DOMAGATE: A CHRONOLOGY OF EVENTS
The Tape:
1. "'Members of the Supreme Court, I know all of them. I've had a number of visits with them about our law. All of them, every one of them,' [Dean] Johnson said. He quoted (by name) a justice as saying 'Dean, we all stand for election, too. We are not going to touch it (current law).' He generalized the response of other justices as: 'Dean, we're not going to do this. We're not going to do this.'" (Craig Westover, “When Rhetoric Stains the Supreme Court, It's Too Much,” Pioneer Press, March 15, 2006)
2. "On tape, Johnson is heard saying that 'members of the Supreme Court, I know all of them. I have had a number of visits with them about our law. All of them, every one of them, including the lady who just stepped down, Kathleen Blatz, was my seatmate for four years. She was the chief justice. You know what her response was? "Dean, we all stand for election too, every six years." She said "We're not going to touch it." That's what she said to me.'… Johnson also said on tape that he had talked with two of the three justices named Anderson on the bench and they had told him, ‘Dean, we're not going to do this. We're not going to do this.'" (Pat Lopez, “Dean Johnson retreats from recorded claim about court members' assurances,” Star Tribune, March 15, 2006)
The Retreat:
3. "Contending that his remarks 'have been misconstrued,' [Johnson] said, 'I will admit my comments to fellow clergy were, at worst, poorly worded. To imply that I "tampered with the Supreme Court for political purposes" is totally unwarranted and completely untrue,’ he said. 'I sincerely apologize if any damage has been done to the integrity of the court resulting from my loosely worded comments to fellow clergy.'" (Craig Westover, “When Rhetoric Stains the Supreme Court, It's Too Much,” Pioneer Press, March 15, 2006)
4. "But in a statement released this afternoon, Johnson said that 'first and foremost, I have at no time ever received any promises or commitments regarding any potential judicial cases from any member of the state Supreme Court.' Johnson called his taped remarks 'at worst, poorly worded.' He said in the statement that his only contact with a Supreme Court justice on the issue had been a 'brief,' chance encounter in the Capitol rotunda and that comments attributed to him by clergy members had been 'misconstrued.'" (Pat Lopez, “Dean Johnson retreats from recorded claim about court members' assurances,” Star Tribune, March 15, 2006)
The Backtracking:
5. "Earlier Thursday in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Johnson said that he had met 'some months ago' with an unnamed justice and that he'd had 'a casual conversation.' In that conversation, Johnson said, 'I asked one of the judges, "What do you think about the Minnesota law regarding same-sex marriage, put in place in 1997?" The justice thought about it, said, "I think the law is pretty good and probably something we're not going to take a look at." And you know, kind of as a matter of fact, said, "You know, we stand for election, too." That was the extent of our conversation.'" (Patricia Lopez and Pat Doyle, “Majority Leader’s ‘Embellished’ conversation with justice,” Star Tribune, March 17, 2006)
6. "'I will admit the words that I said on that tape were poorly chosen,' [Dean Johnson] said. 'They were not totally accurate.' But Johnson said he did not 'lie' about the matter. To lie requires 'intent to deceive,' he said, while 'embellishment is sanding off of the truth.'" (Bill Salisbury, “Tearful Senate Leader Sorry For Supreme Court Gay Marriage Flap,” Pioneer Press, March 17, 2006)
7. "I'm not going tell you about that conversation today, because I want to maintain confidentiality in a professional way." (Dean Johnson, Press Conference, St. Paul, MN, March 17, 2006)
1. "'Members of the Supreme Court, I know all of them. I've had a number of visits with them about our law. All of them, every one of them,' [Dean] Johnson said. He quoted (by name) a justice as saying 'Dean, we all stand for election, too. We are not going to touch it (current law).' He generalized the response of other justices as: 'Dean, we're not going to do this. We're not going to do this.'" (Craig Westover, “When Rhetoric Stains the Supreme Court, It's Too Much,” Pioneer Press, March 15, 2006)
2. "On tape, Johnson is heard saying that 'members of the Supreme Court, I know all of them. I have had a number of visits with them about our law. All of them, every one of them, including the lady who just stepped down, Kathleen Blatz, was my seatmate for four years. She was the chief justice. You know what her response was? "Dean, we all stand for election too, every six years." She said "We're not going to touch it." That's what she said to me.'… Johnson also said on tape that he had talked with two of the three justices named Anderson on the bench and they had told him, ‘Dean, we're not going to do this. We're not going to do this.'" (Pat Lopez, “Dean Johnson retreats from recorded claim about court members' assurances,” Star Tribune, March 15, 2006)
The Retreat:
3. "Contending that his remarks 'have been misconstrued,' [Johnson] said, 'I will admit my comments to fellow clergy were, at worst, poorly worded. To imply that I "tampered with the Supreme Court for political purposes" is totally unwarranted and completely untrue,’ he said. 'I sincerely apologize if any damage has been done to the integrity of the court resulting from my loosely worded comments to fellow clergy.'" (Craig Westover, “When Rhetoric Stains the Supreme Court, It's Too Much,” Pioneer Press, March 15, 2006)
4. "But in a statement released this afternoon, Johnson said that 'first and foremost, I have at no time ever received any promises or commitments regarding any potential judicial cases from any member of the state Supreme Court.' Johnson called his taped remarks 'at worst, poorly worded.' He said in the statement that his only contact with a Supreme Court justice on the issue had been a 'brief,' chance encounter in the Capitol rotunda and that comments attributed to him by clergy members had been 'misconstrued.'" (Pat Lopez, “Dean Johnson retreats from recorded claim about court members' assurances,” Star Tribune, March 15, 2006)
The Backtracking:
5. "Earlier Thursday in an interview with Minnesota Public Radio, Johnson said that he had met 'some months ago' with an unnamed justice and that he'd had 'a casual conversation.' In that conversation, Johnson said, 'I asked one of the judges, "What do you think about the Minnesota law regarding same-sex marriage, put in place in 1997?" The justice thought about it, said, "I think the law is pretty good and probably something we're not going to take a look at." And you know, kind of as a matter of fact, said, "You know, we stand for election, too." That was the extent of our conversation.'" (Patricia Lopez and Pat Doyle, “Majority Leader’s ‘Embellished’ conversation with justice,” Star Tribune, March 17, 2006)
6. "'I will admit the words that I said on that tape were poorly chosen,' [Dean Johnson] said. 'They were not totally accurate.' But Johnson said he did not 'lie' about the matter. To lie requires 'intent to deceive,' he said, while 'embellishment is sanding off of the truth.'" (Bill Salisbury, “Tearful Senate Leader Sorry For Supreme Court Gay Marriage Flap,” Pioneer Press, March 17, 2006)
7. "I'm not going tell you about that conversation today, because I want to maintain confidentiality in a professional way." (Dean Johnson, Press Conference, St. Paul, MN, March 17, 2006)
Tags: Dean Johnson, DOMAgate
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