MSNBC's Hall said McCain was "cleared by a Senate committee" in Keating Five scandal, but not that the committee said he exercised "poor judgment"
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SUMMARY: MSNBC's Tamron Hall asserted that Sen. John McCain "was accused of corruption, although he was later cleared by a Senate committee" in the Keating Five scandal. But Hall did not note that the Senate ethics committee concluded that McCain's conduct "reflected poor judgment."
During the October 6 edition of MSNBC Live, anchor Tamron Hall asserted that Sen. John McCain "was accused of corruption, although he was later cleared by a Senate committee" following a Senate investigation into allegations that McCain -- along with four Democratic senators, together called the Keating Five -- had exerted improper influence when they met with federal bank regulators on behalf of financier Charles H. Keating Jr., a major McCain donor and fundraiser. But Hall did not note that the Senate Select Committee on Ethics concluded that McCain's conduct "reflected poor judgment."
As The New York Times reported, Keating "gave Mr. McCain free rides on his private jet, a violation of Congressional ethics rules (he later said it was an oversight and paid for the trips). They vacationed together in the Bahamas. And in 1986, the year Mr. McCain was elected to the Senate, his wife joined Mr. Keating in investing in an Arizona shopping mall."
McCain himself admitted to "errors of judgment" in his interactions with Keating. From his memoir, Worth the Fighting For:
I began a few days later, in Phoenix, where I held an exhaustive press conference with any and all reporters interested in talking to me about the subject. As it turned out, quite a few were interested. Three days earlier, the government watchdog group Common Cause formally filed a complaint with the Justice Department and the Senate Ethics Committee, urging an investigation of the legality of Charlie Keating's campaign contributions to the Keating Five. It was, as far as I can determine, Common Cause that first labeled us the Keating Five, but the term was quickly picked up by virtually anyone who had something to say about the controversy, complicating my efforts to ensure that the actions of each of us were judged individually. We were now a two-word shorthand for the entire savings and loan debacle and the rotten way American political campaigns are financed.
The press conference lasted nearly two hours. In my opening statement, I admitted to paying insufficient attention to the appearance of my actions, to the late reimbursement to ACC, and to various other errors of judgment. But I steadfastly maintained that I had not abused my office "to aid any individual improperly." That was the truth, and I laid out the facts of the case to support it. The questions were various, some hostile, others not, but eventually all questions that could be conceived to explore the depth of my involvement were asked and honestly answered. It was the first step toward my political recovery. There was still a long, difficult, depressing road ahead of me before I could begin to imagine that I might someday be known as something other than a member of the Keating Five. But my candor with the press immediately began to help. [Pages 192-193]
Additionally, a March 1, 2007, Arizona Republic article quoted McCain saying of the Senate investigation, "I was judged eventually, after three years, of using, quote, poor judgment, and I agree with that assessment."
From the 11 a.m. ET hour of the October 6 edition of MSNBC Live:
HALL: And on a day when the Dow tumbles, once again, political headlines are full of references to decades-old stories like Bill Ayers and the Keating Five, and this comes after John McCain's campaign signaled it wanted to turn the page on the economic crisis and focus instead on Barack Obama's character. Earlier today, Governor [Sarah] Palin once again tried to push a personal connection between Obama and '60s radical Bill Ayers.
PALIN [video clip]: I'm afraid this is someone who sees American as imperfect enough to work with a former domestic terrorist who had targeted his own country.
HALL: The Associated Press says her charge is a stretch, and the Obama campaign is accusing Republicans of using smears to try and distract voters from the real issues, but they've also chosen to fight fire with fire, pointing supporters to a new Web documentary outlining McCain's role in the Keating Five scandal. At the time, McCain was accused of corruption, although he was later cleared by a Senate committee.
[video clip from Obama Web documentary]
SEN. HOWELL HEFLIN (D-AL, former chairman of Senate ethics committee): Many of our fellow citizens apparently believe that your services were bought by Charles Keating.
WILLIAM K. BLACK (former senior federal savings and loan regulator): The Keating Five involved all the things that have brought the modern crisis.
[end video clip]
HALL: All of this coming just a day before McCain and Obama will take to the stage in Tennessee for the second presidential debate.
Why doesn't anyone ever mention that it was Jim Hensley, Cindy McCain's father, who introduced John McCain to Charles Keating long before the scandal? They were friends. Why doesn't anyone mention that Cindy McCain and Jim Hensley were invested in a Keating project to the tune of about $370,000? Kinda puts John McCain's actions in a different light...
Great points Irony, i think the reason they do not mention it is that unlike the Cons, Democratic Supporters do not want to stick to real issues, but I think it is time to expose the real John McCain, and Keating 5 is a legitimate issue. It was poor judgement regarding the S&L Scandal.
New Obama ads will exactly that. I heard it on CNN and they are the most trusted source for news (most of the time)I have lost ALL respect for mickey c.. He is not a Maverick, he is a Bologne Pony
Irony,
Didn't Keating live in Arizona? As a big moneyman, no doubt he had lots of connections in the same way that Rezko tosse around money to gain influence with Obama.
..another example.. Jim McDougal and the Clintons.
I'm sure you can think of others. :-)
Others, like ted stevens and VECO oil?
Another American
You are reaching bringing up the Clinton era.
And what were the results of said investigation into Clinton? Right. Nothing.
And what were the results of the investigation into Rezko and Obama? Oh wait. There was NO investigation, because Obama did nothing wrong.
Try again.
