McCain Transition Team Head Lobbied for Saddam When Iraq Was Considered a State Sponsor of Terror

By: Lowell
Published On: 10/14/2008 5:02:00 PM

Ha, this is just beautiful!

William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.

The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.

During the same period beginning in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if the business deal went through.

Timmons' activities occurred in the years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism...

As if all that's not bad enough, Timmons currently lobbies for groups ranging from the American Petroleum Institute to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to Freddie Mac!  And John McCain named him to head his presidential transition team? So much for John McCain the "reformer," if that hoary old myth wasn't dead already. So much for not being corrupted by Washington. And so much for the McCain for President campaign, circa 2008.

P.S. Can you imagine if Barack Obama had hired someone who lobbied for Saddam Hussein at a time when Iraq was considered "a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism" (not to mention the Freddie Mac and Big Oil angles)?  My god, I can just hear the right-wingnuts now!


Comments



Might scare McCain out of going after Ayers (DanG - 10/14/2008 5:14:15 PM)
This connection is stronger and much worse than Obama's "alleged" connection to Ayers.  If McCain throws "terrorist" at Obama, Obama says "Murderous Dictator."  That, and "Palin is Dic Cheney with lipstick."


And Jeff Frederick's view of this is...? (Kindler - 10/14/2008 7:58:32 PM)
Per Frederick's twisted "logic", does this make McCain the equivalent of Saddam?


McCain - Surrounded by AntiAmerican and Terrorist Sympathizers (norman swingvoter - 10/14/2008 9:01:19 PM)
Well, let's see.  We have Todd Palin, a former member of the Alaskan Independence Party. The AIP claims that Alaska is an illegal state and wants a revote with United Nations election monitors present. We have a sympathizer, Sarah Palin, who has addressed the AIP live and this year sent a welcoming video.  We have the Annenbergs (wife a mccain supporter, husband deceased) who gave 50 million to Ayers group.  I wonder who will turn up next.