As if we haven't had enough fun today, I finally get a copy of the written threat the South Dakota Republican Party issued to local media: stop running an anti-Mike Rounds ad, or we'll sue!
We have been contacted by the South Dakota Republican Party about the recent advertisement that your station is running for Every Voice Action. The ad is dated October 2, 2014, and is ironically entitled "Responsibility." In the ad, the narrator states that "Mike Rounds gave his friend a no-bid contract to auction off EB-5 green cards to the highest bidder." This statement is false. The EB-5 program was never an auction, as Argus Leader reporter David Montgomery, who knows something about EB-5, had written. On October 2, he wrote that the reference to an "auction" was "simply not true" and a "core inaccuracy."
Montgomery is right. The ad is false and therefore defamatory. It is made with actual malice, meaning with knowledge that it is false or with a reckless disregard as to whether it is false. Given no evidence that Mike Rounds sold green cards to "the highest bidder," the ad's statement that Rounds was a party to a contract resulting in an auction is false.
This letter constitutes notice that your station is engaged in broadcasting a defamatory statement made with actual malice. If your station does not stop broadcasting the ad within 24 hours of receipt of this letter, we will take legal action to stop the ad, and to hold your station responsible for its broadcast [William Taylor, Woods Fuller Shultz & Smith PC, on behalf of South Dakota Republican Party, letter to South Dakota television stations, 2014.10.08].
Look at the laughably narrow grounds on which the SDGOP argues defamation. Look at the text of EVA's ad, line by line, and think about which ones strike you as the hardest swings at Mike Rounds:
- It's the Mike Rounds citizenship-for-sale scheme
- and it's getting worse.
- Now the Republican Legislature is investigating.
- Mike Rounds says [enter mocking high-pitched voice] "EB-5 doesn't sell citizenship."
- But Mike Rounds gave his friend
- a no-bid contract
- to auction off EB-5 green cards to the highest bidder.
- That is selling citizenship
- and Mike Rounds knows it.
- His cronies profit.
- Taxpayers have millions in liability.
- And Mike Rounds still refuses to take responsibility.
#5 implies Mike Rounds and EB-5 czar Joop Bollen are friends. #6 refers to a bad fiscal practice. #10 and #11 suggest full-tilt malfeasance. #12 is a direct insult. Heck, #4 even makes fun of Rounds's voice. A good lawyer ought to be able to shoot a half dozen defamation ducks in this barrel!
But the SDGOP's legal eagles ignore those targets and focus on auction, the technically inaccurate but least provocative term in the ad aside from the prepositions. The SDGOP filed no defamation suit against Rick Weiland when he ran his "Auction" ad last month. You could even argue that the error makes the EB-5 program sound more honest than it really is.
The Republicans have tried to dismiss Democratic lawyer Patrick Duffy's charge that Rounds committed felony production of false evidence as a "new low", but hey, Duffy at least has Rounds's exact words and specific statute to back him up. Either Craig Lawrence is as bad at hiring lawyers as Rounds is at hiring campaign staff, or the Republicans really don't have any response to the substantive charges of corruption in Mike Rounds's EB-5 program.
The SDGOP threat is moot, of course, because Every Voice Action has released a new ad that hits Rounds even harder... and it doesn't say the word "auction."
Mike and the SDGOP just have to get used to the facts. Rounds oversaw a corrupt program. Rounds is offering a story that keeps sprouting holes. And South Dakotans aren't buying his story.
As we all know in South Dakota, liberal is four letter word and we all know the Rick Weiland is a Populist. Every time Mike Rounds or PAC's run an ad calling Rick a liberal, they are defaming his character. Sue them Rick and insist that they quit calling you bad names.
Isn't it funny how some folks think they can make a written statement to control exactly what is said. They tend to overlook that no matter how innocuous a statement they try to make, it becomes a matter of public record and when a contrary document surfaces, suddenly the purportedly innocuous statement can be used to prosecute them for a felony false statement. That is why no one should make written or oral statements when being investigated for potential criminal activity.
