Franken-Coleman Update: FBI Investigating Coleman? Race Decided By Friday?

The Minnesota Senate recount election will make a giant step towards a conclusion on Friday, when the state's canvassing board meets to determine the fate of improperly dismissed absentee ballots.

On Tuesday, Al Franken's chief counsel traveled to Washington D.C. to brief reporters on the current status of the election. He deliberately did not close the window on legal action if unlawfully rejected absentee voters were not counted.

"We purposely made a point not to appeal. We wanted to let this canvassing board have an opportunity to figure out where it wanted to go with these uncounted absentee ballots... we will await the hearing on Friday," said Mark Elias. But "if voters in Minnesota are disenfranchised, all options will be on the table. We will not walk away from hundreds, if not thousands votes that did not get counted because of administrative errors."

[Read about the FBI's investigation after the flip]