No wonder he doesn’t want to talk about his past with the media:
Republican U.S. Senate nominee Joe Miller admitted in 2008 that he lied after being caught using Fairbanks North Star Borough computers for political purposes while he was working as a part-time borough lawyer.
“I lied about accessing all of the computers. I then admitted about accessing the computers, but lied about what I was doing. Finally, I admitted what I did,” Miller wrote in a March 17, 2008, e-mail to Fairbanks North Star Borough Attorney Rene Broker.
Miller’s admission and a disciplinary letter were among his employee records released by the Fairbanks North Star Borough on Tuesday as a result of a lawsuit by media organizations. Miller initially fought release of the documents, but state Superior Court Judge Winston Burbank ordered most of the records sought to be released, and Miller decided not to appeal to the Alaska Supreme Court.
On March 12, 2008, Miller went on three of his co-workers’ computers to vote in an online poll, apparently connected with his failed effort to oust Randy Ruedrich as state Republican Party chair. Miller then cleared his colleagues’ computer caches to erase his tracks, in the process clearing out their passwords and saved websites.
“I acknowledge that my access to others’ computers was wrong, participating in the poll was wrong, lying was wrong, and there is absolutely no excuse for any of it,” Miller wrote in the 2008 e-mail admitting what he had done.
If teabaggers are so interested in cleaning up government, they could start by not electing known liars to the Senate
Bootlegger
Our local rep Chandler actually ran an ad against his opponent Andy Barr that literally said “liar, liar, pants on fire” with animation of burning trousers.
Obliterati
Never trust online polls…
aimai
Tbogg has the definitive take down of this incident–and his account is practically no more than a transcript of the transcript of the PDF files that were released.
aimai
cmorenc
Query whether revelation of this incident will have much appreciable effect on Miller’s existing base of support. It may, however tip just enough of the remaining undecided voters to Murkowski to permit her to actually pull off winning her write-in campaign. While the fallout may also benefit Democrat Scott McAdams’ vote totals by motivating additional folks to turn out, IMHO it won’t help nearly enough for him to pass MurKowski. Most of the sort of undecided voters who might have considered voting for Miller prior to this incident are likely to be firm R-type voters, and will either sit the election out or vote MurKowski, not cross the ideological fence.
geg6
Can someone show me exactly WHAT this guy has ever done since coming to Alaska that would justify his holding a Senate seat?
He’s failed as a government official. He’s failed at ousting AK GOP lifers from their positions. He failed so badly as a lawyer that even the law firm was willing to go so far as to publicly admitting that they cheered when he was gone. He lies, repeatedly and badly. He has ties to AIP, IMHO a terrorist organization. He has hired goons assaulting and unlawfully restraining journalists. WTF is wrong with people in Alaska? I’ve been there and I know that there are a lot of really odd ducks there, but hell, even for Alaska this is a whole other level of crazy.
Odie Hugh Manatee
What’s really funny is that he used the computers to vote multiple times in a poll that he had put online. Nothing like gaming your own online poll, eh? He even told co-workers that he would contact the webmaster for the site to get ‘them’ to reset the poll to a time before he had used their computers. The co-workers checked and found that he was the one running the poll.
I learned how to do this on one computer a long time ago. They have tried to keep people from doing this by using various methods and I have figured out every single one of them. What’s really stupid is that it’s really easy if you are the one running the poll.
Miller is one dumb SOB, that’s for sure.
JAHILL10
@aimai: Har! And Hooray for Tbogg. That was masterful. Some “serious” media pundit ought to have to explain why all these rising star Tea Party candidates are nothing but a bunch of lying grifters who have been hanging on the fringes of the political establishment for years, finally saw a situation where being an ignorant loudmouth might benefit them and jumped on their opportunity to cash in with both feet. There isn’t a pure Everyman or Everywoman here. Just a bunch of lying, lazy opportunists. They must pray to Palin every night before bed.
WereBear
I was watching Rachel’s show last night and she had an interview with a couple of Joe Miller supporters. One was certain the two crazy guys from the “Black Panthers” were part of a huge voter intimidation drive, and the other; well, he didn’t make much sense at all, but he “just knew” everything he knew was true.
sven
I lied about accessing the computers.
Then I admitted accessing the computers.
Then I lied about why I was accessing the computers.
Then I admitted why I was accessing the computers.
Then I lied about lying about why I was accessing the computers.
If I understand how this works, the final week should include an admission that he way lying about lying about why he was accessing the computers and a lie about lying about lying about why he was accessing the computers.
