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Hey remember how Rand Paul is now off the hook about stealing the NSA lawsuit from that guy? Yeah, not so much.

Courtesy of Dana Milbank of the Washington Post:

The intrigue over the authorship of Sen. Rand Paul’s NSA lawsuit continues. In a column posted Wednesday, I wrote that constitutional lawyer Bruce Fein had been unceremoniously dropped from the complaint after writing it, that he had been replaced on the complaint by former Virginia attorney general Ken Cuccinelli, and that Fein had not been fully paid for his work. I quoted his spokeswoman and ex-wife, Mattie Fein, accusing Cuccinelli of stealing Fein’s work.

After furious complaints from Paul advisers, Fein issued a statement Thursday saying: “Mattie Lolavar was not speaking for me. Her quotes were her own and did not represent my views. I was working on a legal team, and have been paid for my work.”

So that's it right? I mean Rand Paul's history of plagiarism and stealing the intellectual property of others has come to an end.

I mean it's not like somebody has e-mails which contradict this story.

Wait, there ARE e-mails?

Here is the first email Fein wrote, which he sent to Doug Stafford, Paul’s top political advisor.

On Feb 12, 2014, at 1:56 PM, “Bruce Fein” b*****@thelichfieldgroup.com wrote:

Dear Doug,

The protocols for preparing and filing the class action complaint today were hugely suboptimal.

My name was not on the complaint despite the fact that it was predominantly my work product over several weeks and two hundred hours of research, meetings, and drafting. Ken never showed me the final complaint before submission. My name could not be on the complaint under DC Bar Rules because I could not prepare a timely engagement letter. I was never informed until yesterday by Ken of the details of the collaborative arrangement between FreedomWorks and Rand for litigating and paying for the lawsuit. I promptly revised the engagement letter when the information was received, and it has been forwarded via Ken to Rand and FreedomWorks.

I did not learn of the date for filing except by inadvertence from Ken a few days ago.

I was not included in any briefing of Rand about the complaint before filing and press conference today despite the fact that I know vastly more about the Fourth Amendment issue and the history of NSA surveillance than anyone else on the team.

All of this has been especially distressing because I have been an impeccable team player from the outset. I did not ask for an upfront retainer. I did not publicize my role to the media. I heavily discounted my fees. I shared my work product freely with Ken. I responded to all of Ken’s inquiries with alacrity. And I have eagerly defended Rand in the past on Fourth Amendment issues in the media.

Yet I was excluded from key decision points leading up to the filing of the complaint and press conference as though I could not be trusted. I was not only excluded from meetings. I was never informed that they took place and what the decisions were.

My marginalization was thoroughly unfair. Going forward, I expect complete transparency and inclusion on all non-trivial decisions. My name will be on all future pleadings. Ken and I plan to meet shortly to discuss these matters.

My outstanding invoice for work indispensable to the lawsuit should be paid no later than Friday, February 14, an expectation which is completely justified in light of all the circumstances. Please alert me if the work description on the invoice needs alteration.

Thanks for your attention to these matters.

Bruce Fein

Wow, if I did not know any better I would think that this, and all the other e-mails that Dana Milbank has in his possession, prove that Paul's people pressured Mr. Fein into lying in order to protect a man with presidential aspirations.

But that would make Rand Paul a lying douchebag. And nobody thinks that, right?

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