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GOPer Bounced from DoJ to Fraud Shop
Don't miss Rick Hasen's excellent rundown over at Slate on the voter-fraud hype shop American Center for Voting Rights.
Little more than a name to serve as a fig leaf to Republican operatives, ACVR was created, Hasen writes, to "give 'think tank' academic cachet to the unproven idea that voter fraud is a major problem in elections."
That effort to give claims of voter fraud legitimacy explains a lot about what's been happening in the Justice Department. It explains why the administration pressured U.S. attorneys to pursue voter fraud cases and fired the ones who didn't deliver. And it explains why political appointees ruled the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division with such an iron grip.
Here's the apparent scheme from A to Z: ACVR (a think tank with a respectable name) would seize on instances of prosecuted voter fraud by U.S. attorneys (a respected group) to push for voter ID laws. And then once Republicans in the state legislatures passed the laws, the political appointees that ran the Civil Rights Division (a once revered institution) would make sure that the career staff in the voting rights section didn't get in the way. Opponents of the laws would never know what hit them.
There was, as should be expected, some crossover among these groups. A number of political appointees in the Civil Rights Division were sent out to be U.S. attorneys (e.g. Kansas City's Brad Schlozman, among others). And there's at least one case of a political appointee in the Civil Rights Division moving on to work for the American Center for Voting Rights.
Jason Torchinsky, in fact, has held a variety of key positions since graduating law school in 2001. In addition to working at the White House counsel's office under Alberto Gonzales, Torchinsky was Deputy General Counsel to Bush-Cheney '04 and Counsel to the 2005 Presidential Inaugural Committee, according to an online bio. At the Justice Department, he had a short stint in the U.S. attorney's office in Milwaukee as a Special Assistant USA (he did not handle any voting related cases, according to filings) and was a junior political appointee in the Civil Rights Division. When he left the Division, he held the title of Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General.
Once out of the division, Torchinsky went to work for ACVR (it's worth noting that Torchinsky most likely worked together with ACVR head Mark "Thor" Hearne on Bush-Cheney '04, where Hearne was national election counsel).
Unsurprisingly, Torchinsky makes an appearance in the bipartisan draft fraud report ordered by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission -- the report that was suppressed last year after it concluded that there was very little actual voter fraud. Torchinsky was the lone holdout:
"Jason Torchinsky from the American Center for Voting Rights is the only interviewee who believes that polling place fraud is widespread and among the most significant problems in the system."
But as Slate notes, ACVR and its website abruptly disappeared in March of this year (ACVR was little more than a name and a P.O. Box anyway). Don't worry about Torchinsky, though -- he currently works for the Republican law firm Holtzman Vogel as a senior associate.
TPMmuckraker readers, actually, might already recognize him from his work there. When we were investigating who had created a front group called the Progressive Policy Council that was sending out mailers attacking Democratic Senate candidate Bob Casey from the left, the only available corporate records showed that the group's charter was filed by Torchinsky. As it did throughout the 2006 campaign, the group's website still promises, "Full site coming soon!" So perhaps we haven't seen the last of the PPC -- or Torchinsky.
Comments (23)
KestrelBrighteyes wrote on May 22, 2007 4:28 PM:Bradblog's been posting articles on this group for some time now:
http://www.bradblog.com/?page_id=4418
If you have time to read nothing else, check this out:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=1283
Mike Valentine wrote on May 22, 2007 4:28 PM:Steal the 2000 election then scream voter fraud. The Republicans are real (codeword) MOTHERS.
bordersmuggler wrote on May 22, 2007 4:29 PM:Where do Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, and Colin Powell stand with regard to these efforts to suppress minority voter turnout by their beloved Republican Party?
Anonymous wrote on May 22, 2007 4:33 PM:"...Where do Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, and Colin Powell stand with regard to these efforts to suppress minority voter turnout by their beloved Republican Party..."
They STAND BY their party, of course...
diggler wrote on May 22, 2007 4:33 PM:I honestly read the last line of the second to last graf as "he currently works for the Republican law firm Holtzman Vogel as a senior asshole."
apeman wrote on May 22, 2007 4:35 PM:this a** hole is one of many variables in Rove's calculus.
collar is my codeword
gcs wrote on May 22, 2007 4:42 PM:We need to STOP CALLING IT VOTER FRAUD. FOREVER.
Let's call it what it is - voter intimidation. Restricted voter rights. Limiting the vote. Anything but "voter fraud." The very phrase perpetuates the lie and advertises a fake issue.
El Caballo de Sangre wrote on May 22, 2007 4:53 PM:code word: BLACK (As in, Schlozman, Torchinsky, Hearne, Gonzales, Rove et.al. don't want BLACK people to vote, or even register to do so - and definitely not to register other BLACKs)
Wow. You know they weren't expecting any oversight at all when you see these org charts get so intertwined. So many hearings to hold, so little time...
MonkeyBoy wrote on May 22, 2007 4:56 PM:"Jason Torchinsky" is not "Jason Torchinsky".
MonkeyBoy wrote on May 22, 2007 5:02 PM:the url stripped from the above about the 2 torchinskys was:
http://www.stayfreemagazine.org/archives/17/jason_brand.html
chharriet wrote on May 22, 2007 5:08 PM:Torchinski KNOWS there's widespread voter fraud, because he's guilty of it personally. I smell Rove's foul stench.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on May 22, 2007 5:09 PM:I'm posting information from the 2005 990s filed by the American Center for Voting Rights and the associated American Center for Voting Rights Legislative Fund at the TPM Cafe today (link below).