I’m starting to think Joe Miller will do just fine in Washington.
Ash Can
Don’t be silly, John. “Cleaning up government” to the teabaggers means getting all the Democrats out of the way so that they have free rein to destroy the country and build it back up in their image. (Or leave it destroyed, whatever, as long as they get theirs.)
Punchy
I hear he drinks Miller Lie…t
harlana
Um, maybe it’s because they don’t give a shit about integrity, they don’t give a shit about anything but “does this person say what I want to hear?”
madmatt
Isn’t that the definition of VOTER FRAUD…why don’t they run an ad that says “Joe Miller is for Voter Fraud when he can’t intimidate you with his thugs”
ricky
This is certainly far more sinister than the Republican gubernatorial candidate in some minor Southern state who stole milions and millions from the public through fraud of public health care programs.
In other news, Tom Delay is on trial for doing what is now legal in all fifty states thank sot our Supreme Court.
I hope those whose hopes were raised too high by Obama
aren’t feeling too crestfallen this morning. I wake up daily with their dashed dreams on the tip of my prayer beads.
Roger Moore
@geg6:
They decided that Sarah Palin ran away because she was too good for them. Now they’re trying to elect somebody so bad that there’s no chance he’ll be lured away into national politics.
Aries Moon
He wasn’t just lying… he was cheating!!
SiubhanDuinne
Well, at least Tim Profitt has manned up, done the right thing, and asked Lauren Valle to apologize.
http://barefootandprogressive.blogspot.com/2010/10/video-curbstomper-wants-woman-he.html
Bella Q
More troubling (spoken like counsel who sees a litigation issue, I know) is the concern that he deleted data from his borough computer related to the TAPS litigation that could be – or was already; it isn’t clear – subject to a records production request. That data was deleted during the time he was arguing about his leave status. IMHO (without knowing AK rules) that’s bar discipline stuff. He’s a vengeful creep.
Roger Moore
Come on. Everyone knows that “restoring integrity and honor” just means “getting rid of that mooslim nigger in the White House”. It has nothing to do with the kind of integrity and honor that would prevent somebody from lying, cheating, and stealing everything that isn’t nailed down.
Angry Black Lady
oh man! i was hoping it would be something more salacious.
JPL
It wasn’t his fault guys. According to http://www.adn.com
ricky
@SiubhanDuinne:
You gotta love the way the TV folks protected Profitt’s identity by filming him in a manner which makes it look like he is doing his business in the can.
“I used my foot to hold her down because I have issues with my back.” So, had those issues been resolved, can we assume he could have leaned down and served her a knuckle sammich?
Tom Q
This would very possibly, even in Red Alaska, be an election-turning revelation…except for the fact that a three-way race enables Miller to stay out in front unless people appalled by this unite behind one candidate.
Perhaps an object lesson for all the people who think we need “more choice” in our elections. The two-party system has huge limitations — vividly illustrated over the past two years — but it usually does its job of winnowing out the truly corrupt.
Anyway, even if this story utterly punctures Miller’s balloon, the best we can hope for is a re-elected Sen. Murkowski, who’d then do just about anything she could to get back in Mitch McConnell’s good graces.
colleeniem
I would think that the fact that Mr. Miller only served 3 years of his obligated service after attending West Point would make those military voters in Alaska pause. When Wonkette committed real journalism and found that PDF for his discharge for “miscellaneous reasons” within that window, the first thing I did think was that this guy is a major fuck-up.
Will
The best part:
In the psychological profile of the standard Tea Bagger unit, this must be the central plank: they will always, always, always place responsibility for their own violations of conduct upon those they have violated. Case in point: Tim Proffit is now asking for an apology from Lauren Valle.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2010/10/kentucky-stomper-wants-an-apology-from-woman-he-assaulted.php?ref=fpa
Hal
And none of this, none one bit of it; not the head stomping, or lying, mistresses with babies or just total insanity, will desuade republicans for voting for these people.
These candidates are crazy, but they get treated like total normal joes, just out for the little guy. Even if your Mega-Whitman, and can spend more money than what 99.9% of the people in this country will ever see, you’re still “just like me.”
Being clueless, careless, causeless, homophobic, racist, or just a big ol’ idiot doesn’t matter. As long as you’ll help restore America!
Good luck with that.
Triassic Sands
Sorry, John, that’s not what Teabaggers mean when they call for cleaning up government. After all, lying in pursuit of extremism is no vice.
