Bill Ayers, Oliver North, and Guilt By Association

[struggle4progress]

Submitted by JohnKWilson on Thu, 04/17/2008 - 2:54pm

... earlier this year McCain’s campaign embraced Oliver North’s endorsement of McCain and proudly sent it out to reporters. To its credit, the Washington Post blog asked the McCain campaign a question: "Is McCain pleased to receive North's endorsement, given the fact that the failed GOP senatorial candidate was convicted in 1989 of shredding documents, accepting an illegal gratuity and aiding and abetting in the obstruction of Congress?" McCain’s campaign refused to answer ...

... why isn’t McCain being asked about his embrace of an actual unrepentant "terrorist" like Oliver North?

... the issue of Oliver North is highly relevant to important policies. Will John McCain do anything similar to Iran-Contra in his administration? Does he believe that the Executive branch is authorized to commit crimes with impunity after Congress has prohibited them? Would he pardon the criminals as Ronald Reagan did? ...

http://www.obamapolitics.com/node/81

[struggle4progress]

1. McCain Camp Touts Ollie North Endorsement (feb 08)

pdated 2:47 p.m.
By Juliet Eilperin and Rena Kirsch
One of the key figures in the Iran-contra scandal is now endorsing Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), but is McCain endorsing him back?

This morning the McCain campaign helpfully circulated a column Oliver North had penned in the Washington Times, extolling the senator's virtues, under the heading "In Case You Missed It: Oliver North on John McCain." The e-mail made a point of pulling out the key laudatory quote and placing it in bold, making it even easier for reporters to read: "Neither John McCain, nor anyone in his campaign asked me to write this column. But I cannot sit silently while my fellow conservatives do to John McCain what GOP 'moderates' did to me. Today, the stakes for our country are far higher, the implications for the future far greater than who sits in one of 100 U.S. Senate seats. Now, our nation is at war against a vicious foe. We need a president who has proven how to win it."

That prompted The Trail to ponder a simple question: Is McCain pleased to receive North's endorsement, given the fact that the failed GOP senatorial candidate was convicted in 1989 of shredding documents, accepting an illegal gratuity and aiding and abetting in the obstruction of Congress? Of course, a three-judge panel vacated North's conviction the following year on a technicality, calling for proceedings to determine whether North's immunized testimony influenced witnesses in his trial. And after the Supreme Court declined to review the case, U.S. District Judge Gerhard A. Gesell -- who had earlier sentenced North to a three-year suspended prison term, two years' probation, $150,000 in fines and 1,200 hours' community service -- dismissed it. Still, McCain was serving in Congress when North was conducting the activities in question, so it seemed like a reasonable question to ask.

The McCain campaign's response? "We'll let the comments in the release stand," wrote spokeswoman Jill Hazelbaker in an e-mail. "Thanks."

John McCain was also a bit player in Ollie's 1994 Senate race. In June, just after Ollie was nominated by a Republican convention to take on Chuck Robb, many Republicans balked and refused to support North. Bob Dole and John McCain were both interviewed on CBS's "Face the Nation" on June 5. Dole said he wouldn't support North and would instead meet with J. Marshall Coleman, a former Republican attorney general running as an independent. That sent huge shock waves through Virginia. McCain said he would support North ... http://voices.washingtonpost.com/the-trail/2008/02/12/mccain_camp_touts_ollie_north.html