Mr (or Mrs, as the case maybe) AA,
Who are you? Just another american who is trying to find what he/she believes in, or a stupid person who, just for the heck of it or because he/she is incapable of reasoning or logical thought, decides 'I will be a Republican for the rest of my life fact be damned' and posts on this web site (with symbols for a smiley or whatever face) knowing the facts on what he/she is posting about?
:-) There is the smiley face right back at you.
Now, point to something in post rather than addressing the points in MMFA's article. If your point is Rezko influenced Obama in his legislative decisions, prove it (without the tired smiley face symbol).
While you are at it, please disregard "Now, point to something in post rather than addressing the points in MMFA's article."
Mr (or Mrs, as the case maybe) AA,
Who are you?
Someone who actually thinks that Ayres and Wright are going to influence this election.
Someone who actually believes that people who can't fill their gas tanks or who are watching their retirement go up in smoke or who have friends/relatives who have DIED in Iraq care about Ayres and Wright.
Someone who is actually un-American.
my,
I express my point of view like everyone else. I disregard personal attacks. They are boring and mean nothing. People who feel the need to hurl insults are simply juvenile. If I have time and am interested, I'll be happy to discuss any current issue.
My point is that all politicians have contributors in their background, some of whom turn out to be crooks. Bringing up the Keating 5, of which McCain was completely exhonerated by the prosecutor, is but a feeble attempt at trying to gain some equivilency by the left. I simply noted a few questionable characters who have been associated with Obama and Clinton to prove my point. That is all.
If McCain is guilty, then so is Obama.
How much money did Rezdo toss around to gain influence with Obama? And what actions on the part of Obama are brought to a different light because of it?
Was Obama reprimanded and investigated by a legislative committee? What was the outcome?
Irony, this posting from Huffpo expands on your point.
McCain was the closest socially to Keating of the five senators.... Between 1982 and 1987, McCain had received $112,000 in political contributions from Keating and his associates. In addition, McCain's wife Cindy McCain and her father Jim Hensley had invested $359,100 in a Keating shopping center in April 1986, a year before McCain met with the regulators. McCain, his family, and their baby-sitter had made nine trips at Keating's expense, sometimes aboard Keating's jet. Three of the trips were made during vacations to Keating's opulent Bahamas retreat at Cat Cay. McCain did not pay Keating (in the amount of $13,433) for some of the trips until years after they were taken, when he learned that Keating was in trouble over Lincoln.
Another thing worth noting is if McCain had been persued for ethics breaches he likely would not have been cleared of all charges. The only reason he wasn't was because of jurisdiction issues - i.e. the senate couldn't investigate him because he committed the crimes while in the house, and the house couldn't do anything because he was now in the senate. That, coupled with the fact that he recently paid keating all the cash he should have paid up front for all those trips. So he knew he was doing something wrong.
All day, every single cable network-- every single one-- has been repeating the lie that McCain was "completely cleared" in the "Keating affair." And nobdy anywhere rebuts them!
These people-- they're just incorrigible.
Shouldn't mcsame be charged for all this free airtime spent covering up his record?
Exercized "poor judgement" in the Keating 5 scandal?
Proof that old habits die hard.
Of more concern to the American Voter should not be JUST that McCain was in cahoots with criminal Keating, but that McCain's IDEOLOGY is the one that CREATED the S&L scandal that cost the American Taxpayers hundreds of billions in tax dollars.
McCain's JUDGMENT is identical to Bush and most other Republicans: That government IS the problem (until it comes to taxpayer bailouts of the wealthy), and that DEREGULATION is the panacea to all economic problems.
Republicans are all about taking away any and all fetters to "businessmen" doing whatever the hell they want to do. Human nature being what it is, people who have no oversight and access to the cookie jar will invariably gorge themselves ... at least, that's the way to BET, and that's the lesson that should be learned. Regulation and oversight ... BY government (the only entity large enough to accomplish the task, and the entity which can be an advocate FOR the American People AGAINST corruption and greed and outright theivery).
Republicans consistently rail against such regulation and oversight, calling it "government interference" and "big brother" and other whiney complaints. When in power, Republicans will remove all those fetters, setting the wealthy shakers and movers FREE to loot and plunder the American economy. It happens every time. It happened when McCain and Reagan deregulated the S&L's, it's happened again now when McCain and Bush deregulated the financial district.
McCain hasn't changed. He STILL believes government is the problem. He STILL believes in deregulation. His "JUDGMENT" is still a disaster, a repeated and consistent disaster, for this nation. We can't afford any more, ever again, of the Republican's "trickle down" fantasies.
In cahoots? It was my understanding that McCain did his bidding, and was paid to do his bidding.
McCain did not really have any cahootiness with the SnL it was Keating that charged those guys to vote a certain way....and they did.
You have to wonder why they were exonerated.
I think he just had $$ in his eyes. He really had no ideology nor morals at the time. If he did he would not have taken money, done bidding of Keating, or taken paid for trips.
Its just greedy a$$holes that run this country in the ground. ONE REASON WE DONT NEED MCCAIN. He has proven he has more than his fair share of greed.
I saw those claims of 'complete exoneration' from a 'former K-5 investigator' myself. It was only later that I learned that the 'investigator' being mentioned is CURRENTLY McCain's current attorney!!
lol, I saw that too.
Eyeballs popped.
McCain admitted using poor judgment in his efforts on behalf of Keating. Worse, his (and republicans generally) deregulation ideology is the principal source of the world wide economic dysfunction that is making us all suffer. My own retirement account is down 50%.
We can't afford the combination of poor judgment and ideology that have put us on our current course. We must have change.
But the astronaut-senator, John Glenn was censured or whatever they do, and he is an advisor to Obama.
I wonder when I'll get to post directly.