NEW MELODY TOWNSEL LETTER rebutting attacks on her credibility re Bolton

[Nothing Without Hope]

(Note to mods: The intention of the Kos diarist posting this was to publicize it as widely as possible. Since this serves the public interest, I am giving the full text rather than short excerpts.)

http://www.dailykos.com/hotlist/add/2005/4/20/19342/8479/displaystory

More rebuttal from Melody Townsel re Bolton

Posted at Daily Kos by amyindallas, posted Wed Apr 20th, 2005 at 16:03:42 PDT

"For those of you playing along at home, here is the latest with regard to Melody Townsel's allegations re John Bolton. Melody, as you'll recall, is the former U.S. AID worker who had a prolonged run-in with Mr. Bolton in Moscow in 1994. Their conflict was over Melody's complaints regarding a government contractor who Melody alleged was improperly funding and managing the contract in Kyrgystan (sp?).

Just fair warning here: This can get pretty complicated. Melody's prime complaint about Mr. Bolton is that his legal strategy in 1994 was to claim that Melody was misusing government funds and that she was under investigation by the feds. That was, and is, categorically untrue (evidenced by the fact that she received additional government contracts after Kyrgystan). Now, it seems that the company she originally complained about in 1994 is rising to Mr. Bolton's defense and, not surprisingly, saying, once again, that Melody was guilty of malfeasance.

Earlier today, the company issued a letter to that effect.

Melody has already drafted and lodged with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee a response to the company's letter, and I'm sharing it here to help her keep the ongoing he said/she said fair and balanced. She's also working with her attorney to supply this response to the media covering this story:"

April 20, 2005

Mr. Brian McKeon
Counsel
US Senate Foreign Relations Committee
Washington, D.C.

Dear Mr. McKeon:

Thanks for forwarding the letter from Mr. Kalotra. As you are aware, my original letter to the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not mention IBTCI directly because I did not think the identity of the company was directly relevant. In light of Mr. Kalotra's letter, however, I do feel the need to set the record straight on several points.

The first paragraph of the letter characterizes my report to US AID as a "willful attempt" to take over the contract. This is simply a reiteration of the "conspiracy theory" that was advanced by Mr. Bolton at the time in an effort to silence my criticism. These allegations have never been substantiated in any way.

The second paragraph of the letter claims that Mr. Bolton was not engaged by IBTCI to have "any contact with Ms. Townsel on any issue related to her activities in Kyrgyzstan." This statement is not accurate. Mr. Bolton made numerous statements to and about me in connection with the dispute. Several witnesses can verify this, including Uno Ramat, who has already been interviewed by the committee; Gary Vanderhoof of US AID; and John Johnston of Price Waterhouse. My affidavit will present more detail on Mr. Bolton's conduct during the dispute.

The third paragraph repeats the unsubstantiated charges against me, including an accusation that I "attempted unsuccessfully to charge the U.S. government for disallowable costs." This accusation is not only inaccurate, but manifestly impossible. I never directly submitted costs to the U.S. government, nor did I ever have the authority to do so. Per the practices proscribed by IBTCI upon my arrival in country in late January 1994, I submitted the project's in-country expenses to IBTCI, which would then directly and solely determine which expenses it would attempt to recover from the government. Moreover, Mr. Kalotra's letter also neglects to mention that IBTCI had already hired and directly trained its own local accountant when I joined the project in January of 1994.

Mr. Kalotra appears to be alluding to in-country expenses related to a joint staff retreat arranged by a Price Waterhouse employee, Samantha Ankarra Fuller, for the in-country staffs of all US AID contractors extant within Kyrgyzstan at that time. I did, indeed, incur and submit such expenses to IBTCI, but I never recommended that IBTCI should attempt to recover these expenses from the U.S. government nor, as stated, was I in any position to bill the U.S. government for them.

This unfounded allegation of financial impropriety was, in fact, developed and spread by Mr. Bolton in his efforts to suppress my criticism at the time of IBTCI. It was baseless then, it is baseless now, and my subsequent employment on large, multi-million dollar projects for US AID demonstrates that these allegations were never given credence.

