Roberts had larger 2000 recount role

[soup]

The role of U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in the 2000 election aftermath in Florida was larger than has been reported. Roberts helped prepare the Supreme Court case.

By MARC CAPUTO

[e-mail]

TALLAHASSEE - U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts played a broader behind-the-scenes role for the Republican camp in the aftermath of the 2000 election than previously reported -- as legal consultant, lawsuit editor and prep coach for arguments before the nation's highest court, according to the man who drafted him for the job.

Ted Cruz, a domestic policy advisor for President Bush and who is now Texas' solicitor general, said Roberts was one of the first names he thought of while he and another attorney drafted the Republican legal dream team of litigation ''lions'' and ''800-pound gorillas,'' which ultimately consisted of 400 attorneys in Florida.

Until now, Gov. Jeb Bush and others involved in the election dispute could recall almost nothing of Roberts' role, except for a half-hour meeting the governor had with Roberts. Cruz said Roberts was in Tallahassee helping the Bush camp for ''a week to 10 days,'' and that his help was important, though Cruz said it is difficult to remember specifics five years after the sleep-depriving frenetic pace of the 2000 recount.>snip<

>Soon after getting the call from Cruz, Roberts traveled from his Washington office at Hogan & Hartson to Tallahassee to lend advice and help polish legal briefs. Later, Roberts participated in a dress rehearsal to prepare the Bush legal team for the U.S. Supreme Court.

Cruz's account is the first to place Roberts firmly within the Bush vs. Gore battle, filling in substantial blanks in the memories of everyone from Bush's campaign lawyer, Ben Ginsberg, to the governor.<
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12230971.htm

[SpiralHawk]

1. OMG! Judge Frenchfry helped steal the 200O election from the American

people while he was in SERVICE to the BushCo Cabal !

Why does this not surprise me at all?

I think there is a lot of scrungy stuff hiding under the Roberts rock.

And I think it will emerge.

[babylonsister]

2. Do you have any inkling whether the Dems will

fight this guy? The more I hear, the less I like.

[henslee]

4. The real story here is the Admin.'s "lying and downplaying of his role.

I really can't fault him for giving advice and pitching in when asked to be a team player. But the fact that they lie about not knowing what his role was is despicable. Also, the notion that the transcripts of his discussions with WH while he was solicitor general are privleged is comical. Who the heck pays him? The people. Democratic leadership should expose this sleazy fixed back room card game for what it is now.

[babylonsister]

8. Add to your comments the fact that he can't remember whether

he was a member of the Federalist organization doesn't bode well; if his memory is that bad, he shouldn't even be considered.

[henslee]

14. Babsis, you are right. You can be Bernstein to my Woodward. We'll

be great team!!!!! Actually the Wash Post article on the expanding Justice Dept investigation looks ominous -- does not bode well. If it can only gather steam -- Senators will abandon their CIC like rats on a sinking ship. And Roberts will barely be a footnote in history.

[babylonsister]

17. I'm looking forward to the

exodus!:toast:

[goclark]

25. Maybe he needs to be plasced on Memory medication

That is not such a good situation for a "serve for life" position.

Huuuum

[AlGore-08.com]

20. You should hold off on whether to fault him until his entire role is known

There was a lot of illegal and unethical stuff done in Florida during time that Roberts was there that helped Smirk get enough votes to be in the lead when Recount Dracula Harris certified the official vote count, and to keep the appearance of a lead long enough for the Extreme Court to stop the recount with Smirk the "winner". Circumstantial evidence suggests that the Smirk campaign and Jebbie were either involved or aware of these activities. There is no final legal answer about who knew what when and which activities were illegal, since there has never been a criminal investigation, not into the blatantly illegal acts (like the Republican Congressional aides and former Republican Congressional aides who physically assaulted a Democratic county official in the Miami Dade Courthouse - - live on tv) or the acts which could be criminal but may end up being extreme incompetence (the butterfly ballot, etc.).

The question that should be asked is whether Roberts was aware of or involved in any of the things that are definitely illegal - -because, as an attorney, he can help a client defend himself against crimes which have already been committed, but can't help a client commit new crimes.

(FYI Ken Starr ended the idea that the President had attorney/client privilege with government lawyers.)

Editted to remove a rant...

[Fridays Child]

39. It means that this is pure political payola...

...classic quid pro quo. Do they suspect that it is, in some way, illegal and they have to hide it?

