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Capitol View®
Tom Scheck

Senate to try to seat Franken

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From the AP:

WASHINGTON (AP) - It's no joke: Senate Democrats are moving

toward letting comedian Al Franken join the chamber while

Republican Norm Coleman's election lawsuit is pending.

"We're going to try to seat Al Franken," Senate Majority

Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., told reporters on Wednesday, a few hours

before he posed with Franken for photos just off the Senate floor.

"There's not a question in anyone's mind, an assertion by anyone,

that there's been any fraud or wrongdoing in this election."

Coleman's lawyers are challenging the results of the election

and the re-count in a trial set to begin in state district court on

Monday. A three-judge panel that will hear the case is considering

Franken's argument to dismiss it altogether.

Franken finished the re-count ahead by 225 votes. But Coleman's

campaign said it will push for a review of all 12,000 absentee

ballots that were not counted in the race. Coleman's attorneys said

the new proposal could bring as many as 7,000 ballots to the race.

Reid did not say when Franken would be seated provisionally, but

he said the two were meeting to hash out the agenda and Franken's

committee assignments.

(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

UPDATE: This was sent to me from Harry Reid's spokesman:

Franken will soon be the next Senator from the great state of Minnesota.

Weeks ago, the bipartisan Minnesota state canvassing board has fairly counted all votes and certified Al Franken as the winner.

It is important that we start talking about the issues important to the people of Minnesota so their new Senator can hit the ground running.

We will talk today about:

our economic recovery plan to strengthen our economy now and strengthen our nation in the long term; and

on which committees Mr. Franken can best serve his constituents and the country.