John Edwards Party Crasher Is Jailed

[1932]

Source: {Martha's} Vineyard Gazette

John Edwards Party Crasher Is Jailed

By JIM HICKEY

Police this week are continuing their investigation into a Florida man believed to be the former chief of staff for a U.S. senator who crashed the fundraiser of Presidential candidate John Edwards in Chilmark on Friday by passing himself off as a campaign official.
...
During the party, Mr. Duga slipped into a back room at the MacDonald home and stole a package of Edwards campaign material as well as a bundle of the former U.S. senator's personal stationary. According to one guest who asked not to be identified, Mr. Duga approached several people during the fundraiser and asked if they could help him arrange a private meeting with Mr. Edwards and his wife Elizabeth... According to the police report, Mr. Duga got a ride to the airport with the Edwards party after the event, although he missed the flight to the next campaign stop.
...
"Mr. Duga was asking many questions and was using military style jargon with lots of acronyms," the report said. "His eyes were glossy and red; his hair was messed up and he had a white substance that appeared to be toothpaste on his lips and chin ... When police asked Mr. Duga what he was doing on U.S. Coast Guard property, he said he was bringing provisions to the officers, and pointed to a paper bag containing a sandwich and a soda. He then said he wished to speak to the U.S. Coast Guard commander to notify him of the 27 security deficiencies he had observed.
...
When police searched Mr. Duga's vehicle they found several sensitive documents from the Edwards campaign, including a computer printed itinerary of his event stops with times and locations as well as two hand-written papers titled Advanced Slates for 12/26 to 12/30 that included the names of campaign team members, cell phone numbers, e-mail addresses and hotel room assignments.
...
Mr. Duga was arraigned Monday morning on two charges of breaking and entering during the daytime for a felony, two charges of trespassing, one charge of larceny from a building and one charge of class D drug possession.

Read more: http://www.mvgazette.com/news/2007/08/28/edwards_party_crasher.php

---

Strange, huh?

[CoffeeCat]

1. Ah yes...another "third-rate burglary"...

...interesante.......

wink, wink, nudge, nudge....

[notadmblnd]

2. And was it Chris Dodds office that was broken into by a "homeless" man

I wonder if the same type of material as stolen?

[sce56]

3. Reminds me of the lone nut that takes out the candidate! Only in America do we get these guys

The Oswalds and the Sirhans setup for a lonenutter to get the best candidate like they did to RFK.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

14. "Only in America"

Netherlands too, no?

[saracat]

4. I think John is in danger.He should really have Secret Service.

This guy got really close to him.He even sat with him.What if he had been armed? This is awful.And creepy!

[awoke_in_2003]

12. I thought

presidential candidates did get Secret Service protection.

[iamjoy]

13. I Think Only After The Nomination

or very late in the primary process unless there is a specific and credible threat & the candidate desires it. Obama has one, naturally (although that's quite appalling)* and Hillary has one because she's former first lady.

If I remember correctly, Kerry didn't get his until his nomination was practically assured.

I think I read somewhere that Edwards doesn't want the protection because it will separate him from people and he needs to connect. My friends and I (fellow supporters) worry about him too.


*It is appalling that Obama needs Secret Service protection as an African American running for President. On the other hand, I am not really surprised there are such bigots in this country.

[awoke_in_2003]

23. Thanks

for clearing that up

[cureautismnow]

24. Wiki says SS protection within 120 days of the general election...

... for major candidates.

"In 1968, as a result of presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy's assassination, Congress authorized protection of major presidential and vice presidential candidates and nominees (Public Law 90-331)."

"protection for ... major presidential candidates within 120 days of the general Presidential election, however this appears to be changing for the 2008 campaign. <2>"

"Prior to the 2008 Presidential election, the Secret Service generally protected major candidates over the 120 days preceding an election. As a former First Lady and Senator, presidential candidate Hillary Clinton already has Secret Service protection. On May 3, 2007, the Secret Service announced that Senator Barack Obama would also have protection following a request from the campaign.<1>"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Secret_Service

I don't think this would have helped save Bobby's life, though. He was assassinated on June 5, 1968 and the election was on Nov. 5, 1968. That's more like 153 days.

Interestingly enough, Junior's protection runs out around Jan. 20, 2019.

"Congress passed legislation in 1994 stating that presidents elected to office after January 1, 1997, will receive Secret Service protection for 10 years after leaving office."

edited: for date error

[heliarc]

25. Obama has secret service protection already.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18493148/site/newsweek/

(on edit) Clinton does too apparently

http://archive.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2007/2/12/94931.shtml

She was a first lady so she's had it for a while... but it may have been increased.

I've heard that Dubya is the first president to receive no Secret Service after a period of time following his exit from office.

http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Secret_Service_Retired_Bush_will_be_0621.html

[Vinca]

15. I agree with you. The guy might be a harmless nut, but he might not.

Better safe than sorry.

[EFerrari]

19. I agree. We lost Bobby Kennedy. I hope John and Elizabeth

take this very seriously.:(

[Judi Lynn]

21. He should learn from this incident, and QUICKLY. Very sinister, for sure. n/t

[orleans]

5. i'd like to know who he worked for. anyone know which senator? n/t

[Viva_La_Revolution]

7. Cleland.

:(
"Michael Duga used a credential identifying himself as the chief of staff to former Sen. Maxwell Cleland..."

[cui bono]

11. Is that true? Or did he just make that claim? eom

[Judi Lynn]

22. Even if he did, he could have been working as a republican agent, just as Lucy-Anne Goldberg

did, when she went as a "member of the press" and spied on the Presidential campaign of either Muskie or McGovern.

Using one Democrat just long enough to gain access to someone else wouldn't be all that hard, it seems, to a Republican operative, or a would-be assassin.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

6. What falls under "class D drug"?

:shrug:

[Kiouni]

8. Ditch-weed?

:eyes:

[YOY]

17. Illegal Chinese faux viagra

or maybe Echinecea.

[GreenTea]

9. What plans did the republicans have to use Edwards personal stationary against him?

We've seen it many times before with the slimy republicans doing this kind of shit...who absolutely want John Edwards out of the race.

[Shipwack]

10. I thought that too, at first, but...

If they really had some master plan to use his stationary to smear him, wouldn't they just spend the $25 at Office Depot and make soem of their own. Samples of it wouldn't be that hard to get.

Then again, I might be giving them too much credit... They just might be that stupid.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

16. Dirty tricks

Nothing new here. Watch "All the President's Men" again.

Donald Segretti

... the Menemsha Coast Guard Station called Chilmark police to report a suspicious person on their property.

USCG had to call the local cops to handle this? W/E.

[wndycty]

18. I read the article. Was his identity ever verified?

Did he really work for Max Cleland?

[Stewie]

26. Yep, he's a Cleland staffer.

He's Max Cleland's current chief of staff, helping him arrange personal matters and such.

Every party has its nuts.

[karynnj]

27. He sounds like he needs someone to arrange his private matters

This sounds more like someone who is intensely delusional. The scariest thing is that a person like this could get next to a Presidential candidate. That he could get sensitive campaign stuff - with dates, times, emails etc is pretty scary. The connection to Cleland is very odd. Cleland is an incredible person - it is hard to believe he would have someone like this working for him, especially with the FL record. All I can thing of is could he be a very troubled Vietnam vet, hired by Cleland when his mental state was better?

[underpants]

20. Stealing stationary? sounds like

[Auntie Bush]

28. Yuck! What a disgusting picture....makes mr sick.