[Demeter]

54. I'd Say They Know For A Fact It's Illegal

because if it wasn't, they wouldn't. See what I mean? That's logic.

[DELUSIONAL]

44. This is just like the information that leaked when bushie ran for Prez

First bit -- GW bush -- Governor of Texas

Second bit -- Republican -- but Compassionate Conservative.

Now the closer look -- environment a mess in Texas -- basically corporations write their own laws.

Looking at his background -- he didn't complete National Guard Service, College Grad -- on the legacy fast track. He is a "reformed" drunk, also probably did drugs . . .

Turns out that he was a real son of a bitch . . . . turns out he is as bad as any of us thought he would be.

Flash forward -- Father with two brats is sprung on the Nation as the second coming of Christ or something . . . . .

The guy has only been a judge for 2 years -- so not an extensive written trail.

However -- he was involved as a Government lawyer in Iran Contra -- and the Bush the elder's pardons of all the bad guys involved in Iran Contra.

Fast forward to the hunting of Clinton by the wack out GOPigs -- yep Roberts was working for Starr.

Fast forward to the 2000 theft of the election-- yep Roberts was involved in this crap also.

This bastard is as dirty and as filthy as they come -- the kids are nothing but a prop -- to make this filthy bastard look like a poster dad.

Hey GOPigs --- Roberts is NOT a new John F. Kennedy -- and his wife is NOT a Jackie Kennedy and his kids are NOT Caroline and John John.

This guy is the Mouth of Sauron-- the Lord of the Rings, Return of the King -- the blind guy with the really hugh ugly mouth.

[Zhade]

48. Anyone who doesn't fight this guy loses my respect.

Just look at your list! Anyone who can excuse it away is being cowardly, IMHO.

[Voltaire99]

45. The Dems will cave in on Roberts, gratefully

Senate Dems are heaving sighs of relief that Roberts is not, overtly at least, a Bork.

They'll pose a few "tough" questions, but this will be window dressing designed chiefly to appease the progressive, which is to say thinking, wing of the party. It won't really work: progressives will continue to be disgusted by spineless, unprincipled party leadership that is functionally collaboration with Bushism. Only the right-centrist Democrats will think this kind of display sufficient; the rest of us will see it as token resistance.

And once Roberts is waved through, the party leaders will go back to their modus operandi: hoping Bush self-destructs without any help from them, permitting them to slink back into power.

[soup]

10. They've gone from

'flew in on his own dime for a 30 minute meeting with jeb'

to-

>in Tallahassee helping the Bush camp for ''a week to 10 days<

[DoYouEverWonder]

64. So who paid Roberts' salary while he was there?

and if he volunteered his time, which I am sure is quite expensive, was it recorded has a campaign contribution?

I have the feeling if we dig deep enough, we can find multiple violation of campaign and election law on Roberts part.

Either way, I still don't want a Supreme Court Justice who doesn't believe in counting every vote.

[soup]

65. Good question.

They're sure not being very open about this. (surprise, surprise) How does that go about 'shouldn't be a problem if there's nothing to hide'?

Document Release Excludes First Bush Administration

By Charles Babington and Peter Baker
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, July 27, 2005; Page A06

The Bush administration will not give Senate investigators access to the federal tax returns of Supreme Court nominee John G. Roberts Jr., White House and congressional officials said yesterday, a break with precedent that could exacerbate a growing conflict over document disclosure in the confirmation process.

Although nominees to the high court in recent decades were required to provide their three most recent annual tax forms, the administration will neither collect such documents from Roberts nor share them with the Senate Judiciary Committee, the officials said. Instead, the Internal Revenue Service will produce a one-page summary.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/07/26/AR2005072601879.html

Three years doesn't take us far enough back to cover the 2000 selection, but it sure makes me wonder what's being hidden since he took the bench on the DC Appeals Court in 2003.

[qanda]

3. Kick

:kick:

I already nominated this, hopefully more will.

[wtbymark]

5. Looks like chimpy is giving a little payback

for 'services rendered'. Hell, do some dirty work for BushCo and you could be the next nominee - disgusting.

[Verve]

6. Yep! How many of Shrub's cronies got promotions for helping him out

in the 2000 election? I guess Robert's due a promotion.

[wallwriter]

11. It's like the f***ing Mafia...

[Generator]

47. Indeed

Every one of them knows just how dirty and rotten everyone else is..and they get rewarded for absolute loyalty. There is nothing else. Which makes me think of Rumsfeld claiming he tried to resign..maybe he did...but nobody goes nowhere unless they say so.

