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Originally Posted by Ferd
Bob Beckel (D) was the speical procecutor on the Keating 5 deal. he recomended that Senator McCain be released from all charges related to that case.
NYT released this story to beat another outlet to the punch. the other outlet (National Review or some such) was going to report that NYT has been trying to nail the story down and failing miserably.
The only legs this story has are the ones the hypocrit democrats try to nail to it.
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Okay so Beckel "clears" McCain of impropriety in regards to the Keating 5. I have doubts, but I'll take the special prosecutor's word for it. The fact he's a Democrat means very little, though some point to that being a big deal in his coming to McCain's defense. We all know McCain has Democratic friends, and is himself a RINO in many areas.
What about the Washington Post story, which focuses - not on the alleged affair - but rather on McCain's business relationship with the lobbyist, and accusations of impropriety in 1999 in which McCain sent letters to the FCC at the request of a Lowell Paxson, who would benefit from the sale. McCain has received campaign contributions from Paxson and other Iseman clients, and flew on Paxson's corporate jet while involved in writing these letters.
Two of the five FCC members voted against the sale to Paxson ... note that both were contacted by McCain during the final hours of deliberations on the sale; both were pressed on how they were voting, for or against; and both have written statements from then which said they felt it "unusual" for McCain to interject himself in the process.
Besides this, is the current situation in which McCain signed up for public funds, has used some, and now wants to opt out because now he's realizing it was a bad decision that may severely hinder his campaign before September and limit his funds to just 4 or 5 million.
The problem is McCain's a liar, or has terrible memory. Consider this from a Newsweek article:
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Just hours after the Times's story was posted, the McCain campaign issued a point-by-point response that depicted the letters as routine correspondence handled by his staff—and insisted that McCain had never even spoken with anybody from Paxson or Alcalde & Fay about the matter. "No representative of Paxson or Alcalde & Fay personally asked Senator McCain to send a letter to the FCC," the campaign said in a statement e-mailed to reporters.
But that flat claim seems to be contradicted by an impeccable source: McCain himself. "I was contacted by Mr. [Lowell] Paxson on this issue," McCain said in the Sept. 25, 2002, deposition obtained by NEWSWEEK. "He wanted their approval very bad for purposes of his business. I believe that Mr. Paxson had a legitimate complaint."
While McCain said "I don't recall" if he ever directly spoke to the firm's lobbyist about the issue—an apparent reference to Iseman, though she is not named—"I'm sure I spoke to [Paxson]." McCain agreed that his letters on behalf of Paxson, a campaign contributor, could "possibly be an appearance of corruption"—even though McCain denied doing anything improper.
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Hello?!? Anyone else read that last part. Here's for those with sight problems ...
McCain agreed that his letters on behalf of Paxson, a campaign contributor, could "possibly be an appearance of corruption"—even though McCain denied doing anything improper.
He agreed that he wrote letters on behalf of Paxson ... something he's been adamantly denying, yet back in this deposition taken Sept. 25, 2002, he acknowledges that it was for Paxson, on his behalf and, oh yes it could appear a bad thing, but we're supposed to believe the old man when he denies it.
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McCain is in trouble. The NYT's should have skipped the sleazy story about the affair and instead focused on the real story - hard, legal evidence that McCain's lying about this, and likely other matters. McCain parades himself as someone against earmarks and special interests, yet he acts on behalf of lobbyists and special interests.
If the NYT's wants a story, just look into the McCain campaign.
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His [McCain's] campaign manager, Rick Davis, co-founded a lobbying firm whose clients have included Verizon and SBC Telecommunications. His chief political adviser, Charles R. Black Jr., is chairman of one of Washington's lobbying powerhouses, BKSH and Associates, which has represented AT&T, Alcoa, JPMorgan and U.S. Airways.
Senior advisers Steve Schmidt and Mark McKinnon work for firms that have lobbied for Land O' Lakes, UST Public Affairs, Dell and Fannie Mae.
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That's the story the Times missed. Too bad, too. Now conservative talking heads are ignorantly bashing the NYT's for a stupid, badly-timed, politically-motivated article, thereby missing the real story.
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