Who is Kent Cooper?

Historically when we entitle a post "Who is [insert name here]?", we already know who we're writing about. Our intention is to profile the subject person. This time is different; we don't know who Kent Cooper is. All we know is that the DoJ wanted Mr. Cooper to be a witness against Fraser Capone Verrusio, and that the defense, in a sealed motion, objected to Mr. Cooper's appearance as a witness. Today, we read an unopposed DoJ motion filed in U.S. v. Fraser Verrusio.

Since the hearing on March 18, Mr. Cooper has advised the government that he will be unavailable to testify in this trial. The government, therefore, is in the process of identifying a new witness to replace Mr. Cooper. As soon as we have identified a new witness, the government will coordinate with defense counsel to recommend a new date for a hearing.

OK ... my immediate thoughts:

1. The defense must be elated that Mr. Cooper has indicated that he will not testify in Mr. Verrusio's upcoming trial. After all, the defense had previously objected to Mr. Cooper's testimony in a sealed motion¹.

2. The subject matter of Mr. Cooper's testimony must not be known only to him. The government is already trying to identify a "new witness to replace Mr. Cooper". This leads us to believe that the DoJ intended Mr. Cooper to provide some sort of expert testimony, and the DoJ is seeking out a new expert.

3. The government isn't devastated by Mr. Cooper's announcement that he wouldn't be available to testify. The DoJ could have compelled Mr. Cooper to testify if need be. That didn't happen. The DoJ is content finding a replacement witness.

4. The nature of Mr. Cooper's unavailability to testify at trial is mysterious. To the best of our knowledge, a trial date hasn't been set. So how can a known conflict exist?

But who is Mr. Cooper? The ACR Blog does not claim to know. Of course, that never stops us from speculating. A Kent Cooper runs a company that maintains a website called www.capitolhillaccess.com. We're not sure what the business model is for Mr. Cooper's company, but National Journal says it has something to do with keeping tabs on public officials who have gone through the metaphorical revolving door:

As Hill aides move to K Street or to the executive branch, [Kent] Cooper and [Tony] Raymond say they will keep track of them and who they are trying to influence in Congress. "It is amazing how many lobbyists tout their connections to Capitol Hill and what they can do for a fee," Cooper says. "It's pretty much: need an earmark, call me."

We sense that Mr. Cooper doesn't care for earmarks and lobbyists' roles in acquiring them. He also worked in the disclosure section of the FEC and is a former Executive Director at the Center for Responsive Politics (link). Mr. Cooper sounds like our kind of guy. If this Kent Cooper is the Kent Cooper who is not available to testify, we hope he finds some way to rearrange his calendar. We think we'd like what he has to say.

===

¹ We wonder why a sealed motion was necessary.