KEN SILVERSTEIN—Senator Norm Coleman Gets by with a Little Help From His Friends

By Ken Silverstein Senator Norm Coleman of Minnesota seems to enjoy mutually beneficial relationships with his financial contributors and political allies. Earlier this year, National Journal reported that he had a cozy deal to rent a “crash pad” on Capitol Hill owned by a G.O.P. operative named Jeff Larson. Larson is a top advisor to Coleman and the treasurer of his personal Political Action Committee (PAC). The story said: In July 2007, Coleman began paying Larson $600 a month in rent for a portion of a one-bedroom basement apartment in a Capitol Hill town house… Earlier this month, after National Journal questioned Coleman and Larson about the living arrangement, the senator said he discovered that his rent for last November and January had not been paid. In mid-June, Coleman covered the back rent with a personal check for... [read full story]