Schuette: 'Criminal acts were committed' by McCotter aides forging election petitions

By Joe Swickard andKathleen Gray/Detroit Free Press

Four staffers of former U.S. Rep. Thad McCotter, R-Livonia were charged today in connection with the false nominating petitions that led to McCotter's departure from Congress.

Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette described the four as "not simply Keystone Kops running amok ... criminal acts were committed."

PDF: Read the investigator's report on McCotter staffers

He said the petition forgeries and cut-and-paste jobs on the petitions "would make an elementary art teacher cringe."

Schuette said the McCotter staffers also likely did the same thing in the 2008 elections, using 2006 petition signatures.

• Don Yowchuang 33, of Farmington Hills, the deputy district director, was charged with 10 counts of election law forgery, a five-year felony; one count of conspiracy to commit a legal act in an illegal manner, a 5-year felony, and six counts of falsely signing a nominating petition, all misdemeanors.

• Paul Seewald, 47, of Livonia, the district director, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a legal act in an illegal manner, nine counts of falsely signing a nominating petition.

• Mary Melissa Turnbull, 58, of Howell, district representative, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit a legal act in an illegal manner and one count of falsely signing a nominating petition.

• Lorianne O'Brady, former scheduler, 52, of Livonia was charged with five counts of falsely signing a nominating petition.

"Let me tell you this, we find any other evidence, we'll review it in the same painstaking ... thorough fashion," Schuette said at a late-morning news conference.

Schuette blasted McCotter for being "asleep at the switch," and providing no guidance to his staffers.

"They acted above the law as if it didn't apply to them," Schuette said.

But there is no specific evidence that McCotter was involved in the petition fraud, so the former congressman, who resigned in July, was not charged.

"Their motive is immaterial," Schuette said. "They set a standard of conduct that is disgraceful."

McCotter this afternoon released a statement saying, "I thank the Attorney General and his office for their earnest, thorough work on this investigation, which I requested, and their subsequent report."

“For my family and I, this closure commences our embrace of the enduring blessings of private life,” McCotter said, adding that he would not make himself available to answer any questions from the media at this point.

According to the investigator's report obtained by the Free Press, the four were a “dysfunctional congressional staff that had completely lost its moral compass” and were “indifferent to the requirements of the law.”

All four worked in McCotter’s Livonia office. They are Yowchuang, district deputy director, Seewald, the district director, O’Brady, a scheduler, and Turnbull, a district representative. The investigation revealed that they forged petitions, cut and pasted signatures from other petitions, and had individuals falsely signed as petition circulators.

Most of the illegal acts occurred at McCotter’s district office the day before the deadline for turning in petitions. They needed at least 1,000 valid signatures and turned in more than 1,800. All but a few hundred were found invalid by the Secretary of State’s office.

Yowchuang was the most deeply involved of the four staffers and was linked in the report to 17 separate counts of wrongdoing.

The investigators interviewed 75 people and seized 725 documents for their probe involving 136 nominating petitions.

An unprecedented bungle for incumbent congressman
McCotter – briefly presidential candidate in a long shot, hard-to-explain bid a year ago -- was considered a shoo-in to win his sixth two-year term in the 11th Congressional District this year, especially since it was redrawn as more friendly territory for a Republican candidate.

But then, in May, news broke that McCotter’s campaign had submitted false and fraudulent petition signatures to the Secretary of State’s Office in support of his re-election. Officials said the vast majority of the 1,830 signatures delivered were duplicated, some with the dates changed.

An investigation was launched by the Attorney General’s Office, with McCotter pledging his cooperation.

It was a campaign mistake that might be committed by an untested candidate, but no one in Washington or Lansing could remember it happening to an incumbent congressman, so routine is the collection of petition signatures.

McCotter’s name was left off the ballot, and, as local Republican leaders fumed, in June he dropped the idea of even running a write-in campaign in the Republican primary.

At first resolving to leave Congress at the end of term, McCotter last month abruptly announced his resignation from office, saying he and his family had suffered a “nightmarish month and a half.”

It forced the governor to call a special primary on Sept. 5 that is expected to cost $650,000 and two elections in November – one to fill out what by then will be no more than several weeks remaining in McCotter’s unfinished term.

McCotter often cut a strange figure on Capitol Hill. Lanky, sardonic and sometimes standoffish in comparison to more gregarious, backslapping politicians, he spoke in a deep voice and played guitar in rock bands. Once a rising star in the party who chaired the House Republican Policy Committee, he was at ease quoting conservative economic thinkers and Led Zeppelin or the Rolling Stones alike.