The fourth paragraph asserts that there were no contemporaneous reports of the incidents involving Mr. Bolton. As discussed above, several contemporaneous witnesses can verify Mr. Bolton's involvement in the dispute, including his false accusations against me.

The final paragraph offers Mr. Kalotra's subjective praise of Mr. Bolton. Suffice it to say that I -- and, apparently, many others who have had dealings with Mr. Bolton -- do not share this opinion.

Regards,

Melody Townsel

(The comments to this Kos post contain interesting information as well – they are at the original link.)

This is the THIRD of a series of DU threads beginning with Ms. Townsel’s original letter and contining with an update thread. These two threads are here:

1. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1727593 (“ From a Kos diary: 'Horrifying, personal John Bolton story"
   
2. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1404697# (“Delay Is Sought in Vote on U.N. Nominee (NYT update on Bolton”)

These threads include not only information from Ms. Townsel and her friend the Kos diarist who posted her story about Bolton’s 1994 actions on the web, but also newspaper articles, sound files, updates on actions by the committee members (Biden emailed copies of the original letter to dozens of Wash DC reporters) and much interesting commentary by DU members. Together with the other allegations that have surfaced, this led to the dramatic confrontation in the Committee today, with Voinovich’s insistence on additional time for investigation despite Lugar’s attempts to ram the vote through today.

The thrilling events at today’s Foreign Relations Committee Hearing are discussed in these DU threads – the second a continuation of the first:

1. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3506143#3506180
   
2. http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x3507208

Edited to add: Whatever happens now, we can take heart from the stand the Dems in the Foreign Relation Committee have made. In addition to the heated debate, see the letters written April 20 from Sen. Boxer to Bush (asking him to choose another candidate for UN Ambassador) and to Condi Rice (informing her that ordering subordinates to block damaging info on Bolton from the Senate Committe (as the Wash Post reported she did) would be UNCONSTITUTIONAL. Both letters are given in this thread:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=132&topic_id=1735671#1735694

[cry baby]

1. WOW!

:nuke:

[donco6]

2. Recommended.

Keep this kicked. Even the MSM is following this story.

[Hissyspit]

3. Of course they will attack her credibility, she's apparently telling truth

[FreedomAngel82]

4. Right

I'm glad word is getting around about this.

[punpirate]

5. Once Kindasleezza Rice...

... ordered State Dept. officials not to comply with lawful requests for information from Congress, I was reasonably certain that many of the claims of Bolton's behavior likely had substance.

My concern with the initial letter was the name of Bolton's client in the matter, which hadn't been revealed. Now that it has, the reasons and participants can fairly be determined. If Bolton were not representing IBTCI, there would be no reason, short of representing another unrelated client, for him to be in both Moscow and Bishkek at the same times as Townsel, and those are facts that can be determined separately and apart from the charges through other evidence.

[Nothing Without Hope]

6. Earlier report on some of her rebuttal in a Dallas newspaper- getting legs

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/politics/11427121.htm

Bolton foes hope e-mail alleging abuse sways U.N. ambassador vote

BY ROBERT DODGE
The Dallas Morning News, Posted on Mon, Apr. 18, 2005

(snip - the article goes through some of her statements about Bolton and the attempts by Bolton's supporters to impugn her credibility)

Edwin Hullander, who was an executive vice president for International Business, said the Moscow hotel was under heavy security and that no incidents were reported. "I have a hard time believing that anything like this could have happened," said Hullander, now a senior economist at USAID.

Townsel disputed Black, saying she spoke of Bolton's behavior during subsequent meetings about legal issues raised about the project. And she referred a reporter to former colleague Uno Ramat to confirm part of her story.

Ramat, who worked for Business International, said Bolton visited Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and made disparaging remarks about Townsel. "He announced to the whole staff that Melody was under investigation and she was being accused of various things, including stealing money," Ramat said.

Townsel, who worked with a group opposing President Bush's re-election, said she was reluctant to speak out but was persuaded to do so by friends.

Nice that the article ends on a note (despite the bit about her opposing Bush) that lends support to Ms. Townsel.

