3 men accused of phone plot make court appearance

[maddezmom]

Source: AP

Associated Press - January 27, 2010 10:24 AM ET

NEW ORLEANS (AP) - 3 of 4 men charged with infiltrating the New Orleans office of Democratic U.S. Sen. Mary Landrieu returned to court today for private appointments in the pretrial services department.

James O'Keefe, Joseph Basel and Stan Dai all carried suitcases and declined comment.

The fourth suspect is Robert Flanigan.

Federal authorities said 2 of the men posed as telephone workers wearing hard hats, tool belts and fluorescent vests when they walked into the senator's office inside a federal building in New Orleans on Monday. The other two are accused of helping to organize the plan.



Read more: http://www.wxvt.com/Global/story.asp?S=11887630

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edited the headline since it was edited

[DFW]

1. I wonder if any of them gave his profession as "anti-communist?"

Or does their Watergate burglar imitation not go as far as every little detail?

[Ian David]

2. OMG! It sounds like they arrested The Village People! n/t

[Tesha]

12. No -- they only got "SON of the cop", not the cop himself. ;-) (NT)

[mikeytherat]

34. No way. The Village People are very cool. Our band opened for them about three years ago,

and those cats some of the nicest people I've met.

Perhaps the perps had heard of the band Pacific Gas and Electric and were going for a Pacific Bell sort of vibe; all they needed were the outfits, since they're already a bunch of tools.

mikey_the_rat

[WeDidIt]

3. Sounds like Flanagan is singing like a bird.

The other three are of no consequence and thus will go down hard.

[itsrobert]

4. Sounds about right

Who else is shitting bricks right now?

[MidwestTransplant]

9. Andrew Brietbart, Drudges little crony. O'Keef was on his payroll

[Sanity Claws]

7. Why do you say that?

[WeDidIt]

10. O'Keefe, Dai, and Basel showed.

Flanagan wasn't wiht them.

Flanagan wasn't with them when they were released yesterday, either.

Flanagan's father is the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana.

I'm betting Daddy told sonny boy, "you had better talk and testify against your asshole buds or you're going to prison, too."

[Sanity Claws]

18. Aaah

I didn't catch that.
Did you figure out why they brought suitcases with them to the courthouse?

[WeDidIt]

21. I have no fucking clue what they're up to with the suitcases

Maybe they figured they'd be going back to jail and could bring some amenities?

:shrug:

[Sanity Claws]

24. They're not allowed anything in jail

Odd.

[WeDidIt]

26. Maybe they're going to flee jurisdiction upon completion of the hearing

Probably are heading to the airport as soon as hte hearing is over.

[Sanity Claws]

27. Why that doesn't make sense

I agree that they might flee, particularly if they are backed by deep pockets.
However, bringing suitcases, loaded with clothes or other things to make a getaway, to a courthouse is plain stupid. The suitcases have to go through an x-ray machine in order to get into the federal courthouse. A suitcase showing such items would raise questions about their coming back to face trial, don't you think? It would make sense to leave the suitcase with their attorney at his office, or in a getaway car.

[WeDidIt]

30. The only way they cna flee jurisdiction is to leave the country

I doubt they'll have passports. One generally must surrender one's passport as a condition of bond.

These are federal charges. They cannot hide anywhere in the country.

[never cry wolf]

29. My guess on the suitcases

I am not sure where they are from, but I am guessing they were staying in a hotel. After they checked out what else were they gonna do with their suitcases?

:shrug:

[defendandprotect]

36. But wouldn't you leave suitcases in a car you came in . ..

or even if you came by taxi . . wouldn't the court hold these personal belongs for you?

Could it have something to do with equipment they used? Some kind of evidence?

Agree -- it's odd!

[Vinnie From Indy]

8. The connected ones stand a much better chance of skating

That is as sure as the Sun rising in the East. It could also be that the Flanagan kid's daddy sat the little asshole down and told him this was a serious fucking crime and his only alternative to escape or mitigate a jail term was to flip first. His dad knows how this all works and he probably told him that he who flips first gets the best deal.

[WeDidIt]

11. Yup

and the other three are going to "stand together".

And the other three are going to prison, too.

[alcibiades_mystery]

13. No question

The kid can't get a favorable deal without loads of information BECAUSE his Dad is a US Attorney, and that would reek of favoritism. So, his Dad is basically telling him a) the full list of relevant charges, and their attendant sentencing guidelines, and b) the horror of federal prison and the uber-restrictive parole regime that's sprung up over the last two decades (i.e., don't count on parole for federal offenses), c) what will happen to him as the son of a federal prosecutor in said federal prison system.

[Vinnie From Indy]

16. If his daddy is a good attorney

one has to believe that he gave his dumbass son his best "fire and brimstone" sermon about his exposure and how each decision made at this point is absolutely critical to his future. I bet the kid flipped within minutes of speaking with his father.

[defendandprotect]

35. Wait a minute . . . the "DAD" is a Repug . ..who says he wasn't involved in this???

The DAD action may be to try to shut down the case --

keep the police from learning anything more -- keep them from making any

other connections???

