White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card has seemingly been pushed into the Bolton mess by Karl Rove, who pretends to be Card’s Deputy. They may be setting up the Senate for a good cop/bad cop routine — with Rove positioned to resist on all document requests and Card saying to Reid and other Dems, “I’ll see what I can do.”
Few people apparently know about the call from Card to Senator Reid, but TWN feels it is important to emphasize what Reid’s response should be.
Senator Reid, when asked by Card “Whaddya need?”, should reply that all three document requests need to be satisfied.
First, the NSA intercepts including the identities of 19 U.S. officials whose names had been redacted from the material and had been requested by John Bolton.
Second, all materials — emails, speech preparation info, position papers, and other communications — surrounding the preparation of testimony John Bolton planned to give on Syria’s WMD programs. Bolton stated — under oath — that he was entirely uninvolved with the preparation of this public statement on Syria. The documentation will show that to be true or untrue, and most suspect that Bolton seriously perjured himself before Congress.
Third, the client list of Matthew C. Freedman, whose employment in John Bolton’s office reflects on Bolton’s judgment. Freedman was an old friend of Bolton’s, someone he knew since at least the early 1980s and who Bolton got hired as a part-time management consultant (believe it or not) at a six-figure salary. At the same time that Freedman was actually listed in the State Department personnel directory as a staff assistant to Bolton, he continued to operate a for-profit lobbying and consulting firm. In years past, Freedman had lobbied for Nigeria, the family of Ferdinand and Imelda Marcos, and other unseemly clients. Senators want to know if he managed international clientele while he was in this role. It should be easy to get an answer of “yes” or “no”, but even this information the White House has failed to disclose.
So, Andy Card — Whadda We Need? Three things….simple really.
The NSA stuff alone — too little, too late.
The Syria stuff alone — make sure it’s the whole package.
Freedman — check his file and tell us what this guy was really doing? You wouldn’t run a guy like Freedman on your White House personnel roster, would you?
It’s real simple, Andy. . .THREE items. That’s it. Then the Senators get to review, digest, and make a decision as to whether John Bolton has the kind of “impeccable credentials” that this job in the U.N. requires and whether or not Bolton is someone that Americans are going to be able to feel pride in his appointment.
I think that the answer to those questions is already NO, but maybe there is something in these three items that will buoy his tattered and disappointing candidacy for this position — but the burden of proof is on those holding the evidence, not those asking to see it.
Senator Reid — Tell Andy what we need. . .the package is reasonable, and if the White House concedes defeat on these items, Bolton gets his vote.
If no Bolton info, no vote. . .
— Steve Clemons