[Nothing Without Hope]

7. A Repub news site's take on Ms. Townsel's statements - they look nervous

The main argument is that her accusations are "bizarre," that no corroborating witnesses have yet come forward (which is untrue), and that she is a "Bush-basher" (which she has never denied). According to the Google News search info, this bit of rubbish was from NewsMax.com, which is in Florida.

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2005/4/20/91323.shtml
Wednesday, April 20, 2005 7:05 a.m. EDT

New Bolton Accuser a Vocal Bush Hater

The woman whose testimony now threatens to derail John Bolton's nomination as U.N. ambassador claims he was "genuinely behaving like a madman" during a 1994 trip to Moscow.

But she's a self-described "very liberal Democrat" who helped organize the Dallas chapter of "Mothers Opposing Bush" during last year's presidential campaign.

(snip)

But in an interview with the Sun, Townsel admitted that she has no witnesses to back her claims. "There were people aware of the harassment, but they are not willing to come forward because they have existing business with the government," she said.

Townsel also admitted she was a staunch Bush basher, explaining, "There is no question that I have been a vocal and outspoken critic of this administration and I am a very liberal Democrat."

(snip)

[Nothing Without Hope]

8. They're following this story in England - new Guardian article

This is a fairly long article that goes into a number of the allegations and mentions the statements that Ms. Townsel rebuts in the letter in the OP of this thread. The overall tone of the article does not sound supportive of Bolton, though it does not attack him. Although the excerpts I quote here are only concerned with Ms. Townsel's allegations, the article also mentions some of the other kinds of accusations that have surfaced. There is attempt as far as I could see to imply that the Democrats were manufacturing these allegations.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uslatest/story/0,1282,-4952132,00.html

Senators Want Officials' Take on Bolton

Thursday April 21, 2005 12:46 AM
By ANNE GEARAN, AP Diplomatic Writer

(snip)

Since Bolton's sometimes testy appearance before the committee, committee staffers have learned of about a dozen instances of alleged verbal abuse to subordinates while Bolton was a government employee and in the private sector, congressional aides said.

A few of those instances came to the committee since Tuesday's hearing, they said.

Some of the allegations have become public, including a Dallas businesswoman's description of an irate Bolton yelling and chasing her through the hallways in a Moscow hotel 10 years ago. Melody Townsel told committee Democrats in a letter that Bolton's behavior was "pathological.''

(snip)

Although Biden said that other witnesses corroborate Townsel's account, a former business associate wrote to committee Chairman Sen. Richard Lugar, R-Ind. on Monday to dispute it.

(snip)

[Nothing Without Hope]

9. LA Times - covers the Tuesday session and Townsel story corroboration

Good article - gives some play-by-play of the dramatic and combative Tuesday session and recounts some of the allegations that were presented. The tone is clearly not supportive of Bolton. Interesting that the article with the four paragraphs on Townsel cited here - this tends to spotlight them, and the final sentence suggests future additional corroboration of her story:

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-bolton20apr20.story
April 20, 2005

Senator's Worries Put U.N. Nominee on Hold

A maverick Republican surprises colleagues by rethinking Bolton, who is accused of bullying.
By Sonni Efron, Times Staff Writer

(snip - nice summary of the committee meeting and discussion of the various allegations)

Democrats also called for an investigation into an allegation that Bolton attempted to intimidate and harass a Dallas woman working for a U.S. Agency for International Development contractor in Kyrgyzstan in 1994. Melody Townsel told the committee that Bolton, then a private attorney representing an AID subcontractor, threatened her, pounded on her hotel room door and threw documents.

In an interview Tuesday with the Times, Uno Ramat, who was working for the subcontractor, supported Townsel's account. Ramat said he was in daily telephone contact with Townsel during the period when she said she was being harassed by Bolton in Moscow, and remembers her telling him about the incidents.

Ramat also said Bolton told him that Townsel was "under investigation — that she was being accused of stealing money, basically of fraud." He added: "I knew it wasn't true."

Senate staffers said the committee had a second witness who corroborated Townsel's story but could not supply details late Tuesday.

[Nothing Without Hope]

10. VIDEO CLIP OF THIS STORY ON CBS News site - very interesting

The clip is over 3 -1/2 minutes long, and despite conflicting statements by various people - chiefly Condi Rice - it ends on a note that suggests Ms. Townsel's allegations are being taken seriously and that there are two witnesses that will corroborate her story.

