DEAN CAMPAIGN STAFFER ADMITS LYING,
MISREPRESENTING HIMSELF AS IOWA VOTER
Kerry Campaign Iowa Director John Norris Demands Firing of Two Staffers
January 8, 2004
Dear Jeanni,
I'm distressed to learn that staffers from the Dean campaign are
misrepresenting themselves as Iowa caucus-goers to gain advantage
against our campaign. You should know this is not how we campaign in Iowa, and I demand that you take action to remove these staffers from the Dean
campaign immediately.
Today, your National Campaign Manager, Joe Trippi was on CNN stating
that people from outside Iowa were coming to the state to help Dean, and
they never would lie in order impact the outcome of the caucus. If your
hired staff are already misrepresenting themselves today in communities like Creston, how can any Iowa voter trust that your campaign will prevent volunteers from engaging in the same illegitimate activity on January 19th.
The Iowa Democratic Party has fought for decades to preserve the honesty and purity of the grassroots caucus system. Today's revelations
jeopardize that hard work, and no Iowa Democrat should stand for it.
On Tuesday, a young man came into our Creston office and said he was
a resident of Red Oak, Iowa. He claimed he was in town for business,
working at a local farm. He asked numerous questions about what our
staff did, the territory they covered, and what type of folks we were
calling in Creston. Our staff was immediately suspicious.
The next day, a different young man came into the office and identified
himself as Mark Evans. He said that he was the new manager at the local
HYVEE, and that he and his wife just moved from Georgia. He started
Asking questions about our operation and began snooping around the office. Our staffers were confident they had seen him wearing a Dean sticker around
town, so they asked him why he had come into the office. He said that he
was an undecided Iowa caucus-goer, and was interested in politics.
Today, this second man, "Mark Evans," returned to the Creston office and
admitted that he and his friend had lied, and that they were employed by
your campaign. He identified himself as Mitch Lawson, who moved here
from Georgia to work for Dean. According to Mitch, "We came into your
office to find out information and get your calling scripts from you."
In order for Iowans to trust that the caucuses will be free of further
Dirty tricks, these two men should be asked to leave your campaign
immediately. The sanctity of the Iowa Caucus depends on it. If your folks are lying today, what's to stop them from stealing the caucus from Iowa voters for Howard Dean on January 19th.
Sincerely,
John Norris
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