Michael Connell
Encyclopedia
Michael Louis Connell was a high-level Republican
consultant who was subpoena
ed in a case regarding alleged tampering
with the 2004 U.S. Presidential election
and a case involving thousands of missing emails pertaining to the political firing of U.S. Attorneys
. Connell was killed in a plane crash on December 19, 2008.
and lived in Bath Township
, near Akron, Ohio
. His company also maintained a website for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth 527 group
during the 2004 election.
, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey seeking protection for Connell as a witness in the case, saying he had been threatened. Arnebeck wrote, “We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove
has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to 'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations." Arnebeck claims that months later, his source called back and warned that Connell's life was in danger.
He was served with a subpoena in Ohio on September 22, 2008, in a case alleging that vote-tampering during the 2004 presidential election resulted in civil rights
violations. Connell, president of GovTech Solutions and New Media Communications, was a website designer and IT
professional and created a website for Ohio Secretary of State
Ken Blackwell
that presented the results of the 2004 election in real time as they were tabulated. At the time, Blackwell was also chairman of the Bush-Cheney
2004 reelection effort in Ohio
. Connell refused to testify or to produce documents relating to the system used in the 2004 and 2006 elections, lawyers said.
private airplane, which he was flying, which occurred in Lake Township
, between 2.5 and 3 miles short of the runway at the Akron-Canton Airport near Akron, Ohio
. Connell was alone in the plane and had been returning from the College Park Airport
in Maryland
, near Washington, D.C.
. The plane crashed on its final approach to the airport's main runway, between two houses, one of which was vacant. Connell had flown the plane from the Akron-Canton Airport to the College Park Airport on December 18, 2008 and, according to the Stark County, Ohio
coroner, Connell had on his person a receipt for a breakfast he had purchased in Washington, D.C. on December 19, 2008.
On December 31, 2008 it was reported that air traffic controllers had noted prior to the crash that Connell was off course, that they had been in communication with him regarding this, and that he had been trying to get back on course at the time of the crash. There were reported to have been no signs of mechanical problems with the plane.
The National Transportation Safety Board
published its final report into the accident that killed Connell on January 28, 2010. The board concluded that Connell had lost control of the aircraft as a result of disorientation while turning in cloud. During a pre-flight briefing Connell had commented that he wanted to return to Akron before the weather "went from bad to worse". Several other pilots in the vicinity had reported severe icing at the time of the crash; Connell's aircraft was not equipped or approved to fly in icing conditions. A January 2010 article in Maxim Magazine speculated that because Connell possessed knowledge which, if revealed, would be damaging to high-level Republicans, his death may have been the result of sabotage of his aircraft, particularly as his cell-phone was never recovered. Project Censored, a small non-profit organization, has called for a Federal criminal investigation; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the case "more serious than Watergate."
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
consultant who was subpoena
Subpoena
A subpoena is a writ by a government agency, most often a court, that has authority to compel testimony by a witness or production of evidence under a penalty for failure. There are two common types of subpoena:...
ed in a case regarding alleged tampering
Electoral fraud
Electoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
with the 2004 U.S. Presidential election
United States presidential election, 2004
The United States presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator...
and a case involving thousands of missing emails pertaining to the political firing of U.S. Attorneys
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
. Connell was killed in a plane crash on December 19, 2008.
Life
Connell was originally from IllinoisIllinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
and lived in Bath Township
Bath Township, Summit County, Ohio
Bath Township is one of the nine townships of Summit County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 9,635 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships and cities:...
, near Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. His company also maintained a website for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth 527 group
527 group
A 527 organization or 527 group is a type of American tax-exempt organization named after "Section 527" of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code...
during the 2004 election.
Request for protection
In July 2008, the lead attorney in the King Lincoln Bronzeville Neighborhood Association v. Blackwell case, Cliff ArnebeckCliff Arnebeck
Cliff Arnebeck is the Chair of Legal Affairs Committee of Common Cause Ohio and a National Co-Chair and attorney for .Together with AfD founder Ronnie Dugger, Cliff Arnebeck launched the ....
, sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey seeking protection for Connell as a witness in the case, saying he had been threatened. Arnebeck wrote, “We have been confidentially informed by a source we believe to be credible that Karl Rove
Karl Rove
Karl Christian Rove was Senior Advisor and Deputy Chief of Staff to former President George W. Bush until Rove's resignation on August 31, 2007. He has headed the Office of Political Affairs, the Office of Public Liaison, and the White House Office of Strategic Initiatives...
has threatened Michael Connell, a principal witness we have identified in our King Lincoln case in federal court in Columbus, Ohio, that if he does not agree to 'take the fall' for election fraud in Ohio, his wife Heather will be prosecuted for supposed lobby law violations." Arnebeck claims that months later, his source called back and warned that Connell's life was in danger.
