Below is an ad from the DSCC. It infers that Saxby Chambliss has something to hide in regard to an explosion at Imperial Sugar in Savannah that killed 14 back in February.
The AP reports this:
SAVANNAH – Sen. Saxby Chambliss is fighting an attorney’s subpoena seeking to question him in a lawsuit by victims of the deadly explosion at a Georgia sugar refinery, prompting fresh attacks by Democrats hoping to oust the Republican senator in a heated runoff.
Savannah attorney Mark Tate – who calls himself a ‘partisan Democrat’ – has subpoenaed Chambliss to submit to questions Thursday about whether Imperial Sugar executives enlisted him to help the company avoid blame in the Feb. 7 explosion that killed 14 workers and injured dozens more.
Chambliss campaign spokeswoman Michelle Hitt Grasso said Monday that Senate attorneys are asking a judge to throw out the subpoena, arguing that federal law and Senate rules not only make Chambliss immune from testifying in the case, but prohibit him from doing so.
A blog called “Daily AntiKos” has this to say on the matter:
When the Senate held hearings in July of this year, Sen. Chambliss asked some very pointed questions to the man who was in charge of Safety for Imperial Sugar, Graham H. Graham. According to Graham’s testimony, he had implemented many changes in recent months because he found the conditions to be dangerous. He also testified that after the explosion he was no longer invited to attend meetings concerning the investigation.
The Liberal local media and their buddies at the DailyKos, would have you believe that Graham was a whistle blower. Only problem is he Never actually blew the Whistle. He didn’t go to the Press and demand the plant be shut down. Hell, he didn’t even go to Imperial Sugar and demand it be shut down. He’s not a Whistle blower, he’s a guy that was in charge of the safety of hundreds of people, who didn’t get the job done.
Chambliss was criticized by the local media and others for his tough questioning of Graham H. Graham. Some even falsely reported Chambliss had received $1000 from an Imperial Sugar Pac.
As I recall, the subpoenas were issued less than two weeks before the general election. It sure seems to me that Democrats are playing politics with this tragedy.
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*cough* Pot … kettle .. 9/11 … *cough*
Damn, it is cold outside today.
Can a lawyer explain why a Senator should have immunity in this type of case?
this is quite the red herring and as someone who literally grew up in the shadow of the refinery, i find this utterly reprehensible–and there was an op/ed in the sav’h paper yesterday that basically said this was crap and that the guy could get the same info from imperial–and also seems to imply that senators have some immunity based on what they say in debate and in hearings–i guess b/c of separation of powers, but i’m not sure how broad it is…
i’ve not seen the ad in sav’h yet–i hope they have enough sense not to play it here–emotions still run very high
http://savannahnow.com/node/618881
“Then why not subpoena Imperial Sugar and get those documents, which are reportedly related to the Feb. 7 explosion at the sugar refinery in Port Wentworth that killed 14 workers?
The company is legally compelled to provide them. Why draw a target on Mr. Chambliss to apparently seek those same documents, unless there’s another motive?”
from the sav’h news also…
Why was Saxby butting his head into the affair to start with?
not long after that all happened there were many calls for hearings and investigations, i don’t think they were spearheaded by saxby as much as he was on one of the ctte’s. -osha and barrow and kingston and i believe oxendine as well have all ben involved in one way or another-from my understanding of the situation, i think saxby was giving someone from imperial the business and thought it would look good for him–somehow it did not turn out that way
Hey odinseye2k,
What does 9/11 have to do with this?
The only scenario in which Saxby would face any risk of defeat would be if the DSCC started running attack ads against Martin. I swear, that organization is the best player on Saxby’s team!
Daily Anti-Kos
“Some even falsely reported Chambliss had received $1000 from an Imperial Sugar Pac.”
vs
Open Secrets
http://www.opensecrets.org/pacs/expend.php?cmte=C00424473&Cycle=2008
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