[Updated] The Ellison/Tancredo Kerfuffle: Unanswered Questions

Lots of blogs are writing about the article in The Hill:

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) believes it is his right as a Muslim to be sworn into Congress with the Quran. But apparently, the freshman lawmaker doesn't believe it's Rep. Tom Tancredo's (R-Colo.) right to smoke a cigar in his congressional office.

Ellison's office called the Capitol Hill Police on Tancredo last Wednesday night as Tancredo was in his office smoking a cigar. The lawmakers have neighboring offices on the first floor of the Longworth House Office Building.

This leaves some questions unanswered.

Question 1: why were the police called?
Ellison's press secretary, Rick Jauert: "I called because the smoke was coming through the walls"
The Hill: "To help keep his office free of impurities, Tancredo has three air purifiers"

Question 2: why did Jauert go to the extreme measure of calling the police?
Jauert: "He's [Ellison] complained of the smoke before."
Tancredo: "If he [Ellison] would have [had] the courtesy to say something I'm sure I would have been more accommodating to his wishes."

Allahpundit got an email from Robert Spencer that "freshmen congressmen are allowed to choose their new offices, so for whatever reason, Ellison wanted to be there."

Question 3: Why would Ellison want an office right next to Tancredo?
The Hill points out: Tancredo supported Ellison's right to be sworn in with the Quran.

But--

Fox News (July 18, 2005):

Talk show host Pat Campbell asked the Littleton Republican how the country should respond if terrorists struck several U.S. cities with nuclear weapons.

"Well, what if you said something like — if this happens in the United States, and we determine that it is the result of extremist, fundamentalist Muslims, you know, you could take out their holy sites," Tancredo answered.

Pedestrian Infidel (September 14, 2005):

U.S. Rep. Tom Tancredo wants the National Park Service to reject the crescent- shaped design of a proposed Sept. 11 memorial in rural Pennsylvania, saying it resembles the lunar crescent symbol of Islam and could be seen as a "tribute to the hijackers."

So after Ellison chose for his new office a room next to a man he respected/despised, his press secretary responded to smoke that was/was not coming through the walls after Ellison had previously/never complained about the smoke before.

Got it?

Update: Fox News is reporting that Ellison has apologized to Tancredo...for the commotion after the police came:

A freshman Democratic lawmaker sent a hand-written note Wednesday night to a neighboring Republican congressman to apologize for the situation that erupted after his staff complained to U.S. Capitol Police about cigar smoke.

No word yet that Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison is sorry that his staff called the cops in the first place to complain that Colorado Rep. Tom Tancredo's cigar was stinking up the hallway they share in the Longworth House Office Building.

Ellison "apologizes for the situation" because "it was so blown out of proportion," Carlos Espinosa, Tancredo’s press secretary, told FOX News.

...Jauert said he wasn't sure where the smoke was coming from and that the congressman didn't know that he had made the complaint.

Ellison suffers from asthma and people in his office are "highly sensitive" to second-hand smoke, Jauert said.

It is interesting that Jauert now says that he called the police on a Congressman even though he was not sure where the smoke was coming from. More interesting, as Lone Star Times points out, is that Jauert apparently contradicts himself-- now he is saying Ellison didn't know he had made a complaint. But according to the Hill article:

Jauert said he then informed his boss what he had done. He said “fine,” Jauert said. “He’s complained of the smoke before.”

Another Jauert contradiction. The whole situation may very well be a small misunderstanding. But it would help if Jauert's statements were consistent.

And, as Red, Blue and You asks, why wasn't the issue of Ellison's asthma mentioned when the police were called?

Update 2: According to ABC's Political Punch, [hat tip Think Progress] Rick Jauert did not call the police at all. Instead, he followed protocol:

He called the House superintendent's office "since that's what you do when these issues arise," he says. "They connected me to the Capitol Hill police." Ellison, Jauert says, did not know he was making that call, though he later went over to Tancredo's office to explain to them that he (Ellison) has asthma. "But by that time the call had been made and the officer had stopped by."

This would explain most of the discrepancies.

Technorati Tag: Keith Ellison and Tom Tancredo.