It's a pretty explosive allegation, right? But what the report only mentions in passing, says local political blogger and longtime Petters watcher Ken Avidor, is that Klobuchar is far from the only Minnesota politician to be sullied by a connection with Petters -- the list also includes Michele Bachmann, Norm Coleman, and Tim Pawlenty.Linking Senator Klobuchar to Tom Petters is like saying the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor in 1941. No. Was Germany an ally of the country that bombed Pearl Harbor? Yes. Can anyone prove Klobuchar knew Tom Petters was conducting a massive, multi-billion dollar fraud? Not likely since Petters was a darling of Minnesota media who ran countless flattering articles describing Petters as a business genius. Petters did have a brush with the law in 1989, but the case was dismissed and the court file was sealed in 1995.
However, Senator Klobuchar should have known that Frank Vennes Jr., a donor to her campaign and the campaigns of her friend Michele Bachmann and a benefactor and board member of Minnesota Teen Challenge (see this post) was a convicted felon, a fact Vennes himself talked about openly.
Back in 2012, the question about Amy Klobuchar and fraudster Frank Vennes Jr., the subject of this blog now serving a sentence for operating fraud connected to Tom Petters' $3.6 billion Ponzi scheme was not as clear as the relationship of Michele Bachmann to Frank Vennes Jr. detailed in the late Karl Bremer's investigative masterpiece "Lawyers Guns & Money, The Twisted Trail of the Frank Vennes Jr. Presidential Pardon".
To be fair, there is no evidence Senator Klobuchar asked for or lent her support for a presidential pardon as Bachmann, Pawlenty, Coleman and others. However, reporters should ask the Senator if she at any time supported the effort to obtain a presidential pardon for Mr. Vennes. Reporters should also ask Senator Klobuchar if she would pardon or commute the sentence of Mr. Vennes if she becomes President Klobuchar.
The $500K earmark from Senator Klobuchar likely saved Minnesota Teen Challenge from dire financial straits caused when the Petters/Vennes largesse was "clawed back" by the court-appointed receiver. Senator Klobuchar should also be asked why she did not advise MNTC to exercise due diligence and reject the donations of a convicted felon and certainly not allow Mr. Vennes to serve on the board and handle the finances as treasurer.
When Michele Bachmann ran for president in 2011, Karl Bremer appeared on Democracy Now to talk about Frank Vennes Jr. and his quest for a presidential pardon:
Next: Amy Klobuchar & Right Wing Culture Warriors: Patriot Day 2011
This post was edited & updated February 28, 2020.
