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Soren Dayton has put his LexisNexis skills to good use and uncovered much more about Mitt Romney’s quasi-Secret Service operations that are now being investigated by the New Hampshire Attorney General. Per the New York Times:
[Romney] travels with an entourage that includes two or three “operations” guys who serve as advance men and a security detail. (Between stops in New Hampshire, this reporter found himself trailing the former governor’s S.U.V. on a back road, only to be led to the shoulder and instructed to “veer off” by a man wearing an earpiece who emerged from Mr. Romney’s car. “We ran your license plate,” he told the reporter, and explained that no one was permitted to follow Mr. Romney’s vehicle.)
Soren writes:
Well, at first I thought that this was normal because Romney had Secret Service. But then I realized he didn’t and I drilled down a little. Like seemingly everything about Romney, this story gets weirder when you look under the hood.
It turns out that Romney maintained as governor an Office of Operations that was sort of informal secret service for the governor. Here’s a description of his operation from a 2005 Boston Herald article:
Some office staff, who all wear LXX pins, fashion themselves as U.S. Secret Service agents, referring to Romney in their earpieces and audio-equipped wrist pieces as “70″ – similar to the way the Secret Service agents identify President Bush as “43″ because he is the 43rd president.
I’m not really sure what to make of this other than the fact that it gives me the creeps. Perhaps Romney has a perfectly logical explanation as to why a member of his staff would make a highly illegal traffic stop, but I can’t think of any. What a weird story.
I suppose we can just add this to the long list of 2008 oddities.
June 21st, 2007 at 8:49 pm
Wow,
camp McCain is nervous.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:19 pm
Jason,
Heh. Since when is the New Hampshire Attorney General a McCain guy?
June 21st, 2007 at 9:21 pm
Well, if I am correct, Obama uses the Secret Service, so I don’t see what is so odd about Romney hiring a private security service – no matter how they may conduct themselves.
And, I am not familiar with NH laws, but, I also don’t see how it is illegal for a security service to tell a car (did they know it was a reporter?) not to follow so closely to the Gov.’s motercade.
At worst for Romney, the NH will rebuke the security agents, tell them to cool it, and problem solved. At best, the AG says it is legal to conduct this kind of stop, and also, problem solved.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:22 pm
It’s not the AG, it’s the guy asking for the AG to investigate. Read Murphy’s post on the post you linked to. Also you’re in Camp McCain, correct?
I don’t think the AG is investigating, they’ve just been asked to.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:24 pm
Jason, the AG has opened the investigation. That was confirmed by the NH article I linked to earlier.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:27 pm
Matt-A;
It isn’t against the law to have the security officers. Where the law comes into question is whether or not the security guard used equipment to run a license plate check. It is against NH law for anyone outside of the policee to do that.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:31 pm
Tommy,
Man, missed the opening line, I am an idiot. Actually I believe the NH AG is a Dem, if memory serves right. He’s probably more than happy to go along with the McCain guy who made the request.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:34 pm
You’re probably right (about the motivation of the AG, not the idiot line!)
June 21st, 2007 at 9:37 pm
And I’m not really accusing McCain of it implicitly (I try not to do that to any of our candidates much, only giving winks, and nudges). I just think that if the Dem AG sees an opening against a Republican, he’d be happy to take the shot.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:58 pm
ah. I see
Still, I don’t see anything coming from this.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:01 pm
NH AG is a Republican woman originally appointed by Craig Benson. Her name is Kelly Ayotte and she is considered and she would get a lot of support if she ever decided to run for higher office.
Also, I personally know a secret service agent who has worked Obama events in NH. Not sure how it’s determined when they are assigned to candidates besides Mrs. Clinton, though.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:01 pm
Does anyone understand that we are so beant on attacking EACH OTHER (Republicans that is) and not the Democrats (the real threat) that we are talking about a traffic stop!!!!!
Wow…the weird part about this story is the fact that IT IS EVEN A STORY.
Can we move on to something else please – and I mean everyone, media, other campaigns, etc.
This is the stuff that turns people off – one campaign attacking another for no reason other than a stupid reason.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Man I am really off tonight. I could have sworn it was a Dem, oh well. Just ignore me please.