If there is a Pulitzer for bloggers...it would be criminal for Cory and the Madville Times to not win.
Cory, your work is impressive and appreiciated!
bill still on the minerals board? expensive law firm. janklow appointee? the threat to Every Voice is an attempt to chill their operation in SD. as complex as EB5 is, malice might not be a slam dunk.
Woods Fuller is a SF law firm stacked with republicans.
During the Senate primary season, Mike Rounds ran an ad stating President Obama was stealing money from medicare to pay for Obamacare. The ad was a lie, but that didn't bother Mike Rounds. Now, Every Voice Action runs ads regarding Rounds and EB-5. The ads are way too close to the truth, and that bothers Mike Rounds.
LS in SD, did the law firm have any contracts with the state when Rounds was governor? Did they handle any of the legal work around EB-5?
Mr. H is a swell fellow indeed, for a libbie. Maybe not as swell as Mr. C who will dine for free tomorrow at Talleys, but pretty swell.
Methinks the SDGOP is about as worrisome as a cloudy day. Proceed Mr. Weiland, please proceed.
Let's see. The Democrats' message is "it's time to throw the corrupt bums outta Pierre because they're robbing us blind and they're brutal against those who stand up for truth and justice."
The GOP message is: "Pound these upstarts into submission or sue their asses off because we own the State Supreme Court."
Um .... dumb shits at Lawrence & Shiller, when you're in a hole, stop digging.
Better yet, kiss and make up with Larry Pressler because Larry is your last bus leavin' town.
Republicans are just recycling the Janklow defamation tactic: when confronted with the truth, scream "defamation." When that doesn't work, they go to "the full Janklow."
The Republicans have now gone "full Janklow," calling up news outlets in order to intimidate them by threatening lawsuit. Any such suit would come pretty close to barritry, which is illegal.
"Auction" is actually a mild way of putting it. Let's call it what it really is: an illegal scam run out of the Governor's office. Everyone loses except the crony capitalists and Republican law firms and Republican operatives, who get greased with the money skimmed from state taxpayers or duped investors.
Of course a Republican law firm would be involved in this threatening behavior. That's exactly their M.O., and has been for generations. They pull this tactic out from time to time when the Republicans get caught in illegality. Anyone who ever got crossways with Janklow will recognize the bully boy tactics.
Don, you are soooooo right. And they are sooooo dumb. This reminds me of ....
http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-cidmbtntbhtYY/blazing_saddles_1974_hostage/
96, I think the GOP is making pretty clear they intend to destroy Pressler, not make up with him. But hilarious—heck, mind-blowing—that it's October, and both the GOP and Dems are firing at Pressler.
Jana, thank you! I'm glad I have the time and good sources helping make this blog worth your time. (Now if MSNBC would just give me five minutes on Maddow to explain why EB-5 matters much more than the Pressler closet myth.)
Donald, does the current GOP have Janklow's killer instinct? Can its threats inspire the terror that Janklow's did?
Well, I think Woods, Fuller is Janklow's old firm, isn't it.
Woods Fuller is a premier firm, and Taylor is a fine lawyer. Note, however, that "defamation" is not as bad as it sounds, and is only a precursor to libel. "Actual malice" also doesn't mean to lawyers what it means to actual people, and is, quite appropriately, incredibly hard to prove when public figures are involved. So Taylor is more or less accurate in his careful choice of words, but he has no legal leg to stand on.
No, as my friend Duffy will certainly point out, I am not a lawyer. But I did spend a semester studying Times v Sullivan in law school, and shortly I will stay at a Holiday Inn.
Claiming that citizenship was auctioned is wrong, and silly. Chalk it up to political hacks--this time Democratic hacks--who care more about making a dramatic political point then telling the literal truth. But Taylor and the rest of us know this is unfortunate, yet not a hanging offense.
Rounds is making a fool of himself. Weiland has proven that he prefers hyperbole and exaggeration to the truth. That leaves Pressler, who provides a legitimate third way.
Jana is right. Cory, who I barely know, deserves a Pulitzer.