When I first read this..I was without words..how much more shit can they kick in our eyes? Bush gets to nominate a man to the supreme court that helped him get the presidency through the supreme court.

Ain't Democracy grand?

[Samantha]

51. The Repubs might need another "family" man on the Supreme Court

in the event, for instance, Jeb runs and the election is disputed ... you get the picture.

[Cha]

56. And PAY for future

services rendered!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

7. yup he counseled Jeb "if you want george to win do NOT count the votes"

[Virginian]

9. "Bush nominates partisan hack for Supreme court."

But has forgotten he is a partisan as has everyone else who worked with him on Bush v. Gore.

[bunny planet]

12. A dream of mine is that we could prove the 2004 election illegitimate, but

dredging up 2000 and proving that illegitimate would be even better. People like Thom Hartman and Randi Rhodes keep talking about a NYTimes article and a Washington Post article that states as fact that Gore won Florida but I can't find it. As people are becoming cognizant of Jr.'s lies about just about everything and becoming angrier, it would be great if Robert's connection to the highly suspect legal maneuverings in 2000 were exposed big time and all the lies and deceptions about that election were front page news again too. Does anyone have a link to the article in both those papers that says by any standards, hanging chads, whatever, Gore won?

[soup]

16. Are the articles you're looking for in this list?

http://www.fringefolk.com/gorevictory.html

[bunny planet]

24. Can't find the NYTimes article there and there was a WaPo article which

the link woulnd't bring me to. Thanks for the site though, bookmarked it for later research.

[AlGore-08.com]

21. Another site with the 2000 election information

http://elandslide.org/display.cfm?id=181

[tblue37]

52. The article showing that Gore won in 2000 was published on

9/12/2001, which is why it was buried deep inside and no one ever noticed it.

[bunny planet]

55. I know that, but I still haven't been able to locate it in the NYTimes

archives. Do you have a link?

[tblue37]

57. My mistake, I think.

http://www.wsws.org/articles/2001/sep2001/nyt-s25.shtml

According to this piece, the results of the recount were deliberately suppressed (because of 9/11) by the newspaper consortium that financed it. It may be that you can't find the article because it doesn't exist. I remembered that it was supposed to be published on Sept. 12, but now I realize that in fact I never did read it, and if it had been published I guarantee I would have. I have read about the outcome of the recount, but never an actual article in which they report it directly.

[bunny planet]

58. But Randi Rhodes and Thom Hartman have both mentioned the September

12th, 2001 article in the NYTimes that states that Gore definitively won Florida no matter how you looked at it. I had a subscription to the Times back then and I seem to remember seeing it, but being 10 miles away from NYC at the time I wasn't really paying that close attention to any other stories either. I do remember seeing it and remarking on the irony of it being a story the day after that day of all days. Maybe I'm just imagining it but I just heard Thom Hartman mention it two days ago. I think I'll write to him about it.

[tblue37]

59. I am wondering, though,

whether like me they "remember" reading the story when in fact what they read was that there was supposed to be a story but it was never used. I'm not saying that is what happened, just speculating. Maybe I really did read it, too, and am just confused now.

[bunny planet]

60. Maybe, but that doesn't sound like either of them, or their listeners for

that matter, especially Thom's listeners. If he misstates something that he doesn't catch himself, they usually remind him either in a phone call on the air or on his live chat forum. I'm sleepy now, but I'll try and find out something tomorrow. Thanks for your info.

[kentuck]

13. His nomination is payback by George Dubya ?

Hmmmm-mmmm..I would like ot see the Democrats pursue this a little more...

[peacetalksforall]

15. Isn't this full circle? The Supreme Court gave the election to the

Republicans in 2000. Now the Republicans are rewarding a major player with the Supreme Court.

EVERY TIME YOU LISTEN TO ONE OF THE REPUBLICANS SWOON AND PRAISE ROBERTS FOR HIS SUPERB QUALIFICATIONS - KNOW THAT HE USED HIS SUPERB QUALIFICATIONS TO STEAL THE ELECTIONS FROM YOU.

IF HE IS SO EMINENTLY QUALIFIED NOW - HE WAS EMINENTLY QUALIFIED THEN - to help steal.

Now, watch them downplay, diminish, destroy the truth about his role.

This administration is out to own you, your mind, body, womb, testicles, ears and throat, and your vote.

Welcome to Nazi-USSR. Attilla rides again.

