The St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that the FBI has expanded its probe of ethics allegations that dogged Norm Coleman during the final days of the 2008 campaign (insofar as that campaign can be said to have ended!), relating to whether wealthy donor Nasser Kazeminy paid for clothes for Coleman and his wife Laurie at Neiman-Marcus:
The questioning of at least one person in Minnesota within the last two weeks — and the topic of clothing — signifies an expansion of an FBI inquiry that touches Coleman. In December, a different source told the Pioneer Press that FBI agents had talked to or made efforts to talk to people in Texas following allegations, contained in a pair of lawsuits, that Kazeminy had tried to steer $100,000 from a Houston firm he controlled to Coleman via Coleman’s wife’s employer in Minneapolis.
The Colemans have not been accused of wrongdoing, and they, Laurie Coleman’s employer and Kazeminy have all denied doing anything wrong.
When asked whether Coleman himself had been contacted by the FBI, Coleman’s spokesman Tom Erickson did not answer Wednesday evening. Instead, he said: “The senator called for an investigation by the appropriate authorities and has promised to cooperate fully with them. To that end, any further comment is not necessary.”
