Thompson Adviser Has Criminal Past
November 4th, 2007 . by TexasFredWASHINGTONPOST.COM - Republican presidential candidate Fred D. Thompson has been crisscrossing the country since early this summer on a private jet lent to him by a businessman and close adviser who has a criminal record for drug dealing.
Thompson selected the businessman, Philip Martin, to raise seed money for his White House bid. Martin is one of four campaign co-chairmen and the head of a group called the “first day founders.” Campaign aides jokingly began to refer to Martin, who has been friends with Thompson since the early 1990s, as the head of “Thompson’s Airforce.”
Thompson’s frequent flights aboard Martin’s twin-engine Cessna 560 Citation have saved him more than $100,000, because until the law changed in September, campaign-finance rules allowed presidential candidates to reimburse private jet owners for just a fraction of the true cost of flights.
Martin entered a plea of guilty to the sale of 11 pounds of marijuana in 1979; the court withheld judgment pending completion of his probation. He was charged in 1983 with violating his probation and with multiple counts of felony bookmaking, cocaine trafficking and conspiracy. He pleaded no contest to the cocaine-trafficking and conspiracy charges, which stemmed from a plan to sell $30,000 worth of the drug, and was continued on probation.
OK, before some of you inundate me with ‘HAVE YOU SEEN THIS?’ emails, uh, yeah, I have, and I am not anymore happy about it than you are, but, this does NOT reflect on Sen. Fred D. Thompson personally, unless he has had an intimate, we share everything relationship with Martin over the last 25 years or so, I am 99.99% certain that this was not a part of his life that Martin brought up in public very often…
Thompson’s campaign said the candidate was not aware of the multiple criminal cases, for which Martin served no jail time. All are described in public court records.
Karen Hanretty, Thompson’s deputy communications director, said yesterday that “Senator Thompson was unaware of the information until this afternoon. Phil Martin has been a friend of the senator since the mid-1990s and remains so today.” Thompson communications director Todd Harris added that Martin was not subjected to the campaign’s standard vetting process because “he’s a longtime friend.”
And I believe that this may be a mistake that will come back to haunt the Thompson campaign, the not doing a full disclosure background check simply because he is a close friend, when a person is running for POTUS, you have NO friend that is above the law and no friend that you can trust implicitly, in God we trust, all others are subject to security procedures…
“There’s not a campaign in the world that has the ability to research every one of its supporters going back more than 20 years,” Harris said.
By using the word every in that sentence, there is a huge caveat being thrown in, and it may be a correct assumption to say that you can’t check everyone, but if you have a guy making donations that are as valuable to your campaign as the ones being made by Martin, it’s much to your favor to use the old, “Well Phil, nothing personal, but I have got to cover MY ass in this too you know” and if the guy doesn’t understand that part of personal security and the security of the candidate and the campaign, then he is NOT the friend you think he is…
There is still NO change of opinion in what I’m feeling concerning Sen. Fred D. Thompson as a candidate for president, I still support the man, but I am looking forward to seeing how Sen. Thompson handles this situation, that handling may very well be the bellwether regarding his ability to handle a crisis, I hope to hear NO EXCUSES, I hope to see Martin totally dismissed and any money or compensation made BY him, returned TO him and then I hope to see the Thompson campaign move on stronger than ever…
I feel it’s going to be very interesting to see where the reactions of Sen. Fred D. Thompsons opponents fall in on this, from both sides of the aisle, lets see who has class and who doesn’t know how to spell the word, and some need to temper the feigned outrage, skeletons abound, and everyone has one or 2 hidden out I believe…
Full Story Here:
Thompson Adviser Has Criminal Past
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I guess Fred can have an advisor that committed crimes over 25 years ago since Hillary has an advisor who committed crimes within the past 5 years. If in the military I did what Hillary’s advisor, Sandy Berger, did I would be residing in the Federal Penitentiary at Fort Leavenworth right now.
Still you’re right. When you’re running for POTUS, you’ve got to have people around you that are squeaky clean, at least if you’re a Republican or Conservative.
Speaking of Fred, check out his comment on Hillary.
RealClearPolitics - Thompson: “Wrong Answer” Â
Bob took some words right from my mouth, the front runner on the Dem side is committing crimes as we type here and is a heartbeat away from indictment in the Peter Paul case that she was excused from wrongly, and that Fortune Cookie Crisis brewing as well. Not to mention 15 years of active Federal investigations into her and Slick’s affairs and dead bodies littered across the country..
Fred your right as well, when your running for president you run a background on your own mother and father nowadays.
It’s just water under the bridge
Not to worry mate
I’m not worried, the MSM will blow this way out of proportion in order to raise Hillary to sainthood, but it will likely blow over before too long. On the other hand, I’ve seen Pictures of TexasFred, the What Me Worry fellow above is far too good looking to be Texas Fred.
Bite me Roper!!
BobF beat me to it…. Have been a little behind in the news due to trying to do “catch up” around the house after being gone for the past two months, but…..
I have to agree — the media is ignoring Sandy Bergler while making a major issue about this. Not surprising, the double standard.
GMR: I happen to know that Tejas Fred parts his hair on the LEFT side, and not the Right! But what does that, really, mean, in the Big Scheme of Life??
BZ
And to my good friend BZ, this Moon’s for YOU!!
Ya know, having friends like BZ and GM Roper, it really helps to keep things in their proper perspective…
We are known by the company that we keep.
Sad, but true.
While we many be known by the company we keep, if we have no idea that company did something bad 20+ years ago… it should hardly reflect on him now.
Ranando, you know a lot of people in the entertainment industry, and you have to hang out and/or socialize with them from time to time, that doesn’t make you a commie or a lefty libber does it??
And you know that some of them really are…
Good point and well taken.
I don’t feel this reflects badly on Thompson, this was a long time ago.
God knows I’ve done things I wish I could take back, not many but some.
I have got to say this, and it may piss off the Virgin Mother of the Blogosphere and the Proctorologist but you have become the most reasonable person around here Ranando, and it is truly MY pleasure to have you as a part of the UN blog and a comment maker here…
Let me add……………..
I would hire an ex-con or someone who had a run in with the law over a Bush Adviser anyday.
Thanks for those kind words and let me say, your one of the only people that makes any sense on the entire web.
I still support the man, but I am looking forward to seeing how Sen. Thompson handles this situation
Well, fortunately the man stepped aside quickly and this will pass like water under the bridge leaving the MSMlibs to scrape up some other sludge which they’ll do quick enough… on some conservative.
Good timely post Fred with this yesterday.