When Will Schuette Finish His Investigation of McCotter’s Petition Fraud?

From The Michigan Democratic Party:

LANSING – Two months after Attorney General Bill Schuette announced a criminal investigation of fraud found in GOP Congressman Thad McCotter’s nominating petitions, he has yet to provide even a progress report on his investigation.

“What is the status of the McCotter investigation?” asked Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer. “Schuette has made an obsession of his alleged concern about election integrity, yet we’ve heard nothing from him about the biggest case of candidate petition fraud in Michigan history.

“Is he actually investigating? Is the fact the petition drive involved five of McCotter’s congressional staff, a candidate for Livonia School Board, the president of the Troy-Clawson Republican Forum, the Milford Township Supervisor, an Oakland County Road Commissioner and several GOP activists affecting his ability to conduct an honest and thorough investigation? Is he planning on quietly dropping the investigation, hoping that no one will notice?

“Everyone responsible for this unprecedented petition fraud must be held accountable. Is Schuette ‘on duty’ for the voters of Michigan or his Republican cronies?”

Lame duck Congressman Thaddeus McCotter unexpectedly resigns

By Muriel Kane/Raw Story

Representative Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) resigned late on Friday following a term of nearly ten years in Congress that had ended with what he himself described as a “nightmarish month and a half” marked by scandal and ridicule.

In his resignation statement, McCotter explained that his office will continue to operate and his staff will serve his constituents’ needs, but he himself will be gone.

“Strike another match, go start anew,” McCotter stated, quoting the Bob Dylan song “It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue.”

The full text of the resignation letter can be readhere.

McCotter, whose congressional career had been capped by a long-shot bid for the Republican presidential nomination last year, had beenexpected to have no problems retaining his seat. However, more than 85% of the signatures on his nominating petitions were found to be invalid, some of the sheets appearing to have been photocopied multiple times from previous years’ petitions. After briefly toying with the idea of a write-in campaign, he’d announced he would retire at the end of his current term.

On Thursday, however, the Detroit News published a “racy” pilot script for a TV comedy that McCotter had written as an emotional outlet following his failed president bid, and that appears to have been the final straw.

According to the paper, “‘Bumper Sticker: Made On Motown’ starred McCotter hosting a crude variety show cast with characters bearing the nicknames of his congressional staffers, his brother and a drunk, perverted “Black Santa.” They take pot shots about McCotter’s ill-fated bid for the White House while spewing banter about drinking, sex, race, flatulence, puking and women’s anatomy. It features a cartoon intro and closing snippet with an Oldsmobile careening through Detroit and knocking over the city’s landmarks.”

McCotter’s resignation statement notes that “the recent event’s totality of calumnies, indignities and deceits have weighed most heavily upon my family.” It goes on to say that “this past nightmarish month and a half have, for the first time, severed the necessary harmony between the needs of my constituency and of my family. As this harmony is required to serve, its absence requires I leave.”

Congressman McCotter the Latest Republican to Engage in Election Fraud?

From Michigan Democratic Party:

Michigan SOS Investigating McCotter Signatures for Possible Fraud

LANSING – It’s become a growing theme in the Michigan Republican Party – deceive the voters and commit crimes just to win an election. Congressman Thad McCotter may be the latest Republican to commit election fraud after the Michigan Secretary of State announced it was investigating his campaign for possible fraud and forgery.

McCotter’s campaign turned in 2,000 signatures to get him on the ballot, but the Secretary of State determined more than half of those were invalid. Did McCotter or his campaign staff forge signatures to get him on the ballot?

“Republicans seem to think they don’t have to play by the same rules or follow the law,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer said. “First, it was Roy Schmidt and Speaker Jase Bolger conspiring to put a fake Democrat on the ballot in House District 76, which has led to a Michigan State Police investigation for perjury and election fraud. Now, McCotter’s campaign may be guilty of forging signatures just to ensure McCotter got on the ballot. This is no longer an isolated incident. This is a pattern of fraud and illegal activity in the Michigan Republican Party.”

“Why do Republicans think they’re above the law?” asked Brewer. “These are serious charges and must be investigated thoroughly. Republicans are showing they are not fit to lead. They know voters will hold them accountable for their disastrous policies over the past two years. The voters deserve to know immediately whether Schmidt, Bolger, and McCotter are guilty of any crimes. It’s time for them all to come clean and tell what they know.”

Thaddeus McCotter may not appear on election ballot

By Kathleen Gray/Detroit Free Press

U.S. Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Livonia, may not have turned in enough signatures to qualify for the Aug. 7 primary ballot.