Don, I am probably misunderstanding the argument about buying citizenship, or at least a "legal" way of taking up residence by a person from another country in the U.S., but I do not see the difference in using the term "auction."
The legal entry into the U.S. via the EB-5 program is by those who can "bid" the most money to do so. Someone who does not have anything close to $500,000.00 cannot bid/buy an entry into the U.S. Those who do not have that kind of money (or more,) either have to enter the U.S. using other legal means, or enter the U.S. illegally.
If people in Mexico, or Central America, had the financial means to buy a legal entry the U.S. without jumping through all the hoops, they would be eagerly embraced.
To me, buying a legal entry into the U.S. is no different buying a legal entry using the auction. It all amounts to the same thing, that is, buying a legal method of entering the U.S. without all the hoops.
It sort of like whether people buy a vehicle through a vehicle business, or through an auction, they are still buying a vehicle.
So it wasn't an auction? Instead, we just passed out green cards to anyone with $ 500,000 in their hands?
If you ask me, that's even scarier, scandalous, and more politically indictable than an auction….but whatever….
It's best to accept the auction accusation. I would think. Because without it, there appears to be a hell of lot more $ 500,000 that need to be accounted for…..with an auction there tends to be finite items available specially if identical, but if it is not an auction then the potential sales are infinite (like hotcake sales) as long as one does not run out of green paper……that is….. and Republicans tend not to be tree-huggers so that probably wouldn't be a big problem for them…. Wow! How many green cards were there?
But on a more serious note, I see a more dangerous trend beginning to form here. Some of us remember when Janklow sued the Cover to Cover bookstore in the SF Empire Mall for selling the book In The Spirit of Crazy Horse (which is like suing a paperboy for yellow journalism accusations), then there was Matt McGovern's restraining order against the SD Republican Party when it claimed in an ad that he was born in Wisconsin, when he was actually born in DC, and now this.
No doubt, defamation and false ads are wrong, but no one said politics was flag football either. If these type of lawsuits in the heat of a political season become increasingly en vogue, then the shoe string budget politician making a true but negative and effective ad against a Goliath opponent may be intimidated into not running such an ad; and then we would have an analogous situation similar to SLAPP (strategic lawsuits against public participation) lawsuits that would now be directed against the political "Davids" of our political arena…. and do we really want that given the brave new world of Citizens United v FEC?
The word "auction" is technically inaccurate. In an auction the bidding keeps going up until there is one, the highest bidder, left standing. A more correct description, and arguably more damning, is to say EB-5 green cards were sold to any rich foreigner with half a million dollars to cut to the front of the immigration line.
Looks like Rick is going to ask the PACs to cool their jets.
http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/local/weiland-to-ask-pacs-to-stay-out-of-race/article_525c7122-ab0e-5d34-b231-c03a43285172.html
All Democrats, candidates, PACs, and other parties interested in discussing EB-5 as a reason not to vote for Mike Rounds need to use this language: "Mike Rounds let rich foreigners buy their way into the country."
But remember, we're at the point now where the mechanics of how EB-5 works everywhere are far from the most damning critique.
—Joop Bollen broke the law, and Mike Rounds continues to say Bollen did nothing wrong.
—Joop Bollen broke the law, and Mike Rounds rewarded him with a no-bid contract worth millions.
—Mike Rounds let Joop Bollen walk off with millions of your money.
—Mike Rounds lied to the Legislature, he lied to the press, and he lied to you.
—Mike Rounds let corruption run rampant in his administration.
—Mike Rounds broke the law.
And I can come up with all that without $3,300,000 in PAC money to help me brainstorm and broadcast.
I like the line in Rick's song that say's 'I don't have EB-5 to explain.' It's not Rick's job to talk about that scandal. His job is to convince voters that he'll be a better Senator for South Dakota than Mike Rounds or Larry Pressler will.
Bill: what? What?! What's Rick thinking? Mayday and Every Voice are life support! He needs every penny! We're having this conversation and witnessing Mike Rounds and Craig Lawrence waste their time and money in saying stupid things thanks to these outside helpers. Saying he'll ask them to stay out doesn't even work as political positioning; does anyone really care if he takes a position against their entry, even after he's benefited from their help?
