Posted on 11/03/2007 7:46:24 PM PDT by RDTF
Republican presidential candidate Fred Thompson has been crisscrossing the country since early this summer on a private jet lent to him by a businessman and close adviser who has a criminal record for drug dealing.
Thompson selected the businessman, Philip Martin, to raise seed money for his White House bid. Martin is one of four campaign co-chairmen and the head of a group called the "first day founders." Campaign aides jokingly began to refer to Martin, who has been friends with Thompson since the early 1990s, as the head of "Thompson's Airforce."
Thompson's frequent flights aboard Martin's twin-engine Cessna 560 Citation have saved him more than $100,000, because until the law changed in September, campaign-finance rules allowed presidential candidates to reimburse private jet owners for just a fraction of the true cost.
Martin entered a plea of guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979; the court withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. He was charged in 1983 with violating his probation and with multiple counts of felony bookmaking, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-trafficking and conspiracy charges, which stemmed from a plan to sell $30,000 worth of the drug, and was continued on probation.
Thompson's campaign said the candidate was not aware of the multiple criminal cases, for which Martin served no jail time. All are described in public court records.
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
I’ll see your BTT and BTT again.....(smile)
Martin has committed no crimes that I know of since he's known Fred. He's paid his debt to society. Something tells me, you're not a FredHead.
“And how does that make him any less “guilty” than the other candidates?”
Do what? That doesn’t even make sense.
“These charges go back to 1979 and 1983, 25 or more years ago. Whatever debt Martin owed to society, he paid a long time ago.”
That is completely irrelevant. No one who was guilty of those crimes should be associating with a candidate for president, whether they were 25 years ago or 2500 years ago.
“In contrast, three of Mitt Romney’s inner circle are under investigation and/or facing current criminal charges:”
That’s what I’m on about. Why is every pubbie candidate buddies with scumbags? I’ll bet you don’t associate with scumbags.
Your litany of pubbie moral crapitude is quite depressing. I had so hoped that Thompson would be clean.
“But none of these Republicans can hold a candle to the King and Queen of sleaze, the Clintons!”
Please, don’t say “hold a candle” and “Clinton” in the same sentence.
“Watch how the drive-by media will try to graft long legs onto this story. Much longer than the ones they gave to Garrity, Fabian and Lichfield, I’ll wager.”
Yes, exactly, and that’s why the Republicans must find and nominate a man who is sufficiently ethical and moral that he has no scumbags in his retinue.
LOL...
Still works for me...
“Does this mean I cannot type LOL anymore? gee ;(”
I wish it did, but the people of the world have been too obdurate to grant me untrammelled authority over everything, as they would if they had a lick of sense.
Well then....LOL....I am
and me....too....
“Martin has committed no crimes that I know of since he’s known Fred. He’s paid his debt to society.”
That is absolutely, totally, and in all other ways irrelevant. Having paid one’s debt to society does not mean that one didn’t do the crimes in the first place. The point is that Thompson had a close associate who was a known drug dealer and criminal, and that gives the forces of evil a talking point.
“Something tells me, you’re not a FredHead.”
Don’t know what the qualifications are, but I will say that he was my last hope.
I don't agree. Cool your jets and wait to see what happens. I'm sure Timmy will be asking Fred a few questions concerning this topic tomorrow morning on Meet the Press. Right now, this story doesn't have legs. Stop trying to carry it along.
“Stop trying to carry it along.”
Thanks for ascribing such puissance to my posts, but nothing I say here is going to have any effect on how this plays out.
LOL!
You’re a long time member of this conservative forum and you should know better than to go out of your way to lend more credence to this story, then it deserves.
LOL!! I just had to.....
Uh, wasn't that like 24 years ago?
(I am all for Fred bashing, but these WaPo charges appear contrived, lame and bogus).
I’ll keep an open mind.
Not by his own negligence. Ted Kennedy would not involve any law enforcement or first responders at all, because he was drunk and married and in the wrong place for a senator. It would really hurt his career to be involved, so he sort of "suggested" to his friends that "maybe Mary Jo was alone" or something, then swam to the mainland, changed in his hotel room, made sure to be seen by witnesses, happy, dry, and asking for the time in the hotel. Then he was on the phone all night with his legal team. In the morning he had breakfast with some friends in their room and was happy and carefree.
Mary Jo had enough air to breathe for about 6 or so hours before the oxygen ran out.
It's a lot worse than negligence.
and I’ll try not to type that ‘thingy’ ... so much....Have a great evening!
Bill
I disagree. It’s a problem if you CANDIDATE pled guilty to cocaine 23 years ago.
But it’s not a problem if a person who has been clean for over 20 years is a CONTRIBUTER to your campaign. We WANT people to reform, to go back to the straight and narrow, and having done so, to participate in democracy.
He shouldn’t be an advisor, but if he’s clean and the money he has earned and is raising is legit, who cares what he did 24 years ago?
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