Roberta McCain, left, listens to her son, Republican presidential hopeful and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, campaign at a town hall meeting in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007.
Posted on 12/21/2007 6:35:21 AM PST by jdm
Saying that he learned a lesson from 2000, John McCain eschewed the quiet approach yesterday and blasted rumors that he did favors for a Washington lobbyist. Matt Drudge posted that the New York Times had a story that would show McCain -- a staunch activist for reducing lobbyist influence -- had his own scandal brewing. Both of the principals in the story have hired lawyers, and the Times has clammed up:
Sen. John McCain said yesterday that he has "never done any favors for anybody -- lobbyist or special interest group," as his presidential campaign issued a statement denouncing allegations of legislative favoritism as "gutter politics."
The Arizona Republican has hired a prominent Washington criminal attorney, Robert Bennett, to deal with the matter. "What is being done to John McCain is an outrage," Bennett said in an interview.
Bennett said he sent prepared answers yesterday to written questions submitted by New York Times reporters who have spent weeks investigating questions about whether the senator did favors for a Washington lobbyist or her clients. She has also retained a lawyer, according to a knowledgeable source who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was discussing legal matters.
McCain called Times Executive Editor Bill Keller this month to deny the allegations and to complain that he was not being treated fairly by the Times reporters, who had not yet interviewed him, the source said.
Robert Bennett has represented many Beltway figures, including Bill Clinton during the impeachment. Even more interestingly, Bennett worked as counsel to the Senate panel that investigated the Keating Five scandal, where McCain got scolded for poor judgment but found clean of corruption. That set him on a course, sincere but at times misguided, to clean up Congress. Hiring Bennett to represent him here shows that McCain has no grudge, and that McCain is considering some serious legal action, because Bennett (author/radio host Bill Bennett's brother) does not come cheap.
Keller declined to speak with Howard Kurtz about this story. The Times obviously had not completed its own research on the story, and the Drudge leak may have put them in a corner on whether to report it. McCain's hiring of Bennett certainly signals that a bloody legal battle awaits him if they run the story, and maybe even if they don't. It's always fascinating to see a media outlet go the "no comment" route, with its inherent contradiction to their oft-stated rationalization of the "public right to know".
The story sounds like a hit job. It could be true -- anything's possible -- but McCain has spent too long pushing the fight for cleaner political processes for this to be credible without very compelling evidence. Of all politicians in the Beltway, he'd have the least to gain and the most to lose by allowing lobbyists to buy him off. As soon as it happened, the lobbyists themselves would spread the story to slow up anti-lobbyist reform efforts constantly pushed by McCain. He's smart enough to know that, and whatever contributions they could provide would not be worth the risk.
I'm betting someone at the Times floated this to Drudge because they couldn't get a good enough story to run. It looks like a last-ditch effort to get some sourcing for an otherwise failed effort. McCain has taken the right approach in going to the offensive, and we're already seeing the Times retreat.
Typical Washington. Being in on a scam run by DemonRats was merely a little oopsie, move along. George Bush is evil just for getting up in the morning.
Oh sure, Mr. Keating5/CFR is just as clean as he was the day he was born. Lessons learned: if you're going to lie, cheat, and steal, make sure you get in with a bunch of DemonRats. That's where Duke Cunningham screwed up.
Thanks for reminding us of McCain and the Keating Five
Lets not forget that McCain was with the Dems and groups like La Raza (The Race), behind closed doors, trying to pass illegal alien amnesty.
McCain can sue all he wants, but he will have a hard time winning, since he is a political figure. I do hope the NYTimes runs the story...but may not...not so much because they have been pressured....but because McCain is liberal on many issues (incl illegal alienism)
Roberta McCain, left, listens to her son, Republican presidential hopeful and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, campaign at a town hall meeting in Sioux City, Iowa, Thursday, Dec. 13, 2007.
McCain’s problem today is the same one he’s had for the past two decades or so.
He believes he can disrespect conservatives whenever he pleases, on any topic he chooses, without repercussions. He just did it again recently, demonstrated a remarkable contempt for the GOP base, and a very odd political tin ear.
It kept him from being the nominee in 2000, its keeping him from being the nominee again here in the 2008 election cycle.
His problem isn’t with the Times, nor is it with Matt Drudge. Its with the man he sees when he shaves in the morning looking back at him in the mirror.
You can say that again. He's especially never done we REAL Conservatives a favor!
Agreed, but given the other choices, he may just be end up being the nominee.
then Hillary Clinton will be our next President.
Aaargh, I hope not. But seriously, which one of the top tier Republican candidates isn’t flawed. Romney=Robot. Guliani=’nuff said. Huckabee- Puuuleaze.
Thompson looked the most promising but he has been a dud on the campaign trail.
All the other candidates don’t have a chance.
Which leaves McCain.
McCain has no chance at all, unlike Romney for one example.
Nobody that voted against McCain in 2000 has changed their mind, nor has McCain stopped bashing Conservatives when he’s on a leftwing network.
You cannot spit in the face of the GOP base on a routine basis for the benefit of the John Stewarts and Chris Mathews of the world and then expect them to support you.
In a year of political insanity, the thought that you could do this and still win ranks up there among the most ridiculous.
Now that’s bad. I’ve seen bigger crowds at an Amway promotion than that.
So, who is the lobbyist? There are a lot of stories about a particular lobbyist, but we have not heard the name? Do they just give ‘em numbers these days, or what?
from San Diego Tribune:
Questions have been raised about (Duncan) Hunter's receipt of thousands of dollars in campaign donations from defense contractors connected to the bribery conviction of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a fellow Republican whose district bordered Hunter's and with whom Hunter worked to promote constituents' defense projects. But Hunter has not been implicated in the scandal and this year told the San Diego Union-Tribune, "If you're trying to draw a connection between political contributions and contracts from the government, you can probably say that about every defense system in the United States." The Union-Tribune has also investigated whether Hunter played a part in a discrepancy in a property description that resulted in him paying less in real-estate taxes than he would have otherwise. Hunter has denied any role.
LOL. That’s Iowa where he hasn’t done well for a while (until a couple days ago if polls are to be believed), and before all the big endorsements.
Maybe he is looking towards the conservative and independent base, rather than the GOP base.
If that were true he wouldn’t routinely mock conservatives whenever Jon Stewart or Chrissy Mathews comes calling.
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