The information and timeline you'll see over the length of this story is not my original research. Credit has to be given to a group of mothers and grandmothers that have organized into a Document Party. These patriots did the majority of the work, digging through hundreds of documents, making connections, doing research, color coding files, adding smiley faces - and ultimately laying out an argument that Robin Carnahan's staff invited Project Vote, ACORN, and their political allies to take our money, use the courts to intimidate and coerce our state officials, and ultimately worked to further the political goals of national progressives at the expense of Missouri voters. The documents you'll see come from a variety of sources. First, the Missouri GOP made Sunshine Requests for ACORN documents from the Secretary of State's office. They've published the documents and their conclusions on a site called ACORNCARNAHAN.com. When I found about this, I asked them for copies. To these, I added my own Sunshine Requests to the Department of Social Services, internet research, and some extra sources that I'll reveal in due time.
The ladies went through the documents in detail. What they found, was substantiation of the accusations of close ties between ACORN and Robin Carnahan. Carnahan's statements that she was simply performing the duties of her office are incorrect. She set us up. Here's the beginning of the story.
Part I: An Authoritative Statement of Fact:
Robin Carnahan's campaign manager is Mindy Mazur. Mindy was her former chief of staff for the Missouri Secretary of State before moving over to be the Missouri State Director for America Votes, a progressive umbrella organization I've shown in past blog posts is coordinating over a $1,000,000 in advertising attacks on Carnahan's likely Senate opponent, Roy Blunt.
That's the present. Today, I want to talk about the past, namely Mazur's time as the chief of staff for Carnahan, and her involvement in the lawsuit against Missouri that led to a $450,000 judgement for lawyer fees to ACORN and its allies.
We start with a series of emails traded back and forth between Michael Slater and Mindy Mazur from March 13-March 14, 2007. In these emails, and in subsequent contact, Mazur takes the initiative in driving information and suggestions to Slater, which are then translated into requests for action by the Secretary of State's of office. Those requests for action are met quickly, and then used by Project Vote to advance their legal case against the State of Missouri.
Slater Mazur Emails1 March 2007
In this first email, Mindy reaches out to Michael to ask for some information about a recent story he wrote, and to update him on new documents from the Missouri SOS. Slater replies that day.
Slater Mazur Emails2 March 2007
Slater writes,
I did see your report! The best thing Secretaries of State can do is pursue allegations and render conclusions so that there's an authoritative statement of fact that can be used later. Very helpful (and time-consuming, I bet).
Pay attention to the wording: The best thing Secretaries of State can do is pursue allegations and render conclusions so that there's an authoritative statement of fact that can be used later. What is this later that Project Vote refers to? It's clear that he has some plan for the state of Missouri, but it's interesting that he lays out what needs to be done to make those plans work best. It is clear he is asking for help from the Secretary of State. He's giving her a request for an action.
Does the Secretary of State follow through on that request?
March 29 Letters to NVRA Agencies
Yes, yes she does. 5 letters go out to NVRA agencies two weeks after the request by Michael Slater to pursue allegations and render conclusions. These letters will later be the basis for the lawsuit brought against Missouri on behalf of ACORN. And it all starts with Mindy Mazur following instructions.
Jim--you are to be commended. This is one of the most powerful uses of manpower we've seen to date!
Posted by: The Missouri Record | 02/17/2010 at 10:41 PM