So who is lining up to support Roberts? Feinstein? Biden? Bayh? the Nelsons? Landrieau? Leiberman, of course.

[MelissaB]

18. Bastard!

:grr:

[bushisanidiot]

19. Quid pro fucking QUO!!!!!

hello??!! why aren't the dems screaming this from the hilltops? this is roberts' payback for helping AWOL Bush steal the election!!!!

ROBERTS BOUGHT HIS SUPREME COURT SEAT BY HELPING AWOL BUSH CHEAT TO WIN!!!!!!!!!!

[Galley_Queen]

22. Boy, What A Surprise...

Not.

Here's MY litmus test for Roberts: If Chimpy nominated him, then he's a rightwing freak and a horrible nomination for we citizens.

Duhbya's track record/history of nominations confirms this.

[daleo]

23. Nobody involved in the recount should go to SCOTUS

Even with the best of intentions, it smells too much of payoff.

[electron_blue]

28. ITA

[xchrom]

26. kick

[Rainscents]

27. Bush and the Company are true crime family... This is so disgusting!

It's like, you wipe my ass, I'll wipe yours. :grr: :grr: :grr: :crazy: :crazy: :crazy:

[DemsUnite]

29. Roberts had larger 2000 recount role

The role of U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in the 2000 election aftermath in Florida was larger than has been reported. Roberts helped prepare the Supreme Court case.

TALLAHASSEE - U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts played a broader behind-the-scenes role for the Republican camp in the aftermath of the 2000 election than previously reported -- as legal consultant, lawsuit editor and prep coach for arguments before the nation's highest court, according to the man who drafted him for the job.

Ted Cruz, a domestic policy advisor for President Bush and who is now Texas' solicitor general, said Roberts was one of the first names he thought of while he and another attorney drafted the Republican legal dream team of litigation ''lions'' and ''800-pound gorillas,'' which ultimately consisted of 400 attorneys in Florida.

Until now, Gov. Jeb Bush and others involved in the election dispute could recall almost nothing of Roberts' role, except for a half-hour meeting the governor had with Roberts. Cruz said Roberts was in Tallahassee helping the Bush camp for ''a week to 10 days,'' and that his help was important, though Cruz said it is difficult to remember specifics five years after the sleep-depriving frenetic pace of the 2000 recount.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12230971.htm

[demnan]

30. Oh that's just duckie!

n/t

[Miss Chybil]

31. Well, nobody can say Bush doesn't reward his "friends." nt

[Richard Steele]

32. So Roberts was part of their Cabal 5 years ago? Gee, Wally, I'm SHOCKED!

Maybe a nice postcard will cheer me up:

[snoodle]

33. Scarier and scarier

IMO, this guy is getting scarier and scarier the more I read. He seems so nice on the outside...all smiles and politeness, yet he has spend his career arguing against women's rights and the rights of other minorities while working to further the agenda of the far right. I shudder to think what will happen when this man sits on the highest bench. How far will he go to repay those who placed him there? He's already gone pretty far in the justice department.

Even MSNBC was able to find plenty of evidence:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8719622/

[Carolab]

34. Well, of course, since Ted Olson was/is prez of the Federalist Society!

And his late wife Barbara was a member as well. And BTW what did Barbara know? And wasn't it a strange "coincidence" that she perished on 9/11?

[donheld]

35. See it's not who you know

it's who you ... that gets you selected as a * appointee.

[enough]

36. The perfect pick for Supreme Court - a party hack.

Nominating.

[Zorra]

37. Roberts was in Tallahassee helping the Bush camp for ''a week to 10 days,'

Well, if this is true, then it is clear that Roberts lied about his role in the theft of the 2000 election by republicans, and therefore Roberts is no longer a viable candidate for the position of Supreme Court Justice.

[FreeStateDemocrat]

38. When has truth and ethics ever counted for anything with neocons?

They make up their own rules and it is not applied equally or honestly and the corporate media will support any spin they put on it. While the democrats are trying to say you can't do that, the thugs have already done it and are laughing at our ineffectiveness.

[stanwyck]

41. This is gonna hurt

Bush and Roberts.
Roberts is now tainted as a nominee.
We need to publicize this heavily. Even the clueless know that Bush sneaked into office (with fewer popular votes) through the Supreme Court. Now his nominee is shown to be another political helper monkey who's being rewarded for his slavish subserviance to all things Bush.
Even if Roberts is confirmed, the stench will linger.