SiubhanDuinne
@Hal #26:
Speaking of Mega-Whitman (nice one, by the way!), did you see that she was waxing nostalgic for “the California of 30 years ago,” the California with jobs and opportunity and innovation. . . . Hmm, seems that the Governor of California 30 years ago was, um, Jerry Brown. KO was having some fun with it last night on Countdown.
Hotdamn
Hey BalloonBaggers, this is sort like getting caught cheating in a debate on national television and lying about on national television too, eh? Oh, it’s not? Nov. 2, the wholesale rejection of the liberal ideology and the Democrat’s and Obama’s FUBAR ideas and policies.
Brighton
I’m a defense lawyer. My clients always admit what they did, too. Then they go to jail.
Hal
@SiubhanDuinne
What’s really funny is that Mega-Whitman is supposed to be this 21st century business mogul who can pave the streets of CA with gold once again with all her vast technology and business sense, but she’s pining for the pre-internet, pre-Ebay days when things were really just starting out?
What’s next, Fiorina pining for the days before she laid off all those HP workers, and merged with Compact?
Mnemosyne
@Hal:
Fix’d for accuracy.
Bella Q
@Brighton: So what do you make of the apparent mass deletion files on Miller’s part, including TAPS files that could be subject to a production order? It’s mentioned in the late August/ September emails and appears to have occurred when there was the dispute about canceled leave. Bar discipline material?
SiubhanDuinne
You know . . . I’m beginng to wonder whether Miss Princess Snowbilly Grifter Caribou Bible Spice Maverick isn’t a lot cleverer than we thought. The candidates she endorses — Joe Miller, Sharron Angle, Rand Paul, Christine O’Donnell — are all so massively flawed and full-blown batshit crazy that in a way she looks almost (*almost*, I say) sane and normal in comparison. Whether they win or lose is immaterial to her; she’s positioning herself beautifully to have voters think (and the MSM say outright), “Well, Palin may be a quitter and a diva and unqualified, *but at least she’s not as whacked-out as (name of wingnut endorsee)*.” It’s kind of the same psychology that has an ordinary-looking girl choose an ugly BFF so she’ll look prettier in comparison, or a guy of average build hang out with skinny little wimpy guys so he’ll appear relatively bulked and buff. I don’t even know if she’s doing this consciously, but I’ll bet it’s at least part of what motivates a lot of her endorsement choices.
Calouste
@Hal:
You mean the days when she was cooking the books at Lucent?
Uloborus
@ricky: and especially @Hotdamn:
This is amazing. I don’t even know what the Hell they’re talking about anymore. ODS has reached Peak Incoherence.
Paul in KY
@Bootlegger: Hey, Ben is my rep too! Saw him at a social event a couple of months ago & said hit that teabagger hard. He’s been doing that.
Mnemosyne
@Uloborus:
I think ricky is talking about Rick Scott, the former healthcare executive who was prosecuted for Medicare fraud that Floridians are about to elect as their next governor.
I’m not quite sure what ricky expects us to do about the stupidity of Floridians, though. It’s not like the information about Scott is brand-new — it’s been known since before the Republican primary, and Republican voters in Florida picked him anyway.
Paul in KY
@colleeniem: If you go to West Point, you have a minimum 8 year service commitment. The fact that he was let go after only 3 years says the Army thought he was a complete waste.
Mark S.
I don’t know what to make of this. It’s small potatoes, but what a weird creep this guy is.
@geg6:
I have no fucking idea. He is even less qualified to be a Senator than Sharron Angle, something I didn’t think I’d ever say. He makes Rand Paul look like Henry Clay.
Mark S.
And all to rig an online poll. It’s like the time I concocted a fiendishly clever scheme to steal a stapler from the office.
Mnemosyne
@Mark S.:
Not just that, but to rig an online poll that he set up. That’s more kinds of stupid than I can even express.
DPirate
Beside the ethical and moral delinquency shown by the whole thing, this demonstrates just how much of a dumbass he is.
Bill Murray
@SiubhanDuinne: and that was more or less before the anti-tax mania, the teabaggers love began, or at least began to be felt in the budgets
Katie
If you want to see what the average Fairbanksian thinks about Joe Miller check out the comments from Fairbanks Daily News Miner. They’ll scare you to death. If any Democrat had done what Miller has, they’d be screaming to high heaven about it.
As for me, I’ll be on a corner waving a sign for Lisa next week.
DPirate
Me too. Mine says “Lisa Murkowski Got Us Into This Mess!”
What’s yours say?