This is just a head fake, right, Bill?
Rick asking them to stay out has some political value. My guess is that they'll continue the barrage, even as Rick has gone on the record saying he wishes they wouldn't. Then Weiland can do a political shoulder-shrug and say something like, well, I don't approve of it, but I can't control what they do. He definitely gets it both ways on this one. Pretty shrewd, really.
Was it a silent auction when Rounds handed no bid contracts to the Joopster?
Don't know, Cory. As Rick says in the article, there's probably nothing he can do to stop them anyway. In fact, I just saw the National Dems new ad. It's more hard hitting than any so far. Tagline: Mike Rounds. Schemes. Special Favors. Investigations. Pretty rough stuff.
Rick's position is that he wants to take government from big money politics. To the degree that all this outside help looks like big money politics, it runs counter to his just-plain-SD- folks brand. If I were to guess, that might be what he's saying. He was fully ready to tough this out without any outside help. I assume that hasn't changed.
Has Rick specifically asked for or inferred that he wanted outside help? If not I'd say his hands are clean and tied. As long as his campaign is not coordinating with these outside groups,I'd tell Rounds and his lawyers to go take a flying leap.
'...take government BACK from big money politics...' Left out a key word. Sorry.
How would the Rounds camp know that Benda and Bollen were not auctioning green cards?
It will be interesting to see if Taylor and the SDGOP follow through on their threat to sue the TV stations. Because from the looks of things, the new ads in the pipeline are even more damning than the ones the letter references.
Good point, Mr. Kurtz. The auction part may have taken place after the initial $500k-qualification was assured, with the bids based on who was willing to pay the most in fees afterwards. That's where the money in question was, imo.
Rounds stonewalls by denying knowledge of what his employees were doing, re EB-5. The governor's #1 responsibility: SDCL 1-7-1(1): "He shall supervise the official conduct of all executive and ministerial officers."
The SDGOP should be counter sued for all of the anguish it has caused regarding voter suppression in South Dakota. The SDGOP has gotten over by scaring the media into submission while they pull the illegal schemes they do to enrich themselves. Mike Rounds, Dennis Daugaard, Bill Janklow and the rest who have all been involved with schemes to fleece the taxpayers of this state by suppressing voters for far too long. We the people have allowed this corruption by looking the other way, not realizing that it has now manifested itself into what we now have with the EB-5 scandal. Mike Rounds dusted off the playbook of Bill Janklow when Janklow undermined the state and sold the cement factory in Rapid City to a Mexican company. Corrupted elected officials always see the need to deal with foreign money as that is the best way to keep it under the radar. The EB-5 (auction, as this seems logical to fleece more moolah from the marks) follows the same pattern as the Janklow model. This also seems to be the same model for the Keystone XL and dealing with yet another foreign alignment. Here is one of the most important ways it is allowed, in my opinion. http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/10/09/1335511/-The-Deep-South-Up-North-The-Struggle-For-American-Indian-Voting-Rights-in-South-Dakota
Right or wrong about the EVA ad and using the term auction, the ad served its purpose and most importantly produced another Rounds lie.
Auctioning citizenship to the highest bidder has struck a cord in South Dakota, this is how Joe Blow sees it, the ad has resonated and people are talking, not about the right or wrong of the ad, but of Rounds lies.
In that context, the ad was successful, the SDGOP threatened lawsuit kept the EVA ad in the headlines for a week and caused more public discussion.
Why would the SD Republican Party have "standing" for such a lawsuit? If a defamation occurred, it would have been against Rounds, not the SD Republican Party. The Republican Party has no concrete injury from the alleged defamation, hence how could it have standing to sue?
Sounds like they are focusing on "auction" to draw attention away from rill crimes. Sounds like someone else on this blog who shall remain nameless.
I always liked Bill Taylor, the Wood Fuller attorney who's putting out these threats, but let's not whitewash history here.
