During the Franken - Coleman senatorial campaign in Minnesota, Republican Norm Coleman issues a number of very negative campaign ads filled with misrepresentations and lies about Al Franken. Meanwhile, Democrat Al Franken issued ads critical of Norm Coleman. There was a difference: Coleman's ads were lies, Franken's ads were accurate. Nonetheless, Coleman, known not only for is womanizing, graft-mongering, and other things I won't mention, but also known for a litigious streak, sued Franken over two claims made in campaign ads. One of these claims was determined by a judge to be a matter of opinion, and thus not actionable. The second, a claim about corruption, was determined to be substantially true.
That is not quite exactly like being convicted, but damn close!
Read the story here at the Star Tribune. Thanks Stephanie for passing this on to me.