In a statement released earlier this evening, McCotter said he was informed by the Michigan Secretary of State offices that he hadn’t turned in enough valid signatures to get on the ballot. According to the SOS website, he turned in 2,000 signatures, the maximum allowable.

“Fully respecting the accuracy and integrity of the Secretary of State's office, we
will thoroughly review our petition signatures for their sufficiency or
insufficiency,” McCotter said in a statement released about 8:30 p.m. Friday. “Out of respect for Memorial Day, an announcement of our findings will be made
public on Tuesday.”

No one from the SOS or McCotter’s office immediately returned phone calls to elaborate on the statement or how the signatures were insufficient.

The stunning news throws the 11th congressional race into turmoil. The newly drawn district runs from western Wayne County into southwest Oakland County and across into Birmingham and the Bloomfields.

Oakland County Republican Party chairman Jim Thienel said he was shocked by the news.

“I’m amazed that as a sitting congressman, he could allow this to happen,” Thienel said. “For them not to file an appropriate amount is just unbelieveable.”

Another Republican – Milford teacher Kerry Bentivolio also is on the ballot, along with Democrats William Roberts of Redford and Dr. Taj Syed of Canton.

David Trott, a Bingham Farms attorney and founder of one of the nation’s leading firms handling mortgage foreclosures, thought about running for the seat, but decided to wait until 2014, Thienel said.

State Sen. Mike Kowall, R-White Lake, also had thrown his hat into the ring, but decided earlier this year to abandon the race.

"I'm sitting here just trying to absorb the news,” Kowall said. “I don’t know what to think and I’m very rarely at a loss for something to say."

McCotter launced a short-lived run for the presidency last July, but withdrew from the contest by September.

Gisgie Gendreau, spokeswoman for the Secretary of State, said that one of the problems with the signatures was duplicate signatures. When the SOS finds duplicates, both signatures are bounced from the petitions.
"He can make his case to the Board of Canvassers," Gendreau said. "They still have to vote to certify the signatures."

The board is expected to meet the first week of June, although a firm date hasn't been set.

McCotter also could run as a write-in Republican candidate or an independent. No matter what the outcome for McCotter, the state Republican party promised to hold on to the seat.

"We' are certain to control this seat," said Michigan GOP spokesman Matt Frendeway. "We're confident in that."

McCotter, 46, was elected to Congress in 2002 and easily won reelection every two years since. Before that, he was a state Senator from 1998-2002 and a Wyne County Commissioner from 1992-98.

In the last several years, he's become a favorite guest on conservative radio talk shows and Fox News. A prolific twitter user, McCotter tweeted his statement about the signature snafu.

Michigan Democratic Party chairman Mark Brewer said McCotter will have a tough time launching a write-in or and independent campaign.

“We’ll have to wait and see how it plays out,” Brewer said. “It just seems like indifference or carelessness, whatever you want to call it. Maybe he just spent too much campaigning for president and not enough paying more attention to home.

MDP Blasts Michigan GOP Congressmen Amash, Walberg, and McCotter for Voting to Raise Taxes on the Middle Class

From Michigan Democratic Party

LANSING – Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer issued the following statement after Michigan Republican Congressmen Justin Amash (MI-3), Tim Walberg (MI-7), and Thad McCotter (MI-11) voted “no” on extending the payroll tax cut which will save the average family around $1,500 per year.

“This ‘no’ vote by these three Republican Congressmen is irresponsible and puts our economic recovery at risk. This tax cut extension was a bipartisan agreement that will benefit millions of working families throughout the country. Instead of voting to cut taxes for middle class families, Congressmen Amash, Walberg, and McCotter voted to raise them.

“They’re not representing their constituents nor the people of Michigan. Congressmen Amash, Walberg, and McCotter should be ashamed of themselves for this vote and the voters will hold them accountable at the polls in November.”

McCotter Just Another GOP Candidate Who Supports Ending Medicare, Failed Economic Policies

From Michigan Democratic Party

LANSING – GOP Michigan Congressman Thad McCotter is expected to announce this weekend that he’s running for President.

“McCotter is a part of the same old Republican crew looking to bring back their failed economic policies and to end Medicare,” Michigan Democratic Party Chair Mark Brewer said. “It’s ironic that McCotter has chosen to announce his candidacy during the week of the 45th anniversary of Medicare when he supports ending the program.”

“McCotter supports cutting Social Security benefits and opposes Wall Street reform. He  would rather reinstate the policies that nearly destroyed our economy,” added Brewer. “Voters do not want to see more of these failed GOP policies.”