Taylor was on the Board of Minerals and Environment when the sewage ash scam was permitted. This was Janklow's pet project, though it happened at the end of his first 8 years in office. Taylor voted for the scam, and he had three or four opportunities thereafter to stop it. He did nothing. Instead he found excuse after excuse to let the ash keep coming into South Dakota in spite of violations of the permit.
I don't know why Taylor failed miserably to protect South Dakota, except the Janklow and corrupt Republican connection. It wasn't just out-of-state scammers in on that one. Some pretty powerful South Dakota business folks were also pushing this project. Many of them ultimately ended up losing money on the deal, but not Janklow, who came out of it with a cushy job in the Twin Cities.
Maybe it took this debacle to straighten Taylor out, because he was much more circumspect about his decisions on the Board after this.
agree don, bill I think represented ranchers ect against Homestake's water monopoly in the northern hills in the 90s.
john & larry- I agree, 500k plus standard fees was the minimum bid-just like ebay, if supply of citizenship cards were restricted, its a sellers market, likely joop or benda's "monkey business," and maybe the AG his 100 lawyers could investigate that. where are those files??
leslie, marty expunged that evidence long ago: it was right about the time Pat Powers was invited to Pierre.
Today's Minneapolis Star Tribune had a story on SD's Senate race. In fact, there have been several articles recently. Here are links:
http://m.startribune.com/politics/national/278906921.html
There is some good stuff here, though I wish they'd said more about Round's EB5 scandal.
I couldn't put all 4 in one comment, so . . . #2
http://m.startribune.com/politics/national/278861481.html
Here are #3 & 4:
http://m.startribune.com/politics/national/278813911.html
http://m.startribune.com/politics/national/278584951.html
Eight more days to the first anniversary of Richard Benda's death, the event that allowed a ray of sun to shine on the deep and wide corruption of Mike Rounds' regime.
Weiland's winning 15 minute interview-rewatch 10.12 MSNBC's UP w/Steve Kornackie, Pressler's following interview is on the defensive.
Rounds is toast, but certainly the Koch Bros. big guns are coming.
oh, auction/smauction-b.s.
eb5 "auctioneer" rounds invited BUT did not appear 7am cst today on UP w/Steve Kornackie, MSNBC. NO INFO ROUNDS covers up (while daugaard in debate "swears" everything is out there for us to see and he was NOT gov. at the time of any scandal.
It's just astonishing to me that Rounds continues to dodge opportunities to debate and discuss all this. The time for him to be playing the front-runner-above-the-fray has long been past. Seems like this is exactly the time people need to hear him stand up for himself. Hiding out instead sends the exact wrong message, doesn't it?
Bill, he is not going to participate in a debate because there are not enough Republicans demanding that he does so.
2. He is either taking voters for granted, thinks that they are too stupid, or he is afraid. Taking people for granted, and/or thinking that they are too stupid is an insult, but apparently enough people like being taken for granted.
3. He has enough money that he can rely on advertisements to make him look good, so why take the risk of showing his vulnerability?
I wonder, if he is elected, will he pay his campaign crew a hefty bonus? Has he offered them that extra money and/or jobs if they manage to him elected without having to say a word on his own?
The GOP strategy is founded on their belief the EB-5 affair is too complicated for regular folks to follow. What they didn't count on was this issue catching fire after Tidemann's blunder in August to prohibit a hearing. Worse yet was Rounds' screw ups retracting his pre-written testimony to the hearing and the string of lies and intimidations by Team Rounds to shut down any discussion of the Rounds Racketeering Scam (my choice for referring to it in the future because regular folks know what racketeering is all about).
By the way, not that anyone asked, the state Democratic Party would be stupid if they stopped stoking the fires on the Racketeering Scam after the election. This is far, far, far from getting the full story out. Democratic legislators need to introduce a reform package of legislation to force public access and transparency to all quarters of our state government -- and don't back down or chicken out. Taking bold action on behalf of public disclosure will pave the way (again) to Democratic majorities in the legislature and the Governor's office. Playing it meekly will seal our fate to GOP successors to Dennis Daugaard and Marty Jackley.