October 3, 2005
The Harriet Miers Story: DeLay, TRMPAC, Texas Lottery Scandal and Cleansing Bush's Guard Records
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS
Collected by BuzzFlash Reader Jerry D. Turner:
Harriet Miers headed the law firm Locke, Liddell & Sapp which has been linked to TRMPAC and questionable donations related to Tom DeLay.
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Indictment Heat Hits the Lobby
Tremors from the criminal investigation into Texans for a Republican Majority (TRM) PAC are reaching some top corporate lobbyists—a crowd that is to Tom DeLay’s power what hair follicles were to Samson’s fabled strength.
The Texas Observer, 10/22/2004
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DeLay: More Cash—And More Questions
Among the contributions at issue: ... $2,500 that same year from Locke Liddell & Sapp, the Texas law firm formerly headed by Harriet Miers (who was recently named White House counsel), which was then representing Burlington Northern Santa Fe.
Newsweek, Dec. 13, 2004
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The Rise of the Machine
How a small group of politicians and corporations bought themselves a legislatureA year after the release of the scorecard, with the election less than a month away, Baxter sent out mail pieces in the district attacking Kitchen’s record on state spending. Kitchen, in order to counter what she describes as misleading information, left recorded phone messages for voters. The very next day, a TAB phone bank also left messages directing voters to call it to learn "the truth about Ann Kitchen’s spending taxes." On another occasion, Baxter sent a positive mailing outlining his stance on education. By the next day, voters received a mailer from the TAB attacking Kitchen’s position on education.
Kitchen believes these two incidents demonstrate that the TAB at some level coordinated its advocacy campaign with Baxter, which would be illegal. "On the face of it, that all required coordination of message and timing," she says.
. . .
These two incidents were both submitted by Kitchen to the grand jury in the form of an affidavit. The former representative is also a party to one of three civil suits against the TAB and TRM for their conduct during the election. It’s litigation, Andy Taylor, the TAB’s lawyer never misses a chance to characterize as "losing-candidate lawsuits."
Taylor is a prime example of the incestuous nature of the TAB/TRM effort. It extends to family members of those involved and goes all the way to the White House through Karl Rove. In 2001, Taylor worked for then-Attorney General and Rove protege John Cornyn in the Republican redistricting effort. He then left to join the law firm of Locke Liddell and Sapp that represents Texans for Lawsuit Reform. Soon after, Cornyn hired Taylor to do the same redistricting work he did as a state employee, this time paying Locke Liddell and Sapp $804,478. Now Taylor is the chief lawyer and spokesman for the TAB. He also represents TRM in the civil lawsuits. This summer, Taylor is again the state’s outside counsel on congressional redistricting.
The Texas Observer, 8/29/2003
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And, look who has donated to DeLay's Legal Expense Fund (Locke, Liddell & Sapp)!
From OpenSecrets.org:
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Miers is linked to a Bush's Guard Records/Texas Lottery/GTech Scandal:
Democrats Oppose Gonzales
Alberto Gonzales was recommended to Bush as counsel in the Texas Governorship by Harriet Miers, who has replaced Gonzales as White House counsel. Referred to by Bush as a "pit bull in size 6 shoes'', Miers is a former President of Locke, Purnell, Rain & Harrell and former chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission. Locke, Purnell, Rain & Harrell have given at least $65,000 to Bush campaigns and are major backers of tort reform. One case involved a unique law - passed under former Gov. George Bush - that blocked Texas consumers from recovering $6 billion in overcharges on car loans and allowed dealers to keep kickbacks secret. Two consumer groups have called on the Texas Legislature to repeal it. Locke, Purnell, Rain & Harrell were defendants of the litigation, which included auto dealers in Texas. Miers was also Chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission and responsible for a chain of events involving GTech, which ran the Texas Lottery, former Lt. Governor Ben Barnes, and accusations of kick-backs and illegal contracts. Yes, that Ben Barnes, who says he helped George Bush get into the National Guard. His original deposition on that subject was given in 1999, during this Texas Lottery Commission investigation, and has been permanently sealed.
LightUpTheDarkness.com, February 1, 2005
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Profiles of Overnight Guests
Miers is a Dallas-based lawyer and chairwoman of the Texas Lottery Commission. The former president of the State Bar of Texas and Dallas City Council member has done legal work for Bush and his political committee. As chair of the lottery commission, Miers came under fire when former commission executive director Lawrence Littwin sued the state's lottery operator, GTECH, for allegedly pressuring Miers to fire Littwin. Littwin and his attorneys have suggested throughout the proceedings that GTECH was allowed to keep its state lottery contract in exchange for former Texas Lt. Gov. Ben Barnes' silence. Barnes, a former GTECH lobbyist, stated under oath that he helped George W. Bush enlist in the Texas Air National Guard as an alternative to going to Vietnam 31 years ago.
The Center for Public Integrity
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Was Harriet Miers the one who scoured and scrubbed the President's National Guard record?
Bush Aides Possibly Altered
National Guard Records
To Conceal Grounding and Missed DutyThey paid "hard-nosed Dallas lawyer named Harriet Miers" $19,000 to review the records. According to Newsweek, one result of her work was to deflect charges that former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes helped Bush get into the Texas Air National Guard despite low qualifications and a long waiting list. Barnes was later forced to testify under oath that he helped Bush.
Democrats.com, November 4, 2000
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BuzzFlash Addendum: The Associated Press also reports that Harriet Miers contributed "$5,000 to the Bush-Cheney Recount Fund in the post-election struggle that finally sealed his victory over Al Gore." (Miers ties to Bush include personal lawyer: Supreme Court nominee described as very loyal to the president -- AP/MSNBC)
A BUZZFLASH NEWS ANALYSIS