JohioW,
Your right.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:10 pm
Agreed. Lame excuse for a story.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:18 pm
Other than Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama is the only other person in the race that has been a Secret Service detail. That’s because apparently the Obama campaign received a credible threat a few months ago and he and Sen. Durbin lobbied the Secret Service to add some agents to Obama. But his detail was added earlier than at any other time during the primary season.
In regards to the Romney story, I wouldn’t have written about it were it not for the fact that a Republican AG opened an investigation into the staff of a top contender for the Presidency. That does strike me as an important story.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:23 pm
Yes, but it is only a story because another campaign has made it a story.
One time, in 2005, I was managing a city council race. Our Republican candidate was in the audience for the mayor’s state of the city address. After the speech, I had our candidate talk to the media.
Just before the mayor left my candidate stopped he for a second. They chatted and just before they parted ways the Mayor said, “Don’t mess with me too much. I’m the mayor, I know where you live.”
Now, it was most likely a joke (but I am not one to see the humorous side of the mayor), but we later tried to turn that into a media tag. It never took hold, but I see this as the exact thing.
Something to try and get press. And for those of you who say, “Well, yeah, but this thing with Romney could be really a legal issue.” Yeah, so what they threat towards the candidate. Real or made up.
June 21st, 2007 at 10:25 pm
I had to laugh hard at this one:
“..this reporter found himself trailing the former governor’s S.U.V. on a back road”
This guy found himself trailing Romney on a campaign trail? Riiiight.. And he just happened to be a reporter also?
The truth is that this guy IS a reporter and as a reporter, he was FOLLOWING Romney’s vehicle INTENTIONALLY for a story. He did not just “find himself trailing” Romney’s vehicle by mere happenstance and then get illegally victimized by staffers. Any open-minded honest person can see right through the agenda here.
Still in doubt? Folks, just consider the sources here, NY Times in Soren Dayton. Need I say more?
June 21st, 2007 at 10:26 pm
I have no idea why it’s a big deal that they were the pins. The SS were there so they can identify each other at events. The pins are routinely changed, I think a new one for each event. Wow, big deal, a guy with hundreds of millions of dollars and running for president has a security detail, unheard of.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:07 pm
Please, oh please take Romney to court! (Don’t throw me into that briar patch!)
LOL, a bogus court case against Romney would absolutely throw the state to Romney, plus it could
bring in other states. This would eventually make national news and the sympathy factor would be
enormous.
The only thing that could be more favorable to the Romney campaign is if a lawsuit was
brought against him because of his religion. For instance, the Federal government outlaws a
religous test, but a state like South Carolina says nothing like that in their constitution.
Hypothetically, a lawyer sympathetic to the McCain campaign could petition the state to deny
Romney the right to have his name on the ballot because his religion would make him unfit for
office. If the McCain is willing to trying this with the traffic stop then I bet we will see
something along these lines.
June 21st, 2007 at 11:17 pm
On second thought, the religous lawsuit could be a very blunt but effective tool if employed just
right. Basically, if the lawsuit is brought, one would assume that it would be eventually struck
down. However, it could be a great delay tactic, if a Judge issues an injuction right before the
primaries, to keep his name off of the ballot in a couple of key states. Keep his name of the ballot in Florida and Michigan and he can’t win. It would have to be a covert dirty trick and it can not be traced back to any
campaign. Maybe if you could somehow tie it back to George Soros then none of the Republicans
could be implicated.
June 22nd, 2007 at 1:07 am
What a wase of my time to read this postevery candidate has security.
June 22nd, 2007 at 5:02 am
I’ve read some mindless posts here, but this takes the cake!
The last throws of Team McCain!
Will be great to watch.
June 22nd, 2007 at 9:14 am
I got to agree with cwpete. The Romney spokesperson, made a statement (paraphrasing) “We got lost in the backroads due to roadworks on the highway, An aide approached a car stuck behind our motorcade to ask if he knew where we are” The Guy turned out to be a reporter (NY times?) Now the reporter has said he was pulled over.
The Romney party was stopped, so you believe he was going to pass them? I think he pulled over too. If you are Security, this is a RED flag. They probably went to check he wasn’t a nutjob loading a rifle. I think the reporter decided to become the story. He said – He said situation. I’m biased in favor of the Romney party. Storm in a Tea cup.