ACORN prosecutor active in McCain’s ‘inner circle’

Michigan Attorney General Mike Cox speaks at a McCain campaign rally on Sept. 5 in Sterling Heights, Mich.

On Jan. 15, 2008, Attorney General Mike Cox mingled with the crowd of John McCain supporters at the Sheraton in Novi as they awaited the results of that day’s Michigan Republican primary, hoping that their candidate would beat out Mitt Romney and continue the momentum he gained by winning the New Hampshire primary the previous week.

It had been 13 months, almost to the day, since Cox had surprised the Republican political establishment by becoming the Michigan chairman of McCain’s Exploratory Committee, the chair of McCain’s Michigan campaign and a member of the McCain Michigan Finance Committee that raised and distributed funds for the campaign.

Upon that announcement, McCain released a statement praising Cox as “as one of the very best crime fighters in the country,” and someone who will serve as “an important member of (McCain’s) inner circle.” On this night, which turned out to be a difficult one for McCain supporters as Romney won the Michigan primary, Cox was returning the compliment. “I think he’s much like John F. Kennedy, in that he’s a true American hero,” Cox told the crowd.

Fast forward to Sept. 5, the day after the Republican National Convention closed in Minneapolis. That day the final stretch of the campaign began with a rally for McCain and the newly nominated Sarah Palin at the Freedom Hill Amphitheatre in Sterling Heights. Cox helped warm up the crowd for Palin and McCain, recalling his days as a U.S. Marine and praising McCain’s military service. He echoed McCain’s attacks on Barack Obama for not being sufficiently supportive of the war in Iraq, saying, “Those who worship at the false god of peace only lead to appeasement.”

Fast forward again to Oct. 14, the day that Cox announced the filing of forgery charges against former ACORN canvasser Antonio Johnson over acts that had taken place several months earlier. Cox’s action coincided with a nationwide campaign by Republicans and conservatives to charge that ACORN is seeking to fraudulently affect the outcome of the Nov. 4 presidential election. On the very same day that Cox announced those charges, the McCain campaign held a news conference in which it claimed that ACORN was engaged in massive voter fraud. “If left uncorrected, these numerous investigations and accusations of voter fraud with ACORN could produce a nightmare scenario on Election Day,” McCain campaign manager Rick Davis said in a prepared statement.

Some McCain allies even argued that the election might be stolen from them. Sen. Lindsey Graham, one of McCain’s closest confidants and supporters, told an Indiana newspaper, “We could lose, I suppose, if they cheat us out of it. I think the only way we lose a state like North Carolina or Indiana is to get cheated out of it.”

The Michigan prosecution was also announced on the same day that a Republican-affiliated group in Ohio filed a corruption and racketeering suit in state court against ACORN.

ACORN pays canvassers to register voters in low-income and African-American neighborhoods where voter participation is often low. ACORN says that it is cooperating fully with the prosecution of Johnson. The response from conservative media and Web sites was swift and outraged. RightMichigan declared: “Let’s be crystal clear here, people. The Democrats want this election, and if they can’t win it on their own they are willing to steal it.”

Did Cox’s support for McCain influence the timing of the prosecution of Johnson? At least one prominent expert thinks it might have. Gerry Hebert, the executive director of the Campaign Legal Center in Washington, which was founded by McCain campaign attorney Trevor Potter, told the Michigan Messenger that the timing of the Johnson prosecution suggests that the attorney general is trying to use the prosecution for political effect:

“It is clear that Michigan AG Cox is deeply immersed in the McCain-Palin campaign. As such, his involvement with the indictment of an ACORN contractor at a minimum gives the appearance of being politically motivated and less than even-handed. The timing of the announcement is also suspicious, coming as it did months after the information first surfaced and around the same time that the ACORN controversy emerged as a political issue.”

Saul Anuzis, chair of the Michigan Republican Party, hailed the move by Cox on his blog, writing (or citing an article, it is not quite clear), “This is a story that is just starting to get some traction nationwide as law enforcement begins to peel back the fraudulent practices of the extreme Left.”

Multiple calls and e-mails to the McCain campaign and to the attorney general’s office were not answered.