John McCain Embraces Key Figure in GOP Culture of Corruption

John McCain's principles took another hit this weekend. While McCain has tried to convince voters that he stood up to the Republican culture of corruption in Washington, McCain showed his true colors by trying to advance his political career by cozying up to Karl Rove.

Asked by reporters about Rove's endorsement, McCain refused to criticize President Bush's scandal-plagued crony despite the fact that Rove has been linked to just about every Republican scandal in the last seven years. Rove has been tied to the Abramoff scandal, the scandal over the politically motivated firing of nine U.S. Attorneys, and the leak of an undercover CIA agent's identity in a time of war. Yet, McCain said he's "always respected Karl Rove," called him "one of the smart great political minds" in American politics, and said he would "welcome any information or advice and council he can give us." [CNN, 2/9/08 http://youtube.com/watch?v=nV3ia_aFsOY] John McCain's decision to cozy up to the right wing of his Party by defending Rove follows his support for President Bush's decision to commute Scooter Libby's sentence after Vice President Cheney's chief of staff was convicted of perjury and obstruction of justice.

"John McCain's attempts to shore up his campaign by cozying up to one of the most divisive and corrupt figures in American politics shows that a vote for McCain is a vote for four more years of the culture of corruption Republicans brought to Washington," said Democratic National Committee spokesman Damien LaVera. "If voters can't trust McCain to put open government and accountability ahead of his political ambitions, how can they trust him to change the failed Bush policies that have undermined our economy and made America less secure."

KARL ROVE & THE REPUBLICAN CULTURE OF CORRUPTION

Campaign McCain: Abramoff Investigation Shows He Made Change. "Ask Jack Abramoff if I'm an insider in Washington -- you'd probably have to go during visiting hours in the prison -- and he'll tell you and his lobbyist cronies of the change I made there." [Fox News Republican Debate, South Carolina, 1/10/2008]

Campaign McCain: "I've Always Respected Karl Rove." "I've always respected Karl Rove as one of the smart great political minds I think in American politics. I've always respected him….It's not so much whether I approve of his tactics or not. It's that he has a very good, great political mind. Any information or advice and council he can give us, I'd be glad to have. I don't think anybody denies his talents. So I'd be glad to get any advice and council. We would obviously decide whether to accept it or not." [CNN, 2/9/08, http://youtube.com/watch?v=nV3ia_aFsOY]

• Rove Met With Abramoff Clients Who Donated to Friendly Groups. "Sources tell Newsweek that Abramoff often steered clients' funds to ATR as a way to ease access to the administration. It seems to have worked. A lawyer for the Saginaw Chippewa Indian tribe in Michigan told NEWSWEEK that tribal leaders had 'three or four' meetings at the White House--including one with Bush and another with Rove--after they gave a $25,000 donation to Norquist's group at Abramoff's request." [Newsweek, 5/2/05]
• Top Rove Aide Accepted Gifts from (Former Boss) Abramoff. A top aide to White House strategist Karl Rove "resigned after disclosures that she accepted gifts and passed information to now-convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, becoming the first official in the West Wing to lose a job in the influence-peddling scandal." Susan Ralston's resignation came a month before the midterm elections, just after "a congressional report showed that Ralston accepted sometimes-pricey tickets to nine sports and entertainment events from Abramoff while she provided him with inside White House information." Ralston "was Mr. Abramoff's executive assistant before" taking a similar job for Karl Rove at the White House where she was eventually promoted to Special Assistant to the President. [Chicago Tribune, 10/8/06; Washingtonpost.com, 4/16/07]
• Rove Told Grand Jury He Discussed Plame With Reporters. "In grand jury appearances and other conversations with federal investigators, Rove has testified that he discussed Wilson's wife briefly with columnist Robert D. Novak and Cooper before she was publicly unmasked in July 2003, according to lawyers in the case. Fitzgerald zeroed in on Rove's contact with Cooper yesterday, according to the source who provided Rove's version of events." [Washington Post, 4/26/2006, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/26/AR2006042600849.html]
• Rove At "Epicenter" of U.S. Attorney Scandal. "New unreleased e-mails from top administration officials show that the idea of firing all 93 U.S. attorneys was raised by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove in early January 2005, indicating Rove was more involved in the plan than the White House previously acknowledged. … The e-mails put Rove at the epicenter of the imbroglio and raise questions about Gonzales' explanations of the matter." [ABCNews.com, 3/15/2007, http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/Story?id=2954988&page=1]