So far, I've figured out that the ACVR made a $28k grant to a fictitious organization masquerading as a tax-exempt organization.
I think there is a major blow in the ACVRLF 990 in that Schedule A was not filed with the 990. If it had been, we probably would know who was paid $332,187 in legal fees.
I also think the folks at the AC4VRLF thought it would be hysterically funny to transfer the domain name, americancenterforvotingrights.com to the ACORN name server. Sick fucks.
And I'm just getting started.
Aredubya wrote on May 22, 2007 5:21 PM:"...Where do Clarence Thomas, Condoleeza Rice, and Colin Powell stand with regard to these efforts to suppress minority voter turnout by their beloved Republican Party..."
Much more to the point, they recognize they really are part of a true minority: people who vote Republican. Then again, so are Democrats. Both major parties cannot get clear majorities without extremist rhetoric and lies about their true agenda. Clinton showed this by winning election with less than 50% of the vote both times. GWB's loss of the popular vote in 2000 scared the bejesus (no pun intended) out of his strategists, and so they went to the dirtiest trick of the Nixon playbook, vote tampering.
EasyRider wrote on May 22, 2007 5:25 PM:I believe that the GOP controlled Congress required the involvement of the American Center for Voting Rights with the electronic voting law after Florida.
They are funded by the superrich and some evil woman who has created some organization with the name Eagle in it.
She also supports the Leadership Institute that is controlled by Mortin Blackwell, super GOP Uber.
Richard L. Adlof wrote on May 22, 2007 5:27 PM:It is NOT 'for political reasons'. It is to obstruct and impede justice.
It is NOT 'voter fraud' (except in Ann Coulters' case). It IS illegal electioneering, caging, electronic ballot tampering and voter purging.
To use their phraseology is to validate their criminality.
casam wrote on May 22, 2007 6:12 PM:Bradblog has an article and pictures of the "office" of ACVR taken 3/24/2005.
"Thanks to the diligence and footwork of a few BRAD BLOG readers and foot-soldiers, we are now able to offer an Exclusive photographic look at the location of the mysterious "American Center for Voting Rights" (ACVR)!"
RW wrote on May 22, 2007 6:21 PM:http://www.bradblog.com/?p=1283
Ironic that an Administration that was ushered in with a dubious voter suppression and voter count, and worked to maximize it is now being unpeeled and exposed as part of the whole strategy of a permanent majority (Rove's architect design).
I wonder what are the statute of limitations on this or will an enterprising prosecutor and grand jury look at this through a RICO lens.
Cabal is black
Xenos wrote on May 22, 2007 6:39 PM:Mark "Thor" Hearne allegedly gave false testimony on behalf of a non-existent client... Isn't it about time to refer him for criminal prosecution? I would expect disbarment to be a serious risk for him! That is a civil procedure with limited due process rights - irony abounds!!
Is he this guy?
http://lathropgage.com/people/detail.aspx?attorney=1584
If so he is admitted to Missouri:
Hearne II, Mark Fernlund
Bar Number: 37707
Date Admitted: 4/29/1988
St. Louis, MO 63102 United States
Current Standing: Good Standing.
People can file their complaints to:
Minnesota Office of Lawyers Professional Responsibility
1500 Landmark Towers 345 St. Peter Street
St. Paul, MN 55102-1218 USA
Phone: 651-296-3952 or 800-657-3 Fax: 651-297-5801
Web: www.courts.state.mn.us/lprb
I don't know enough about what he may nothave testified about to know if he was being misleading - so I am not advising anyone to file a complaint. But someone who knows what was said and done, and is willing to draft a formal complaint if it appeared something misleading and dishonest took place, would really get the attention on him.
Xenos wrote on May 22, 2007 9:04 PM:Did I just post the address for the Minnesota Bar.
That was really dumb...
JosephP wrote on May 22, 2007 10:47 PM:If you look at the source code for the Progressive Policy Council website, it's obvious that it was designed by the same web designer that did the Holtzman Vogel law firm's website. Jason Torchinsky is a member of that firm.
JosephP wrote on May 22, 2007 10:52 PM:I just looked at the second link provided by the first poster KestrelBrighteyes. Evidently my website "discovery" is old news to BradBlog readers. I'm going to have to add BradBlog to my blogroll.
Mrs Panstreppon wrote on May 23, 2007 7:46 AM:Torchinsky may have met his wife when he did his stint in Wisconsin or maybe that's why he chose Wisconsin in the first place. According to the Manitowoc, Wisconsin Herald Times, Jason B. Torchinsky and Beth A. Schroeder of Arlington VA got a marriage license in Manitowoc County on 10/15/05.
According to the WaPo, Torchinsky and Schroeder bought a house in Arlington VA before 9/05.
Torchinsky also bought property in Williamsburg VA with Warren M. Torchinksy who appears to be a dentist from NJ.
You have to wonder what Torchinsky was really doing in Wisconsin in 2003.
Jeremiah wrote on May 23, 2007 1:00 PM:Please be careful in perpetuating the meme that there is "very little voter fraud". The machines and the voting roll purges are serious issues. Neither of which the Democratic 110th Congress has addressed.
[Sec.Code = rice.... that's just too easy.]