Amazing interview with Condi Rice in which she very strongly supports Bolton and gives her two main reasons why he must be confirmed immediately (my wording):

• It's ridiculous for the Senate to challenge him on the basis of his management style, which she believes is a GOOD management style
  
• The US is without an ambassador to the UN, and this is a bad thing!

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/04/20/politics/main689695.shtml

He Said, She Said In Bolton Battle

WASHINGTON, April 20, 2005

(snip)

Among the new allegations were those of a Dallas businesswoman who said Bolton grew irrationally angry over a business dispute, chased her through a hotel and threw things at her at an international conference in Moscow a decade ago.

Bolton was "genuinely behaving like a madman," Melody Townsel, a former U.S. Agency for International Development worker, wrote in a letter to the committee read aloud at Tuesday's hearing by Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del.

Biden said there was independent corroboration of Townsel's account.

Townsel is a liberal Democrat who actively opposed President Bush's re-election.

(snip)

[Nothing Without Hope]

11. Philadelphia Enzuirer editorial - emphasis of Townsel story, no to Bolton

Note the last sentence of tne editorial, which I will include in this excerpt. The editorial begins by praising Biden and Voinovich for their actions in standing for conscience instead of being pushed into voting without adequate investigation.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/11446542.htm
Thursday, Apr 21, 2005

Editorial | The Bolton Confirmation Vote

Two wise men make one good call

(snip)

The most disturbing allegation, if true, comes from Melody Townsel of Dallas, who was a contract worker for the U.S. Agency for International Development, also called USAID.

She said that in 1994 Bolton, then a private attorney hired by a USAID contractor on a project in Kyrgyzstan, stalked her around a Moscow hotel, pounding on her door, throwing things at her, and making threats because she had complained about his client's work. She wrote to the committee that Bolton later made false charges to USAID that she had misused government money.

If Townsel's allegations are true, they show Bolton to be the classic bully who tramples on others with no repercussions. That's unacceptable conduct from any manager; it's unthinkable behavior from the person who would be one of the nation's top diplomats.

(snip)

Even from what already is known, it's clear that Bolton's negatives are too heavy for this nation to bear.

[Nothing Without Hope]

12. Washington Post - more signs of cracks in the Repub front on Bolton

This is a long way from that infamous editorial which said there was no clear reason to deny Bush confirmation of his nominee.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A6101-2005Apr20.html

GOP Senator Wavers on Bolton

Yes Vote Less Likely, Chafee Signals; White House Defends U.N. Nominee
By Charles Babington and Jim VandeHei
Washington Post Staff Writers
Thursday, April 21, 2005; Page A02

A key Republican senator {Chafee} signaled yesterday that he is less likely to support the embattled nomination of John R. Bolton to be U.S. ambassador to the United Nations after a dramatic meeting Tuesday, and said he will discuss with GOP colleagues whether President Bush should withdraw Bolton's name.

(snip)

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, speaking in Lithuania, said, "We want a strong voice for a reformed U.N. and for American leadership in it, and the selection of John Bolton was to perform exactly that task." Administration officials are working with Senate Republicans to answer questions raised about Bolton and to assail the Democrats.

State Department spokesman Adam Ereli disputed a Washington Post report that, according to officials, Rice had told her senior staff members Monday that she did not want information coming out of the department that could hurt Bolton's nomination. Ereli called that "very inaccurate" but declined to elaborate on what was said in the meeting.

Allegations leveled at Bolton include accusations that he tried to have several lower-level government officials fired or reassigned after they challenged him on assertions about various nations or other matters. Also, a Dallas woman says that in 1994 -- when Bolton was a private lawyer for a firm at odds with her client over a contract -- Bolton chased her through a Moscow hotel, threw things at her, threatened her and spread false rumors about her to U.S. officials overseeing the government-backed project in Kyrgyzstan. Committee members also want to know why Bolton sometimes sought the identities of Americans named in conversations monitored by the National Security Agency.

