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ERIC BLACK INK

Harry Reid: 'We have to let the trial get over with"

By Eric Black | Published Wed, Feb 11 2009 10:03 am

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid yesterday told reporters that he has no plans to try to get Al Franken seated until the court contest is over.

This is merely Reid bowing to reality. Senate Republicans have the votes to block any effort to seat Franken and there have been no Repub defections. The Repubs have an excellent talking point in that Franken does not have a certificate of election and the Senate has never seated anyone -- even provisionally -- without a certificate. Pro-Franken forces have two other ideas for getting their guy seated -- either by getting the MN Supreme Court to order the governor to issue a certificate, or by getting a bill through the Legislature that would have the same effect -- but both are longshots.

Reid has occasionally issued stern warnings that his patience was wearing thin, but he doesn't have the votes to seat Franken and he has his hands kinda full at the moment (stimulus bill hanging by a thread and all).

Reid's full comment yesterday: ""We have to let the trial get over with, that should be over in two weeks."

Two weeks? From where we stand now, it looks more like two months. Maybe more, although the shape and pace of the contest is still forming.There's the possibility of appeals or a new track in federal court.

| Wed, Feb 11 2009 10:03 am | 2 Comments

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2 Comments: Hide/Show Comments

(#1) On February 12, 2009, Jeff Nibert says:

<blockquote>
"the Senate has never seated anyone -- even provisionally -- without a certificate."
</blockquote>

Except when they have.

Sen. William E. Purcell of North Dakota was <a href="http://www.gpoaccess.gov/riddick/695-711.pdf">seated without a valid certificate. (pdf)</a>

<blockquote>
<b>Irregularities in Certificate Waived</b>

"In 1910, an irregularity in the form of a certificate of appointment of a Senator to fill a vacancy caused by a resignation was waived by the Senate where the material facts were set forth therein, and the oath was administered to the appointee."
</blockquote>

The irregularity, whatever it was, "was waived by the Senate." So it's very clear that the Senate has the power to waive its practice and to seat someone without a valid certificate. Because it HAS done it before!

(#2) On February 12, 2009, Jeff Nibert says:

Sen. Truman Newberry of Michigan was provisionally seated in 1919. From the U.S. Senate website (http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/minute/Senator_Condemned_for_Excessive_Campaign_Expenditures.htm):

"The 1918 election to fill one of Michigan's U.S. Senate seats proved to be one of the most bitter and costly contests of that era. ...President Woodrow Wilson convinced automaker Henry Ford to "run in the Michigan Democratic senatorial primary. ... In [industrialist Truman] Newberry, Ford had a tough opponent with similarly unlimited financial resources. ...

"Newberry narrowly defeated Ford, but charges that he had intimidated voters and violated campaign-spending laws limiting the amount of personal funds candidates could spend on their races clouded his claim to the seat.

"The Senate provisionally seated him in May 1919, pending the outcome of an investigation. As that inquiry got underway, a federal grand jury indicted Newberry on several counts of campaign law violations. Despite the senator's assertions that he knew nothing of illegal contributions and disbursements, massive evidence, gathered with the help of agents financed by Henry Ford, indicated otherwise. Found guilty on those charges in March 1920, Newberry launched an appeal that resulted in a May 1921 Supreme Court reversal of his conviction."

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Eric Black is a former reporter for the Star Tribune and Twin Cities blogger. He writes about politics and government of Minnesota and the United States, the historical background of topics and other issues. Click here to view Eric's previous postings at former blog, Eric Black Ink. He can be reached at eblack [at] minnpost [dot] com.

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ERIC BLACK INK

Harry Reid: 'We have to let the trial get over with"

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