Tim Griffin's 2004 involvement in caging Jacksonville, FL minority voters now under investigation

[seafan]

Senators seek inquiry into GOP's Duval acts

By J. Taylor Rushing, Capital Bureau Chief
June 20, 2007


Vote suppression is suspected; Republicans deny wrongdoing.

TALLAHASSEE - The U.S. Justice Department has been asked to investigate whether there were intentional efforts by the Republican Party to suppress Jacksonville's African-American vote during the 2004 election.

The request, by Democratic U.S. Sens. Edward Kennedy and Sheldon Whitehouse, suggests the Senate Judiciary Committee has uncovered e-mail evidence supporting an investigation. Kennedy and Whitehouse are members of the committee.
Both Duval County Republican Party Chairman Mike Hightower and former Duval County Supervisor of Elections Bill Scheu on Tuesday denied any knowledge or involvement.

Former U.S. Attorney Tim Griffin, a former high-ranking GOP political aide who is the subject of the controversy, also said the assertions were unfounded.
"It's malicious and absolutely untrue that I tried to do this," said Griffin, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas who resigned two weeks ago during the controversy over U.S. attorney firings.

But Jacksonville's African-American community praised news of the request and eagerly backed an investigation. Juan Gray, board chairman of Jacksonville's chapter of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said black leaders have long suspected Republican foul play in both 2000 and 2004.

"I'm delighted that we have congressional oversight," Gray said. "It's way overdue."

.....

Kennedy and Whitehouse accuse the Republican National Committee of "vote caging," a long-used political tactic that involves sending political mail to a particular group of addresses, then making of a list of the returned mail and challenging anyone on the list who shows up on Election Day to vote.

Kennedy and Whitehouse suggest they have proof Griffin oversaw such an operation.
The dated allegations recently gained new life as Congress continues probing the U.S. attorney firings.

Former Justice Department staff members have testified that Griffin's suspected involvement in voter suppression tactics was discussed with other top Justice officials.
Griffin was the Republican National Committee's research director and deputy communications director at the time of the 2004 election and was later appointed U.S. attorney for eastern Arkansas.

Griffin said the suggestions of voter suppression are "absolutely, positively false."

.....

New Florida vote scandal feared

By Greg Palast
Reporting for Newsnight

26 October, 2004


A secret document obtained from inside Bush campaign headquarters in Florida suggests a plan - possibly in violation of US law - to disrupt voting in the state's African-American voting districts, a BBC Newsnight investigation reveals.

Two e-mails, prepared for the executive director of the Bush campaign in Florida and the campaign's national research director in Washington DC, contain a 15-page so-called "caging list".

It lists 1,886 names and addresses of voters in predominantly black and traditionally Democrat areas of Jacksonville, Florida.

An elections supervisor in Tallahassee, when shown the list, told Newsnight: "The only possible reason why they would keep such a thing is to challenge voters on election day."

Ion Sancho, a Democrat, noted that Florida law allows political party operatives inside polling stations to stop voters from obtaining a ballot.

.....

Do you care to rethink your response, Mr. Griffin?

-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Griffin - Research/Communications
Sent: Thursday, August 26, 2004 6:34 PM
To: [e-mail]; Lindy Landreaux - Political ; Miriam Moore - Research/Communications ; Victoria Newton - Research/Communications ; Shawn Reinschmiedt - Research/Communications ; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]
Subject: Re: caging

Thx

Tim Griffin
Research Director and
Deputy Communications Director
Republican National Committee
310 First Street, S.E.
Washington, D.C. 20003
w: [phone]
f: [phone]
[e-mail]

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kelly Porter
> To: Lindy Landreaux - Political ; Miriam Moore - Research/Communications ; Victoria Newton - Research/Communications ; Tim Griffin - Research/Communications ; Shawn Reinschmiedt - Research/Communications ; [e-mail] ; Stephen Shiver ; [e-mail]
> Sent: Thu Aug 26 18:12:49 2004
> Subject: caging
>
> Total as of today is 1834.
>
> Kelly
>
> ATTACHMENT: Caging-1.xls


