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Aug 13, 2008 6:46 pm US/Central

Reality Check: New Franken Ad On Coleman Renting

Reporting
Pat Kessler
(WCCO) A new campaign ad from Democratic Senate candidate Al Franken is making waves. Campaign officials for Minnesota Senator Norm Coleman say the ad is misleading the public about where Coleman lives and about Franken's tax problems.
The Franken ad criticizes Coleman's Capitol Hill living in Washington D.C., saying that Coleman is paying below market value for his space, which is a violation of the Senate gifts rule.

 Franken tries to clear up confusion about his income tax problem, but what he calls "an honest mistake" is unverifiable.

 "Al Franken. He gave speeches across the country," says the announcer in the Al Franken for Senate ad. "Instead of paying taxes in the states where he spoke, he overpaid taxes to the state where he lived. It was an honest mistake."

 IN FACT...

 Franken won't make tax returns public, so there's no way to verify if he overpaid home state taxes. He blames an accountant's error for mistakenly paying $917,000 in taxes to New York and Minnesota.

 But he did not pay taxes due in 17 other states. Franken reimbursed those states with $70,000 and says he expects refunds at home.

 "And Norm Coleman?" said the ad announcer. "Coleman is being investigated for paying only $600 rent to live in a million dollar D.C. home owned by a Washington insider connected to powerful lobbyists."

 That's MISLEADING.

 The home itself is worth a million dollars, but Coleman rents a room in the basement for $600 a month. The Franken ad purports that Coleman has an upscale living space.

 However, the Coleman campaign says the senator actually lives in a 10 foot by 10 foot bedroom with no upstairs access.

 There are MORE questions.

 A Capitol watchdog group filed an ethics complaint against Coleman in Washington D.C. claiming that he's receiving preferential rent treatment from his landlord who's a longtime Republican operative.

 That's Reality Check.

 

(© MMVIII, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)

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