LOUISIANA COUILLION WATERGATE

Couillion is Cajun for idiot or fool.



New Orleans FBI Bulletin:

For Immediate Release

January 26, 2010 United States Attorney's Office
Eastern District of Louisiana
Contact: (504) 680-3000


Four Men Arrested for Entering Government Property Under False Pretenses for the Purpose of Committing a Felony


NEW ORLEANS—JOSEPH BASEL, age 24; ROBERT FLANAGAN, age 24; JAMES O’KEEFE, age 25; and STAN DAI, age 24, were charged in a criminal complaint with entering federal property under false pretenses for the purpose of committing a felony, announced the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Louisiana.


According to the complaint, which was unsealed earlier today, the arrest of FLANAGAN, BASEL, O’KEEFE, and DAI took place after BASEL and O’KEEFE attempted to gain access to the New Orleans office of United States Senator Mary Landrieu on January 25, 2010, while posing as telephone repairmen. According to the complaint, FLANAGAN and BASEL were each dressed in blue denim pants, blue work shirts, light green fluorescent vests, tool belts, and construction-style hard hats when they entered the Hale Boggs Federal Building, located at 500 Poydras Street, New Orleans, Louisiana 70130. Once in the building, FLANAGAN and BASEL sought access to the offices of Senator Landrieu. O’KEEFE was already present in the office, holding a cellular phone so as to record FLANAGAN and BASEL. Once inside Senator Landrieu’s reception area, FLANAGAN and BASEL told a member of Senator Landrieu’s staff that they were telephone repairmen, and they requested access to the main telephone at the reception desk. FLANAGAN and BASEL then manipulated the telephone system. FLANAGAN and BASEL next requested access to the telephone closet because they needed to perform work on the main telephone system. They were directed to the main office of the United States General Services Administration, also inside the Hale Boggs Federal Building, where they again represented themselves to be employees of the telephone company and stated that they needed to perform repair work in the telephone closet. Both FLANAGAN and BASEL stated that they had left their credentials in their vehicle. In addition, the complaint alleges that O’KEEFE and DAI assisted FLANAGAN and BASEL in the planning, coordination, and preparation of the operation. The men were apprehended by the United States Marshal’s Service soon thereafter.


If convicted, FLANAGAN, BASEL, O’KEEFE, and DAI each face a maximum term of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and three (3) years of supervised release following any term of imprisonment.


The United States Attorney’s Office reiterated that the complaint is merely a charge and that the guilt of the defendant must be proven beyond a reasonable doubt.


The investigation is being conducted by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Deputy Marshals with the United States Marshal’s Service. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jordan Ginsberg.
O'Keefe is the guy who did the secret filming at ACCORN.

From Politiico.com:

Among those arrested was 25-year-old James O'Keefe, the conservative filmmaker, along with Joseph Basel, Robert Flanagan and Stan Dai, all 24. They were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses and attempting to gain access to the Democrat's office by posing as telephone repairmen, according to a copy of an FBI affidavit unsealed Tuesday.

O'Keefe made waves last year when he posed as a pimp and taped ACORN employees discussing a prostitution ring, embarrassing the group and forcing many of its supporters to spurn its ties with it.

O'Keefe is also being sued by Accorn for secretly filming their employees. Now, you can bet if these guys were Muslim they would have made a big deal about it in the news media. They have all four apparently been released from jail. If they were Muslims or black this would not have happened. Would it have happened if they were Democrats? Guess what, Flannagan is the son of acting U.S. Attorney Bill Flanagan in Shreveport.

From the blog Corrente

But anyway. In yet another proof of the self-similarity of the wingnut function, I found this little gem about acting Lafayette US Attorney Bill Flanagan, a Bush appointee and father of one of the suspects:

President Barack Obama has nominated a federal prosecutor in Lafayette to be U.S. Attorney for Louisiana's western district that is headquartered in Shreveport.

Stephanie Finley's nomination on Wednesday must be confirmed by the Senate before she can take the post.

Finley would replace Donald Washington, who was appointed by President George W. Bush and resigned on Monday. The U.S. Attorney's office is currently run by Bill Flanagan of Shreveport, the first assistant U.S. Attorney.

So Flanagan's "replacement" (not really, but he will be superceded) is set to be nominated tomorrow by a Democratic president. Today, his son gets busted trying to tap the phones of one of the most odious -- and therefore most important -- Democratic Senators.


Interesting, no? Alright, now let me roll out some foil for you.


Somehow I suspect that this nomination wasn't going to go through quickly. Was this part of a plan to catch Landrieu making some kinda crooked deal on healthcare and then blackmail Obama into... promoting Flanagan? Seems risky and insane, but this is Louisiana, after all.


Or maybe they were just trying to make more "gotcha" tapes. Since they're facing 10 years, things might get entertaining when the prosecution offers each of the 4 suspects a deal... I just can't believe that these were the only 4 guys in on this.

Zehr interesant. I wonder what else these guys have pulled, but even more interesting is who or what organization is backing them. Who is paying their legal fees? Someone contacted this attorney in the video about helping them with bail, but he did not want to disclose who it was. He claims he has no idea who is paying him, yea right. One of the first thoughts I had was how could they think they would get away with this. The second thought was the Watergate team would have been embarrassed by them. Either they thought someone who was not there would let them in, they are dumb, or they wanted to get caught.

Mr. Flannagan works for the think tank, the Pelican Institute