-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Griffin - Research/Communications
Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 5:55 PM
To: Kelly Porter ; Lindy Landreaux - Political ; Miriam Moore - Research/Communications ; Victoria Newton - Research/Communications ; Shawn Reinschmiedt - Research/Communications ; [e-mail]; Stephen Shiver




; [e-mail]
Subject: RE: caging

thank you, perfect


> -----Original Message-----
> From: Kelly Porter
> Sent: Wednesday, August 25, 2004 5:47 PM
> To: Lindy Landreaux - Political; Miriam Moore - Research/Communications; Victoria Newton - Research/Communications; Tim Griffin - Research/Communications; Shawn Reinschmiedt - Research/Communications; [e-mail]; Stephen Shiver; [e-mail]
> Subject: caging
> The total to date is 1771.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Kelly
>
> ATTACHMENT: Caging.xls

Source




Mr. Griffin, what is your response to this?


From page 2 of Monica Goodling's prepared statement before the House Judiciary Committee last month:

The Deputy (Mc Nulty) testified that he "(did not) know anything about" allegations that Tim Griffin "caged" black votes in Arkansas during the 2004 presidential election. In fact, I informed the Deputy that this issue could arise on February 5th. To help him prepare to answer the question, I requested and received information on the issue from Tim Griffin and forwarded this information to the Deputy's Chief of Staff that night.

Mr. Griffin, do you still stand by your testimony that you were not deeply involved in illegal caging tactics to suppress many thousands of African-American voters in Jacksonville, FL and in Arkansas in the 2004 Presidential election?

[EFerrari]

1. I remember Jacksonville had "problems" with early voting,too,

in 2004. They didn't have enough facilities for voters. And I remember thinking, here we go again. :mad:

[Lochloosa]

2. You have to get to the bottom of the article to see the real problem here

Both Hightower and Scheu, who was the interim supervisor of elections during the 2004 election, note they participated in daily meetings with local black leaders in which the subject of caging was never raised.

"This is the first I've ever heard of that expression or that practice," Hightower said Tuesday.

Scheu, a Republican, noted that no challenges were eventually made during the election.

"This is all ado about nothing, and that's borne out in the facts that there were no challenges," he said.

YOU HAVE TO KNOW IT'S BEING DONE TO CHALLENGE IT YOU ASSHOLE!

[Supersedeas]

3. in Bush World, this resume makes you eligible for a U.S. Attorney position - Justice?????

[bobthedrummer]

4. Kick and a repost of a thread that you started March 26, 2007-and thanks for never giving up seafan.

"Subpoena SUSAN B. RALSTON. She holds the key to White House e-mail systems, election night '04 and Abramoff"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x505855

[seafan]

5. Thanks, bobthedrummer. All of my anger is singularly channeled into exposing these ba$tard$.

Thanks for all that you do!

[bobthedrummer]

7. Here's a kick to the family jewels dropping today, seafan.

[bobthedrummer]

6. Some House members had to have the definition of "caging" explained to them today.

kick
:puke::argh::puke:

[L. Coyote]

9. Acting stupid does not stupid--nor innocent--make! Sorry officer, I'm stupid!!

[L. Coyote]

8. How about investigating the 2000 Florida Election for voter cagint too??

Were thousands of Dems removed in an election that close?
Did caging steal Florida for Bush in 2000?
Given what we know today, this should be a priority focus!

[bobthedrummer]

10. !!

[bobthedrummer]

11. Meanwhile the SCOTUS was busy today-kick

[Ghost in the Machine]

12. I was just on that site earlier... I downloaded the caging.xls

and found a few other tidbits...

> >May I request that you or someone on your staff send directions
> >regarding
> >what Counties can and cannot do as it pertains to newsletters and phone
> >banks usage for federal candidates. There is a great deal of ignorance
> >out
> >here and many counties are violating the campaign law as I understood it
> >
> >from you. God help us if the Democrats find out. I think we all need
> >direction. Can you help us?
> >
> >Thanks, Chris
> >
> >Ardean A. Anvik
> >State Committeeman, Mason COunty

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=1181302&mesg_id=1181426