[rrrevolution]

43. Now We Know-- He Thinks Bush v. Gore Was Decided Correctly

I think he should be filibustered on the basis that he was involved in an intentional effort to prevent the counting of all the votes cast in Florida, many by minorities who need and deserve Supreme Court Justices to protect them from just this kind of wrongdoing.

No question this nominee should never see the light of day in a Senate "up or down" confirmation vote. Yes this is extreme and extraordinary and worthy of a filibuster among the gang of 14.

You can be sure that his documents from this effort will never be revealed.

[PurityOfEssence]

40. This is the issue to take him down: subverting the will of the people

Lest we forget, the Supreme Court is the one court in the land where the spirit of the law is probably more important than the letter of it. As such, he is absolutely unsuited to this position.

Before this, all I knew was that he'd counseled Jeb on how to use constitutional means to have the legislature invalidate the popular vote if they couldn't properly steal it. That's damning enough all of it's own; the glue that holds society together is the covenant that we'll abide by the decision of the electorate. What with redistricting, the California Recall, the thievery in '00, the stealing of Georgia in '02 that resulted in the end of the VNS, and of course, the Clinton Persecution, the Republicans show themselves to be anti-pluralist feudal assholes.

The very idea of finding ways to cheat the people out of their sacred mandate is morally repugnant, and it shows him ethically and morally unfit for the job, no matter how much he sucks up to religion.

[ThoughtCriminal]

42. A possible line of questioning

would be to get his comments regarding some of the details of the majority ruling in Bush v Gore that conflict with the strict constructionism and federalist views. See how he deals with that.

[bettyellen]

46. kick

[chomskysright]

49. 4 developing reasons why ROBERTS IS THE WRONG PERSON

USE THESE ANYWAY YOU LIKE. I JUST SENT THEM TO REID. I'VE COMPILED SOME OF THE COMMENTS HERE.

4 developing/ referenced reasons for why ROBERTS IS THE WRONG CANDIDATE for the Supremes. You don't even have to bring in the abortion matter re: Roberts. See below for a list of reasons why we don't want Roberts:

Then tell Harry Reid, the House Minority Leader what you think (he seems to think he's OK; and don't forget to make Lieberman squirm:

Reid: http://reid.senate.gov/email_form.cfm
Lieberman: 202) 224-4041 Voice (Lieberman is the only US Senator I have run across that does not have e mail for citizens outside his state, CT, in this case):

1. "Isn't this full circle? The Supreme Court gave the election to the
Republicans in 2000. Now the Republicans are rewarding a major player with the Supreme Court." ..."EVERY TIME YOU LISTEN TO ONE OF THE REPUBLICANS SWOON AND PRAISE ROBERTS FOR HIS SUPERB QUALIFICATIONS - KNOW THAT HE USED HIS SUPERB QUALIFICATIONS TO STEAL THE ELECTIONS FROM YOU." (www.democraticunderground.com poster)


2. HE ACTIVELY PARTICIPATED IN ACTIVITIES WHICH DISENFRANCHISED AMERICAN VOTERS:

He Thinks Bush v. Gore Was Decided Correctly
"...I think he should be filibustered on the basis that he was involved in an intentional effort to prevent the counting of all the votes cast in Florida, many by minorities who need and deserve Supreme Court Justices to protect them from just this kind of wrongdoing...." (www.democraticunderground.com poster)

(wondering if Al won the election?: look here:

http://elandslide.org/display.cfm?id=181

Gore Won Florida!

On November 27, Republican Secretary of State Katherine Harris officially certified George W. Bush as the "winner" in Florida by 537 votes.

Since that date, independent investigations by the media have revealed that many illegal votes were counted - while many legal votes were not.


3. HE'S A LIAR OR HAS A MEMORY PROBLEM BOTH WHICH PRECLUDE HIM FROM FUNCTIONING AS A SUPREME:

http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/072705K.shtml

Amy Goodman: White House Spokesperson, Scott McClellan, was asked about Roberts and the Federalist Society at the daily press briefing.

Reporter: It was reported, as you know, that he was in the Federalist Society, which is an important legal group in conservative -- on the conservative side. Then the White House said, 'No, it was not the case.' And now it appears that he was part of the leadership group. What is the real story here?

Scott McClellan: He has no memory of ever joining or paying dues to the Federalist Society. He has no recollection of that. He has participated in events and panel discussions. He has given speeches at Federalist Society forums, but he doesn't have any recollection of ever paying dues or joining the organization.