He was served with a subpoena in Ohio on September 22, 2008, in a case alleging that vote-tampering during the 2004 presidential election resulted in civil rights
Civil rights
Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from unwarranted infringement by governments and private organizations, and ensure one's ability to participate in the civil and political life of the state without discrimination or repression.Civil rights include...
violations. Connell, president of GovTech Solutions and New Media Communications, was a website designer and IT
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
professional and created a website for Ohio Secretary of State
Ohio Secretary of State
The Secretary of State is responsible for overseeing elections in the State of Ohio. The Secretary of State also is responsible for registering business entities and granting them the authority to do business within the state, registering secured transactions, and granting access to public...
Ken Blackwell
Ken Blackwell
John Kenneth Blackwell is an American politician and activist who served as the mayor of Cincinnati, Ohio from 1979 to 1980 and Ohio Secretary of State from 1999 to 2007. A Republican, he was the first African-American to be the candidate for governor of a major party in Ohio. In 2006, Blackwell...
that presented the results of the 2004 election in real time as they were tabulated. At the time, Blackwell was also chairman of the Bush-Cheney
George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2004
This article is about the presidential campaign of George W. Bush, the former President of the United States and winner of the 2004 Presidential Election. See George W. Bush for a detailed biography and information about his full presidency, and George W. Bush presidential campaign, 2000 for a...
2004 reelection effort in Ohio
Ohio
Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...
. Connell refused to testify or to produce documents relating to the system used in the 2004 and 2006 elections, lawyers said.
Death
At about 6 p.m. on December 19, 2008, Connell was killed, at the age of 45, in the crash of a single-engine 1997 Piper SaratogaPiper Saratoga
The Piper PA-32R is a six-seat, high-performance, single engine, all-metal fixed-wing aircraft produced by Piper Aircraft. The design began life as the Piper Lance, a retractable gear version of the Piper Cherokee Six. Later models are known as Saratogas...
private airplane, which he was flying, which occurred in Lake Township
Lake Township, Stark County, Ohio
Lake Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. It is an urban township; the 2000 census found 25,892 people in the township, 23,718 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
, between 2.5 and 3 miles short of the runway at the Akron-Canton Airport near Akron, Ohio
Akron, Ohio
Akron , is the fifth largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Summit County. It is located in the Great Lakes region approximately south of Lake Erie along the Little Cuyahoga River. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 199,110. The Akron Metropolitan...
. Connell was alone in the plane and had been returning from the College Park Airport
College Park Airport
College Park Airport is a public airport located in the City of College Park, in Prince Georges County, Maryland, USA. It is the world's oldest continuously operated airport.-History:...
in Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
, near Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
. The plane crashed on its final approach to the airport's main runway, between two houses, one of which was vacant. Connell had flown the plane from the Akron-Canton Airport to the College Park Airport on December 18, 2008 and, according to the Stark County, Ohio
Stark County, Ohio
Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 375,586. It is included in the Canton-Massillon, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area....
coroner, Connell had on his person a receipt for a breakfast he had purchased in Washington, D.C. on December 19, 2008.
On December 31, 2008 it was reported that air traffic controllers had noted prior to the crash that Connell was off course, that they had been in communication with him regarding this, and that he had been trying to get back on course at the time of the crash. There were reported to have been no signs of mechanical problems with the plane.
The National Transportation Safety Board
National Transportation Safety Board
The National Transportation Safety Board is an independent U.S. government investigative agency responsible for civil transportation accident investigation. In this role, the NTSB investigates and reports on aviation accidents and incidents, certain types of highway crashes, ship and marine...
published its final report into the accident that killed Connell on January 28, 2010. The board concluded that Connell had lost control of the aircraft as a result of disorientation while turning in cloud. During a pre-flight briefing Connell had commented that he wanted to return to Akron before the weather "went from bad to worse". Several other pilots in the vicinity had reported severe icing at the time of the crash; Connell's aircraft was not equipped or approved to fly in icing conditions. A January 2010 article in Maxim Magazine speculated that because Connell possessed knowledge which, if revealed, would be damaging to high-level Republicans, his death may have been the result of sabotage of his aircraft, particularly as his cell-phone was never recovered. Project Censored, a small non-profit organization, has called for a Federal criminal investigation; and Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has called the case "more serious than Watergate."
External links
- Democracy Now! program, November 3, 2008
- "Key Witness in Rove Probes Killed" Huffington Post December 21, 2008
- "PHOTOS, Flight Log of Mike Connell Plane Crash - Witness in Bush/Rove Vote Tampering, Dies in Plane Crash", by Clayton Hallmark, December 23, 2008
- Preliminary crash report from NTSB
- "Point of Impact", by James RennerJames RennerJames Renner is an American investigative reporter and film producer. He is from Cleveland, Ohio. He is a former writer for the Cleveland Scene and editor of the alternative newspaper, The Independent. He was also a founding member of Last Call Cleveland...
, January 21, 2009 - Tragic Story of Mike Connell, Bush/Rove/GOP IT Guru, Breaks in Maxim, January 18, 2010