[annabanana]

13. I flipped by O'Really last night...

He was giving the whole story the big eye-roll routine. This convinces ME that everything about her story is true, and that they are REALLY REALLY trying to discredit her in their time honored way.

[paineinthearse]

14. If O'Reilly rolls his eyes, it must be true!

[Nothing Without Hope]

15. Kick- I'll look for updates (new articles) and post them this evening n/t

[mcscajun]

16. Kickin' the deservin'

Up.

:)

[susu369]

17. Wonder how long hotels keep security videos

(guess ten years is an unreasonable stretch). First-class hotels do keep running security videos of the hallways. Would be great to find Bolton bolting down the hallway stuffing letters under a doorway....

one can wish.

[Nothing Without Hope]

18. Too long for videos, but her lawyers are searching for the letters

he stuffed under her hotel room door. This was in the comments at Kos on the new letter. Apparently she's moved and those letters may have been lost, but they're looking for them just in case. Let's cross our fingers! At least she has two witnesses who have stepped forward to support her charges. One has already been interviewed and is mentioned in newspaper articles linked to earlier in this thread, the other still has not been cited publicly.

[susu369]

19. Appreciate your information

:thumbsup:

[Nothing Without Hope]

20. USA Today mentions corroboration of Melody Townsel’s story re Bolton

The article emphasizes that Ms. Townsel is a vocal Bush opponent but does print quite a bit on her story, including attacks on its veracity by Bolton’s old associates and corroboration by a new witness (the second, I believe) for Townsel, Washington consultant Kirby Jones. Strangely, it DOES NOT MENTION AN EARLIER CORROBORATING WITNESS (Uno Ramat), who in my opinion gave strong supporting testimony.

Although the article also refers to the various kinds of allegations against Bolton made by others, the title, opening paragraph, and additional writing, including the final four paragraphs (see below) are all on the Townsel story.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=710&ncid=1276&e=1&u=/usatoday/20050421/pl_usatoday/womanaccusesboltonofharassment

Woman accuses Bolton of harassment

Thu Apr 21, 6:35 AM ET
By Barbara Slavin, USA TODAY

(snip)

"The fact that I didn't immediately do what he wanted me to do put a real burr in his saddle," Townsel said. "He threw a folder across the desk at me" during their first meeting, at the Aerostar hotel in Moscow. In a subsequent meeting, "he threw a plastic tape dispenser at me."

When Townsel would not withdraw her complaint, she says, Bolton spread rumors that she had stolen money and also referred disparagingly to her weight and hinted that she was a lesbian. "When he didn't get his way, he was going to smear me," she said.

In a letter to the committee, IBTCI President Jayant Kalotra denied that Bolton had been asked to contact Townsel. "It is difficult to understand how Ms. Townsel could make such accusations with any veracity," he wrote. Kalotra provided a copy of the letter to USA TODAY.

Kirby Jones, a Washington consultant, said Townsel told him of Bolton's behavior at the time. Jones, who was then executive vice president of the public relations firm Burson-Marsteller, hired Townsel in late 1994 to work on projects in the former Soviet Union. Townsel told him that Bolton had accused her of stealing money. Bolton's employers, Jones said, "were upset that she had reported them to (USAID), which was quite appropriate and proper to do. IBTCI and Bolton went after her in a vicious way." Jones added that Townsel "was terrific and did great work" for him.

[Nothing Without Hope]

21. kick n/t

[Nothing Without Hope]

22. Shockingly, Sen. Boxer voted FOR Negroponte today. The only explanation

I can imagine is that she believes that Bolton is worse and that the fight to keep him out is winnable. This way the neocons can't say she's voting against ALL their candidates. And surely even Bush would have to look pretty hard to find anyone WORSE than Bolton for this job. (Of course, pretty much the same could be said of that abomination Negroponte.)

Bush came out deigned to speak publicly today, asking that the Dems put "partisan politics aside" and immediately accept all his horrible candidates no questions asked. (my paraphrase, but that's what it amounted to.) Sen. Boxer is unlikely to cave. We're counting on her.

Still, troubling about her vote for Negroponte. I do think it had something to do with strengthening her chances against Bolton, but I wonder what really went on.

[Nothing Without Hope]

23. kick n/t