Reporter: Isn't that kind of a simple thing to nail down? Prior to now?

Scott McClellan: Well, David, he has answered this over the last few years. The issue has come up, and he certainly has participated in some of the events that they have sponsored or that they've hosted, but he just doesn't have any memory of ever paying any dues to the organization.

Amy Goodman: White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan being questioned Monday at the White House. Meanwhile, another man with close ties to the Federalist Society, Timothy Flanigan, is on Capitol Hill today, where his confirmation hearings begin in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He has been nominated as Deputy Attorney General. We are joined now in Washington, D.C. by the man who uncovered John Roberts's membership in the Federalist Society. Alfred Ross is founder and President of the Institute for Democracy Studies. Welcome to Democracy Now!

Alfred Ross: Well, Amy, it's a pleasure to be here.

Amy Goodman: It's good to have you with us. Can you tell us about what you know, what evidence you have that John Roberts is a member of the Federalist Society, and then, of course, what the Federalist Society is?

Alfred Ross: Well, Roberts, whether he's paid his dues or not, was prominently listed in the 1997/1998 leadership directory published by the Federalist Society itself. So it is very difficult to believe that he didn't have any membership. He was on the Steering Committee. The important question is not whether he paid dues as a member or not. The question really at stake here is where does Roberts and his Federalist Society cronies plan to steer our ship of state. If one looks at the history of the Federalist Society, which was established at the inspiration of Robert Bork in the early 1980s, their entire trajectory has been to move our judicial system in an extremely radically right wing direction.

In order to effectuate this, the Federalist Society has established 15 practice groups which you can find on their own website which is fed-soc.org. These 15 practice groups are busy developing new legal theories for every area of American jurisprudence, from civil rights law to national security law, international law, securities regulations law, and so on. And if one goes through the publications of their practice groups, one can only gasp not only at the breadth of their agenda, but the extremism of their ideology.


4. HE WAS A KEY PLAYER IN TRAINING THE BUSH TEAM TO ARGUE THE GORE-V-BUSH CASE BEFORE THE SUPREME COURT IN 2000 AND HE HAS LIED ABOUT THIS. Yes, this is separate from the issue re: he supported that effort:

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12230971.htm
The role of U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts in the 2000 election aftermath in Florida was larger than has been reported. Roberts helped prepare the Supreme Court case.

By MARC CAPUTO

[e-mail]

TALLAHASSEE - U.S. Supreme Court nominee John Roberts played a broader behind-the-scenes role for the Republican camp in the aftermath of the 2000 election than previously reported -- as legal consultant, lawsuit editor and prep coach for arguments before the nation's highest court, according to the man who drafted him for the job....

Soon after getting the call from Cruz, Roberts traveled from his Washington office at Hogan & Hartson to Tallahassee to lend advice and help polish legal briefs. Later, Roberts

Until now, Gov. Jeb Bush and others involved in the election dispute could recall almost nothing of Roberts' role, except for a half-hour meeting the governor had with Roberts. Cruz said Roberts was in Tallahassee helping the Bush camp for ''a week to 10 days,'' and that his help was important, though Cruz said it is difficult to remember specifics five years after the sleep-depriving frenetic pace of the 2000 recount.>

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

53. 5. His role in Iran/Contra is as yet unclear.

Please pass the memos, please.*





*Not a rip-off of They Might Be Giants.

[Fire Walk With Me]

50. Smells like a thickening plot.

Are the threads of their weave becoming loose? Keep pulling and we'll see.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

61. I knew in my gut this angle had legs

From the first moment I heard (here on DU) that he was involved in the recount, his nomination took on the stench of repayment for a job well done.

[BQueen]

62. Did Roberts report the donation of his valuable time?

Did the Bu$h campaign report it? I'm pretty unclear on what the requirements were for the "re"count timeframe of the campaign, but I seem to recall that there were some reporting requirements, although there weren't the usual contribution limits.

Roberts' time would never have come cheap in private practice. And 10 solid days of it ... obviously this was not 9-5 with the way Cruz describes it. Assume 12 hour days (probably very low estimate) and what, $500-750, maybe even $1K a billable hour? Now that's a nice freebie!

Another thing that caught my attention was that Bush visited Roberts the day before his ruling "along party lines" re: the applicability of the Geneva Conventions. (naturally I can't find the link at the moment

[Paradise]

63. kick. n/t

[Strawman]

66. So? He's a nice guy who cuts his own lawn!

:sarcasm: