The Ann Coulter Voter Fraud case, which we've been covering for more than a year (see our Special Coverage Page here, including her fraudulent Voter Registration Form, the complaint that started it all, and much more) has taken several bizarre twists this morning as Palm Beach Post columnist Jose Lambiet once again steps up with several fresh scoops in the matter, and The BRAD BLOG, who, as of today's article, has now become a corollary in the story, has an exclusive detail or two of our own to offer on the heels of this morning Post report.
First, Lambiet reports that the Palm Beach Sheriffs Office, who had been investigating the matter, have closed the case after an FBI agent interceded on Coulter's behalf. The PBSO had been investigating Coulter's fraudulent, knowing use of the wrong address on her voter registration form, a third-degree felony, as the followed by her knowingly voting at the wrong precinct.
Second, the reason offered by the FBI man for Coulter's use of a phony address on her form --- actually that of her Palm Beach County real estate agent's --was because of claims that she was being stalked by a conservative BRAD BLOG guest blogger!
After the FBI intercession, as Lambiet reports, the PBSO investigator shut down the probe "without interviewing Coulter; a Realtor, whose Indian Road address Coulter used; or neighbors of Coulter's Seabreeze homestead."
"We stand by our detective's work," a PBSO spokesman told Lambiet. "Based on the nature of the allegations, she did as much as she could."
But this gets a lot more bizarre, so keep reading...
The BRAD BLOG spoke this morning with the "stalker" in question, as named by Lambiet, longtime Coulter-critic, and founder of Citizens for Principled Conservatism, Dan Borchers, who tells us that "Ann Coulter used a false allegation as a 'get out of jail free card'" on her voter fraud charges.
The FBI man in question, Supervisory Special Agent Jim Fitzgerald, Borchers tells us, was Coulter's former boyfriend!
Lambiet, who spoke with Borchers for his piece, didn't report that allegation, but hinted that something wasn't adding up in Fitzgerald's intercession in the matter. He wonders why an FBI profiler from the FBI Academy's Behavioral Analysis Unit in Quantico, VA "who went after the Unabomber [would] take time from his busy day to even think about a municipal election snafu?"
Fitzgerald wouldn't reply to Lambiet, but says that after he contacted them about the matter, the Bureau "immediately launched an internal review of the agent's involvement."
She declined to say whether Fitzgerald acted on his personal behalf or as an FBI agent or on someone else's orders.
...
County Supervisor of Elections Arthur Anderson, meanwhile, decried what he called "FBI intrusion."
...
"This doesn't bode well in terms of the public's impression that celebrities receive preferential treatment," Anderson said. "I'm curious about how anyone can justify the FBI's intrusion."
Anderson and Lambiet aren't the only ones dubious about the FBI's intervention on behalf of Coulter or the excuse that "stalkers" led her to use her realtor's address on her voter registration form. She used the wrong address on her Florida driver's license, also a third-degree felony, as well, as detailed by a City of Palm Beach Police Department report on the matter. The PBPD had originally been asked to investigate the matter by Arthur, and confirmed two apparent felonies as well as a first-degree misdemeanor, but declined to press charges, claiming the events occurred outside of their jurisdiction.
"Sounds like a load of bull to me," legal expert Gregg P. Miller, a professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law, told us. "If she were trying to avoid a stalker, she would not have purchased her house in her own name (she'd have used a trust or an LLC)."
Miller has been following the matter closely via our reports and says that Coulter, an attorney herself and member of the New York bar, is critical of Coulter's behavior from a legal perspective as well. "I teach legal ethics, and I believe that Ms. Coulter disgraces the legal profession with nearly everything she says."
"Fitzgerald was Ann Coulter's boyfriend in 1998 and 1999," Borchers told The BRAD BLOG, "And since then, she has used him as her personal FBI resources for her own purposes."...
Borchers was contacted in 1998 by the FBI and had a "five minute interview with them" shortly after he says he began handing out fliers in the DC area titled "WANTED: The Truth About Ann Coulter," seeking tips on the rightwing celebrity. Feeling she has betrayed the Conservative movement with her anti-Conservative behavior, rhetoric and tactics, Borchers has long been collecting information for a biography of Coulter. He has created several short videos outlining what he sees as her hypocritical use of Christianity and a her persistent use of hate-speech and death-threats in her books, columns and personal appearances.
"There were never any charges filed, and I never heard from the FBI again," Borchers told us. He says he additional information pinpointing Fitzgerald as Coulter's boyfriend at the time.
In October of 1998, the Washington Post media critic, Howard Kurtz interviewed Coulter in conjunction with the release of her book, High Crimes and Misdemeanors: The Case Against Bill Clinton. Kurtz reported that "Coulter seems to flit from one relationship to the next," describing her recent breakup with Bob Guccione Jr., the son of the Penthouse magazine publisher. "Now she's involved with an FBI agent," he reported.
Borchers has guest blogged for us on a number of occassions, detailing Coulter's hypocrisy, hate-speech and long history of "elimination rhetoric". He also covered the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) for us in 2006 (His coverage of CPAC '06: Day 1, Day 2, Day 3) He was also a registered guest at this year's CPAC convention, but was thrown out by Coulter's bodyguard's, prompting him to file a criminal assault complaint which may also have been interceded in by Fitzgerald, as indicated by a letter sent to Borcher's with his refund for the event.
Coulter has, for years, been CPAC's keynote speaker and star attraction, frequently closing the three day event with her address. This year, she infamously described John Edwards as a "faggot" during her appearance. Her address was not included in CPAC's video collection of "The Best of CPAC 2007", as we recently reported.
The assault complaint was filed by Borchers with the DC Metropolitan Police after he was hustled out of the event, where he claims that "Coulter's goons" assaulted him, as well as both physically and verbally threatened him.
After Borchers complaint was filed, Detective Kathy Jackson of the DC Metropolitan Police presented an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant for Coulter's two bodyguards, to Assistant U.S. Attorney, Anita Larue. One of the body guards was Floyd Resnick of New York Close Protection Services, the name of the other is unknown, though Borcher's has given photographs of the man to both us and the police.
Larue, however, told Jackson she had declined to issue an arrest warrant "because of insubstantial evidence that the alleged offense occurred," according to Jackson's April 16, 2007 email. ......... ---MORE---
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