Jackson Free Press

The official entry of Fred Thompson into the presidential fray is causing some old GOP problems to be pulled from the memory hole and given a fresh light in a time when corruption doesn't pay like it did a few years back. Specifically Media Matters is reporting that The New York Times, Newsweek and other media failed to report what really happened when Thompson chaired a 1997 Governmental Affairs Committee that was supposedly investigating Republican campaign-finance scandals, including the National Policy Forum, a sham group set up by then RNC Chairman Haley Barbour to collect money for the GOP. Media Matters:

The Times reported that Republicans criticized Thompson for "his decision to let [then-Sen. John] Glenn [D-OH] subpoena the former Republican chairman, Haley Barbour, to testify about a Hong Kong businessman's $2.1 million loan guarantee to a group with close ties to the Republican Party" and that "Mr. Thompson even joined Democrats in grilling Mr. Barbour, who had testified that he had not known the money was foreign, even though he had discussed the loan with the businessman while in Hong Kong." While Thompson's committee did hear testimony from Barbour in July 1997, on October 30, 1997 -- the day before Thompson adjourned the hearings altogether -- The New York Times reported that Senate investigators had evidence of Triad's connections to Republican lawmakers, including members of Thompson's Government Affairs Committee. The Times added that "[h]earings had been scheduled for this week before the Governmental Affairs Committee into Triad's campaign activities, but Republicans on the committee canceled them after Democratic members of the committee obtained names earlier this week of Triad's donors":

Documents released by Senate investigators today identified 20 donors to a private conservative organization that worked outside the normal political channels in ways that benefited conservative Republicans, including two members of the Senate committee investigating campaign finances.

More on Haley Barbour at Jackpedia.

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ID

114521

Comment

Just saw a suggestion on the ThinkProgress blog to Google Haley Barbour, Hong Kong, Yacht. Here's what you get.

Author

DonnaLadd

Date

2007-09-16T10:42:01-06:00