The response of Senator Norm Coleman to the ethics complaint filed against him by CREW yesterday doesn't address the underlying issue.  Instead, we've only seen an attack on CREW that doesn't even hold water.   Coleman apparently wants a pass on the ethics issues involved, which certainly merit the attention of the Senate Ethics Committee.  Here's more from the Star-Tribune:

A Washington-based government watchdog group is asking the Senate ethics committee to investigate whether Sen. Norm Coleman violated gift rules by renting an apartment owned by a longtime Republican associate.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) wants the committee to determine whether Coleman, R-Minn., is paying the fair market value for the Capitol Hill-area apartment, and what was behind the apparently loose rental agreement the senator had with St. Paul telemarketer Jeff Larson.

 And:

The National Journal also reported that Coleman had missed two monthly payments since taking the apartment last summer, and that he had swapped some old furniture for another month's rent.

Larson runs FLS Connect, a St. Paul telemarketing firm that has done more than $1.5 million worth of business with Coleman's political action committee and campaigns. He is CEO of the local host committee for next month's Republican National Convention and was instrumental in bringing the convention to the Twin Cities.

Senate rules strictly prohibit most gifts and make clear that discounts for lodging may constitute a gift.

Here's the predictable attack on CREW, which doesn't match the facts about our record.  We're still waiting for an explanation of the underlying issue at the center of our complaint:

Officials with the Coleman campaign and the Republican Party responded Tuesday by characterizing CREW as a "front group" for DFL Senate candidate Al Franken and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., chair of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC).

They pointed out that Melanie Sloan, CREW's executive director, was the weekly ethics expert on Franken's Air America radio show and that she worked as counsel for Schumer when he was in the House. State GOP Party Chair Ron Carey said that one CREW board member has contributed to the Franken campaign and another to the DSCC.

Sloan said Tuesday that CREW is nonpartisan and that Coleman is the first Republican senator it has sought to have investigated this year. The first three -- Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Christopher Dodd of Connecticut and Kent Conrad of North Dakota -- are all Democrats, she said.

As reported below, CREW filed a complaint with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics asking for an investigation into whether Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) violated the Senate gifts rule by accepting lodging from Republican operative Jeff Larson.

In response, Sen. Coleman's campaign sent the following statement:

The only surprise is that it took Al Franken’s surrogate this long to file a politically motivated attack against Senator Coleman. The Executive Director of CREW, Melanie Sloan, was a featured guest who made at least 50 appearances on Al Franken’s radio show - appearances that were marked with theme music dedicated to her and made her a reliable attack dog for the Democrat Party. We will probably see pigs flying before she gets around to filing an ethics complaint against her former boss, and current political ally, DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer, for his own rental arrangement. The record is clear that Senator Coleman paid fair market value for a cramped basement bedroom, and attacks by Franken’s surrogates won’t change those facts.

CREW's response:

While we don’t know how many times Melanie Sloan appeared on the Franken show since we did not keep track (as did Sen. Coleman’s staff), she did appear on the show regularly to discuss government ethics issues. Although unclear on the relevance, Sloan did, in fact, have her own theme music, sung to the tune of George Thorogood’s “Bad to the Bone.” Coleman appears not to have paid as close attention to CREW’s actions as he did to Sloan’s theme music. Last month, CREW filed a Senate ethics complaint against Democratic Senators Kent Conrad and Chris Dodd, related to mortgages they accepted under Countrywide’s VIP program. Earlier this year, CREW filed a complaint against Democratic Senator Mary Landrieu over her trading earmarks for campaign contributions. Sen. Coleman’s office seems to taking the view that the best defense is a good offense. He is attacking CREW, but failing to address the substance of CREW’s complaint. CREW looks forward to hearing Sen. Coleman explain how his conduct comports with the Senate gifts rule.

Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the Senate Select Committee on Ethics asking for an investigation into whether Senator Norm Coleman (R-MN) violated the Senate gifts rule by accepting lodging from Republican operative Jeff Larson.  The pdf copy of the complaint can be found here.

According to National Journal, in July 2007, Sen. Coleman began paying Mr. Larson $600 per month to rent a portion of a basement apartment in a Capitol Hill townhouse owned by Mr. Larson.  After the magazine began making inquiries about the senator’s living arrangement, Sen. Coleman “discovered” that he had failed to pay rent in November 2007 and January 2008, and his wife gave Mr. Larson a personal check for the $1,200.  Last year, Sen. Coleman sold Mr. Larson some furniture -- a couch, table and chairs and a desk -- to cover one month’s rent, and Mr. Larson held onto Sen. Coleman’s March rent check for three months, until June 17, before cashing it only days after National Journal began asking questions.

Mr. Larson runs the telemarketing firm FLS Connect, which has been paid over a million dollars by Sen. Coleman’s campaign committees and leadership PAC since 2001.  Mr. Larson is also the PAC’s treasurer and FLS has been providing it with office space in St. Paul.  In addition, Mr. Larson’s wife, Dorene Kainz, has been working in Sen. Coleman’s St. Paul office, but after National Journal asked about her position, Sen. Coleman’s office announced that she would soon be leaving the office.

The Senate gifts rule generally prohibits members and staff from accepting gifts, but has two exceptions under which they may accept lodging: if based on personal friendship or, as long as the giver is not a lobbyist or foreign agent, if the gift constitutes personal hospitality.  Because the relationship between Sen. Coleman and Mr. Larson appears to be more business than personal, the gift would not be permitted under the “personal friendship” exception.  Because Mr. Larson does not live in the townhouse, but rents it out to others, he is not hosting Sen. Coleman and “the personal hospitality” exception would not apply.

CREW is asking the Senate Ethics Committee to look into whether or not Sen. Coleman is paying fair market value for the apartment, whether Sen. Coleman would have paid the November 2007 and January 2008 rent had National Journal not raised the non-payment as an issue, whether Sen. Coleman and Mr. Larson had agreed that Mr. Larson would not cash the March 2008 rent check, why Sen. Coleman suddenly made up his back rent after National Journal asked questions about it, and why Sen. Coleman’s office announced that Ms. Kainz would be leaving the senator’s employ after National Journal asked about her role.

After we filed the Ethics Complaint, CREW’s executive director Melanie Sloan issued this statement:

Few Americans have landlords who sometimes fail to cash their rent checks, ignore unpaid rent, or accept furniture in lieu of rent. That Sen. Coleman has just such a landlord, who also happens to financially benefit from his relationship with the senator creates exactly the sort of appearance of impropriety that undermines the public’s faith in government.  Senators must abide by the ethics rules at all times, not just when they get caught flouting them.