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Coleman team virtually guarantees lawsuit |
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By Aaron Blake
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Posted: 01/02/09 04:42 PM [ET] |
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Sen. Norm Coleman’s (R-Minn.) attorneys said Friday that there will be a legal challenge to the recount in the senator’s reelection race, and conceded that they are almost certainly the ones that will bring it.
“I think that an election challenge here is inevitable,” said Coleman lawyer Fritz Knaak, adding that there is “no doubt” in his mind.
Knaak then acknowledged that the actions of the state canvassing board will likely leave Democrat Al Franken ahead. Franken currently leads by 49 votes out of nearly 3 million cast.
“If, in fact, some of the errors that we see that haven’t been cured in the numbers and in the ballots continue, as we expect them to, I would be very surprised if we weren’t the ones bringing the action,” Knaak said.
Coleman’s lawyers are still pushing for the inclusion of about 650 improperly rejected absentee ballots, which would go on top of 1,350 already in play.
But that appears to be an uphill battle and might not swing the race anyway.
Once the canvassing board determines a winner, each side has one week to file a challenge, which delays the certification of the result.
The rhetoric from Coleman’s campaign virtually assures neither Coleman nor Franken will be seated next week, when the 111th Congress begins.Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), Senate Republicans’ campaign chief, said Friday that the GOP would filibuster if Democrats tried to seat Franken. |
