NBC: Landrieu Plot Aimed To Test Sen’s Response To Disabled Phone System

Mystery solved? NBC is reporting that James O’Keefe and his three companions were carrying out a plan to gauge how the staff of Sen. Mary Landrieu would respond if their office phone system were disabled, following complaints by conservative constituents that anti-health reform calls were not getting through to the New Orleans office. Republicans have slammed Landrieu in recent months over what they’ve dubbed the “new Louisiana Purchase” — a reference to extra Medicare funding for the state she won in the Senate health care bill. Though given the uncertain state of health reform, it seems like an odd time for O’Keefe and co. to launch an operation centering on the issue. Here’s the key part of the new NBC report , which at least partly backs up a theory first raised by Marcy Wheeler : A law enforcement official told NBC News that the four men were not trying to intercept or wiretap the calls. Instead the men, led by O’Keefe, wanted to see how her staff would respond if the phones were inoperative, the official said. They were apparently motivated by local criticism of Landrieu — some voters reportedly felt it was too difficult to get through to her office to register their views.

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NBC: Landrieu Plot Aimed To Test Sen’s Response To Disabled Phone System