Oops: 'Friendly' Coleman Witnesses Backfire

By GottaLaff

D'oh! First the three judge panel throws out Toker Norm's evidence! Now two of his own witnesses provide all the wrong information:

This afternoon the Coleman team was bringing in rejected absentee voters to show that their ballots were improperly tossed. [...] They mostly seemed sympathetic enough, putting a human face on the disenfranchised Coleman voter -- but at least two of them [out of six] appeared to have been rejected properly under the conditions of Minnesota law.

One of the voters was Douglas Thompson, who admitted under oath that his girlfriend filled out his absentee ballot application for him, signing his name with her own hand and purporting to be himself. His ballot was rejected because the signature on his ballot envelope (his own) did not match the signature on the application (his girlfriend's). The Coleman team's argument appears to be that he is still a legal voter in Minnesota, as the signature on the ballot was his own, even if admitted dishonesty was involved in getting the ballot.

Good start. And this was the "friendly" direct examination by his own lawyer, James Langdon. And Langdon was well aware that this information would be revealed. Yes, he knew about it ahead of time. And he presented this witness anyway. Good lawyering, huh? Next:

Another one of the voters, an older man named Wesley Briest, initially responded that he voted at the polls -- not by absentee. Then Coleman attorney James Langdon showed him his absentee ballot envelope, reminding him that he did not go to the polls, too. Upon cross-examination by Franken lawyer Kevin Hamilton, Briest admitted that his wife, who served as the witness on his ballot, did not fully complete the witness section of the absentee ballot.

Mr. Toast.