An Unlikely Ally For Landrieu

NEW ORLEANS (AllPolitics, Nov. 19) -- Louisiana Gov. Mike Foster stepped into the controversy surrounding the state's Senate seat Monday, saying that while he thinks the U.S. Senate should investigate allegations of voter fraud, Democratic Sen.-elect Mary Landrieu should be seated in the meantime.

GOP candidate Woody Jenkins filed, then withdrew, a lawsuit alleging a variety of campaign misconduct by Landrieu. He now plans to ask the Senate to investigate his claims and refuse to seat Landrieu while it does so.

"Everything may have been completely okay, but this is a good opportunity to get to the bottom of it," Foster said during a speech in Shreveport.

Landrieu, for her part, plans to sue Jenkins for the costs of his state court challenge. She said his "frivolous lawsuit" had cost the state $40,000 to $50,000 in overtime and other expenses.

Landrieu's attorneys have filed papers stating that they would like to question Jenkins under oath about just what his inquiries have found so far.

Jenkins' campaign manager, Tony Perkins, said the campaign will fight that effort. "This is strictly an effort to try and see what information we have so they can build their case in the U.S. Senate," Perkins said. "If they want the information, they can go out and get it like we did. We don't want to give them the fruit of our labor."

An Unlikely Ally For Landrieu

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