were up to." The affidavit only says that they were entering government offices under false pretenses. However, it also says that the four were entering "for the purpose of willfully and maliciously interfering with a telephone system operated and controlled by the United States of America." (PDF here).

That's pretty much the same thing as "bugging" and wiretapping to me.

If O'Keefe and friends are in fact guilty then they deserve to be punished as the law requires. That said, it doesn't negate the work O'Keefe did to expose ACORN for the fraudulent organization it is. ACORN was caught on tape attempting to help set up brothels and teenage prostitution rings, among other things. O'Keefe's guilt, or innocence, in this case does not absolve ACORN for their sins.

As they say, developing!