Norm Coleman Facing Questions About Donor's Payment Of Clothes

9 Oct 2008 // St. Paul, MN (AHN) - With the critics still insisting that his special living arrangements still constitute illegal gifts, Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) is now being hounded by accusations that he has also received donor gifts in the form of clothes from an upscale retail store.

Harper's magazine published a report on its website early this week saying Minnesota businessman Nasser Kazeminy, one of first-term senator's top donors, had paid for "lavish clothing purchases" by Coleman at Neiman Marcus in Minneapolis.

Kazeminy was previously reported as having allegedly paid for trips Coleman made to the Bahamas some years ago.

The two unidentified people quoted by the magazine as sources of the report on clothing purchases are uncertain of the dates of the bills. Coleman had served as mayor before becoming senator five years ago.

Coleman's campaign has not denied the accusation outrightly, telling Harper's only that, "As required, any gift Norm Coleman has received from his friends has been fully reported." During a press conference late Wednesday, a campaign spokesman repeatedly said, "The Senator has reported every gift he has ever received." Footage of the presser has become a favorite on YouTube, with the MinnPost citing it as "an epic display of stonewalling."

The senator is facing allegations of taking illegal gifts from his landlord, a Republican operative who also heads a telemarketing firm hired by the Republican National Committee (RNC) since 2000. Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) has filed a complaint asking the Senate Ethics Committee to look into reports that Coleman paid only $600 rent to occupy the basement of a high-end townhouse on Capitol Hill, and that he had failed to pay rent twice within the past year.

Coleman currently trails Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party candidate Al Franken in the latest statewide poll by MPR/Humphrey Institute, 37-41 percent. Independent candidate Dean Barkley has 14 percent.