DNC: Fred Thompson's Judgment on the Wrong Side of Law & Order

    WASHINGTON, Nov. 5 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Fred Thompson's failure
 to look at Phil Martin's background before naming him his campaign
 fundraising co-chairman simply because he's a "longtime friend" raises
 serious doubts about Fred Thompson's judgment. And Martin's resignation now
 leaves many questions unanswered about what Fred Thompson knew and when he
 knew it.
 
     When asked yesterday on "Meet the Press," Thompson said he would not
 "throw my friend under the bus for something he did 25 years ago if he's
 okay now," using the defense that Martin's illegal activity did not happen
 in Tennessee, where they met, saying "They were in Florida; I was in
 Tennessee. After this he moved to Tennessee." Yet ABC revealed today that
 not only was his close campaign advisor convicted of selling drugs and
 illegal gambling, but the IRS, Tennessee and more than 12 other states have
 filed liens for unpaid taxes against Martin and his former businesses as
 recently as 2002. These revelations question the credibility of Thompson's
 excuse that he knew nothing of Martin's recent legal troubles. [Meet the
 Press, 11/4/07; Washington Post, 11/5/07; ABC News, 11/5/07]
 
     Thompson still refuses to say whether he will continue to use Martin's
 jet for campaign travel, a perk that's saved his campaign at least $120,000
 so far, and has refused to return any money the convicted felon donated or
 raised for his campaign.
 
     "The fact that Fred Thompson was relying on advice from a convicted
 drug dealer, illegal gambler and tax cheat until he was forced to resign
 raises serious questions about Fred's judgment and values. Is this the type
 of vetting process we'd see in a Thompson White House?" asked Democratic
 National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "Americans deserve a
 president who will bring honest leadership back to Washington, not four
 more years of the Republican Culture of Corruption."
 
     Martin Has a History as a State and Federal Tax Cheat. "Records show
 Martin had one IRS lien filed against him in 1995, and the state of
 Tennessee filed three against him in 2002. A clerk confirmed that those
 state tax liens have been satisfied. An IRS spokesman said privacy laws
 prohibited him from discussing whether Martin had repaid his debt to the
 federal government. As of November, Hamilton County, Tenn. records show
 that four of Martin's former businesses owe a total of more than $940,000
 in overdue taxes and interest to the county, with some debts dating back to
 1999...More than a dozen states have also filed dozens of liens against
 Martin's former businesses." [ABC News, 11/5/07]
 
 
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 candidate's committee.
 
 
 
 
 

SOURCE Democratic National Committee