Posted on 10/21/2005 4:13:36 PM PDT by churchillbuff
Released from a gag order, Larry Littwin the controversial former director of the Texas Lottery under Harriet Miers is free to appear at the upcoming Supreme Court confirmation hearings to give "potentially explosive" testimony damaging both to President Bush and his nominee, according to WND columnist Jerome Corsi.
As WorldNetDaily has reported, Littwin allegedly was fired by Miers because he wanted to investigate improper political influence-buying by lobbyists for GTECH, the firm contracted to run the lottery.
Corsi believes that Littwin, according to an examination of hundreds of contemporary Texas newspaper accounts, will be able to establish under oath that the GTECH contract was preserved on a no-bid basis by then-chairwoman of the Lottery Commission Miers in order to "keep the lid on" the National Guard controversy involving then-Gov. Bush.
The lobbyists included Ben Barnes, the former Texas lieutenant governor who claims he pulled strings to get Bush into the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
GTECH agreed to release Littwin from his gag order under pressure from Senate Judiciary Committee attorneys, Corsi said.
Littwin, who was hired by Miers in June 1997 and fired just five months later, wanted to reopen the GTECH contract for competitive bid, according to Corsi.
The Rhode Island company has held the operating contract on the Texas Lottery since the lottery began in 1991.
When Littwin sued GTECH over losing his job, Barnes gave a five-hour deposition. But GTECH settled with Littwin for $300,000, under the condition that he destroy all documents pertaining to the litigation, including the Barnes deposition.
Until now, Corsi reports, Littwin has been under a gag order as part of his "negotiated settlement" with GTECH, under which he would suffer a $50,000 penalty if he discussed openly any details of his Texas Lottery employment.
Corsi says insiders following the Texas Lottery Commission scandals believe Littwin's testimony is "potentially explosive."
Rumors are circulating, he adds, that influence-peddling crimes, including money laundering, may yet remain to be prosecuted.
Senate Judiciary Committee leadership has pledged to investigate fully Miers' background and qualifications for a lifetime appointment as associate Supreme Court justice.
Hey may be able to hurt Bush a little PR wise, but his enthusiasm is making him look more like a partisan than a key witness offering "explosive" testimony.
I want better than Miers, but this dude is too eager to be taken seriously as a threat.
On a scale of 1-10, 10 being the highest, how much do you hate President Bush?
This is from a 1999 Chrisitian Science monitor article
*In a lawsuit, fired Texas lottery director Lawrence Littwin has accused Mr. Bush of using his father's position as a Texas congressman nearly 30 years ago to secure a spot on the National Guard, in the middle of the Vietnam War. Mr. Littwin, who has subpoenaed the governor's testimony, charges him with an act of quid pro quo, awarding the state's lottery contract to G-tech, a company represented by Ben Barnes. Mr. Barnes was lieutenant governor of Texas during the Vietnam War, and could have interceded in selecting the final candidates for the Texas Air National Guard.http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/1999/08/23/fp5s2-csm.shtml
I don't like the Miers nomination, if that's what you mean. If he'd nominated Janice Brown, there would be no louder applause than mine.
I have trouble cheerleading for liberal policies; I have NO trouble cheering conservative policies (which is why I applauded loudly when Bush cut taxes).
What's a testamony?
Wouldn't it be ironic if the Dems gave MIERS an UP vote and the Pubbies voted her DOWN? Snicker/Snicker
How do you know that Janice Rogers Brown was not one who told Bush to take her name off the short list because she did not want to go through another vicious Senate Judiciary Hearing?
I know! On a scale from 1-10 with 10 being the highest, it must be 30.
If you want a Google GMail account, FReepmail me.
Also, please see The Backside of American History
You'll love this 187 page .pdf (1.99 MB)
I haven't been on here for a while, its reassuring to know that when cornered, the 'bot response remains the "when did you stop beating your wife" rhetoric.
"What's a testamony?"
I think it's the results of a bad vasectamony.
Yeah, I guess President Bush forgot all about that when he nominated Miers.
I would think if Littwin feels so strongly about this he would have easily been able to find a moveon.org type to anti-up that 50 grand and come out with this prior to the election. Perhaps right in the middle of the many MSM feeding frenzies over President Bush's guard service.
Miers panel to hear 'explosive testimony'?
So what is testamony?
"I want better than Miers, but this dude is too eager to be taken seriously as a threat."
I kinda noticed that too when I read something else about this earlier. I guess he's anxious for his 15 minutes of fame.
Okay, clueless one, explain to me how I'm cornered and how your response remotely describes my response.
What the reporter is not telling you is that the snake Ben Barnes (Rathergate finder of phony documents) got a multi-million dollar pension deal out of the same mess, and he and other Texas Democrats have been trying to get US Senate Democrats to leave the issue alone.
Seems the "good ole buddy" system in Texas was quite non-partisan.
I'd just reply 10 and watch the the reaction.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.