“McCotter’s record isn’t likely to survive scrutiny by the Tea Party,” observed Brewer. “He supported the pro-union Employee Free Choice Act and the rescue of the domestic auto industry – what do the Tea Partiers say to that?”

Rachel Maddow video: Thad McCotter singing satisfaction

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Calling For An ‘Innovation Economy,’ Rep. McCotter Makes The Case For 19th-Century Technology

By Scott Keyes

During his State of the Union Address, President Obama focused on how the United States can “win the future.” The “first step,” he declared, “is encouraging American innovation.”

One of the leading Republicans in Congress, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI), appeared on the G. Gordon Liddy Show yesterday and discussed this notion of an “innovation economy.” After Liddy peddled the ludicrous claim that House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI) had implemented a ban on incandescent light bulbs in the United States, McCotter used the opportunity to scoff at liberal efforts to improve the incandescent light bulb, a product that was first invented over 200 years ago. He called the irony “striking” that liberals would “prais[e] the end of the incandescent bulb at the very time they’re talking about an innovation economy”:

LIDDY: Is there any chance that you fellas can talk to [House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred] Upton and get our light bulbs back, for heaven’s sake?

McCOTTER: Yes, yes. I saw that some on the left were praising the end of the incandescent bulb, at the very time they’re talking about an innovation economy. The irony is striking. One of the greatest innovations in American history was the incandescent bulb and I think we got to put it back where people can use them again.

Listen here:

The smaller point here is that, as Brad Johnson of ThinkProgress writes, “there was, in fact, no bill to ban incandescent light bulbs,” despite Liddy’s insistence to the contrary.

The larger point, however, is that McCotter’s idea of “innovation” in the 21st century is holding on to a 19th-century product with an iron grip. McCotter is undoubtedly correct that the incandescent bulb was “one of the greatest innovations in American history.” But the entire premise of innovation is that we keep improving instead of resting on our laurels. That’s precisely what is happening with modern upgrades to the incandescent light bulb. The New York Times reported last year that “the incandescent bulb is turning into a case study of the way government mandates can spur innovation.”

McCotter’s insistence that America’s best light bulb innovations came in the 19th century is troubling enough. It’s unclear if McCotter would also prefer the country revert back to typewriters and telegraphs.

Congressman ‘Caveman’ McCotter Cites The Experience Of Cavemen To Deny Manmade Global Warming

By Lee Fang

Last night on Fox News’ Red Eye, Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI) explained to host Greg Gutfeld why he does not believe that human activity is causing global warming. McCotter, who is the chairman of the Republican House Policy Committee, a GOP group charged with helping Republican lawmakers come up with legislative ideas, has used his global warming denials as a pretense for fighting to block cap-and-trade proposals.

Environmental groups have declared that McCotter is a “Caveman Congressman.” The satirical Caveman Energy Caucus website notes that lawmakers like McCotter have “chosen OLD energy when they voted no” on Waxman-Markey clean energy legislation. Ironically, as he explained his backwards denial of settled climate change science, McCotter cited the experience of his cavemen namesake to note that the melting of glaciers had a positive effect:

MCCOTTER: Remember, the people who talk about the melting of the glaciers and others, imagine if you were in a peninsula around 1,000 BC or so or earlier and your name was Tor and you’re out huntin’ mastadon. And you didn’t notice that the glaciers were melting and leaving the devastating flooding in its wake that became the Great Lakes in the state of Michigan.

So I think what we have to do is go back in history and look at this and realize that the Earth has been here a long time and they’ve selected periods of time and say somehow this proves there’s a manmade global warming occurring is absolutely wrong. We have to look at the different periods of history, we have to look at the different effects, and then we have to have direct empirical data to correlate between man’s activity and the effect on the planet, and that is yet to be proven and highly doubt that it’s going to be any time soon.

Watch it:

McCotter is wrong on several fronts. First, the glacial melt which formed the Great Lakes occurred between a period of 15,000 and 10,000 BC, not 1,000 BC, as McCotter claims. But we do not have to look to the past to see shrinking glaciers. Global warming is currently melting 18,000 Himalayan glaciers — the largest concentration of glaciers outside the great polar ice sheets. The global trend of melting glaciers has only accelerated, with 2009 marked as the 18th consecutive year glaciers around the world have decreased in size.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has conclusively shown that carbon emissions, caused chiefly by the burning of fossil fuels, are the largest contributor to global warming. If McCotter is interested in what sets this “period in history” apart, he should know that every single year of this century (2001-2008) has been among the top ten warmest years since instrumental records began.

Quick hit: I've seen Red Eye a few times and I'm guessing it's "Young Turks" for right wingers in their 20s and 30s.