Think everyone could agree at this point that it would be easy enough for

the GOP to portray O'Keefe and the two others as "little naughty boys!" --

The one they need to get OUT of the case is the one being held back -- Flanigan.

Too many of us are remembering what would/should happen rather than the injustice

being passed for justice these days -- and that's from the corruption of the SC

all the way down!!!

Hope I'm wrong -- !!

[nykym]

5. The fourth suspect is Robert Flanigan.

son of a Federal Prosecutor is probably telling all he knows to keep his lily white ass out of jail. OOPPPS! ya beat me to it!

[Sanity Claws]

6. Suitcases?

What's that about?
Whatever they're carrying will have to go through an x-ray machine.

[maddezmom]

20. maybe they are planning a quick exit

:shrug:

[denverbill]

14. My prediction of the outcome.

Conspiracy charges won't happen or will be dropped. They will be convicted of trespassing and sentenced to brief jail terms because it's their first offense. They will appeal and get their convictions overturned. They will be acclaimed as wrongly accused heroes of the right and given their own talk radio shows.

It worked for Ollie North. It worked for G Gordon Liddy.

[progressoid]

17. I'm afraid you might be right.

I'd be surprised to see a plea bargain with probation or public service.

Now, if they had been smoking pot...and Black...that's a different story.

[Renew Deal]

31. And they will be pardoned by President George P. Bush.

[tonekat]

15. Young Farts on Ice

What, did they read G.Gordon Liddy's book "Will" as preparation for this caper?

I'm sorry the feds didn't wait for them to start to commit the actual wiretapping crime before arresting them. That would be more serious than "tampering with a headset" and "impersonating a phone company employee".

[scipan]

19. O'Keefe is the Acorn pimp

Acorn 'gotcha' man arrested in attempt to tamper with Mary Landrieu's office phones

Alleging a plot to tamper with phones in Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu's office in the Hale Boggs Federal Building in downtown New Orleans, the FBI arrested four people Monday, including James O'Keefe, 25, a conservative filmmaker whose undercover videos at ACORN field offices severely damaged the advocacy group's credibility.

Also arrested were Joseph Basel, Stan Dai and Robert Flanagan, all 24. Flanagan is the son of William Flanagan, who is the acting U.S. attorney for the Western District of Louisiana. All four men were charged with entering federal property under false pretenses with the intent of committing a felony.
basel-landrieu.JPGThe Associated PressJoseph Basel, 24, is one of four men arrested at Sen. Mary Landrieu's offices in New Orleans.

An official close to the investigation said one of the four was arrested with a listening device in a car blocks from the senator's offices. He spoke on condition of anonymity because that information was not included in official arresting documents.

http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/01/acorn_gotcha_man_arrested_for.html

[madrchsod]

22. pre trial already? talk about fast tracking....or deal cutting.

[theblasmo]

23. I wonder if...

...some young reporter there covering the trial will be told by someone secretly involved, "I'm not here. You may see me, but I'm not here." From such small beginnings are great asshats laid waste.

[Johnny Harpo]

25. So 'The Plumbers' Are Now The 'Telephone Men'...Whats Next...

Larry the Cable Guy?

[Gin]

28. suitcases? these guys are still staging a show...makes me wonder

what else they have up their stupid sleeves...they already know they will skate..so they brought their skates in a suitcase.

[veganlush]

32. I hate to burst bubbles here..but...

there's no way any of these losers are going to jail. They're simply going to frame this as a misguided, ill-judged foray into extreme journalism and they are going to walk away unscathed. I wish they would get jail but I just don't see it happening in the current political environment. (cowardly Democrats, all-powerful Repugnants).

[maddezmom]

33. update: ACORN exposer, others accused of tampering with Sen. Mary Landrieu's phones emerge silently

ACORN exposer, others accused of tampering with Sen. Mary Landrieu's phones emerge silently from federal court
By Ramon Antonio Vargas, The Times-Picayune
January 27, 2010, 11:50AM

A day after telling reporters that "the truth" would set him free, a conservative political hero whose undercover videos exposed improper practices at ACORN refused Wednesday to discuss allegations that he and three others tampered with phones in Sen. Mary Landrieu's downtown New Orleans offices earlier in the week.

Filmmaker James O'Keefe, 25; Joseph Basel, 24; and Stan Dai, 24, all visited the pretrial services office at the federal courthouse in New Orleans' Hale Boggs Federal Building before visiting their lawyer Eddie Castaing's office, Castaing said.

A fourth defendant, Robert Flanagan -- the 24-year-old son of William Flanagan, the acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Louisiana -- was not with them. He is being represented by lawyer J. Garrison Jordan. Each of the four was released on $10,000 bond.

more: http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/01/post_307.html

[ChickMagic]

37. Carried suitcases?

Maybe they thought people would see them as
"briefcases" and that they are sooo important.

[Dogmudgeon]

38. O'Keefe is the anvil

And the hammer is going to come down hard.

There will be so many charges stacked against these boys that they won't be able to see their own shadows.

And no matter how painful the punishment is, they will still and always be thought to have gotten off easy.

--d!