Yesterday saw one of the more unusual campaign controversies of the season, leading to reports that John McCain has hired a high-profile defense attorney to defend himself against charges that haven’t even been made. Let’s unpack this a bit.<\/p>\n
Drudge reported yesterday that the New York Times is poised to publish a “high-impact report involving key telecom legislation before the Senate Commerce Committee.” McCain, Drudge said, is so worried about the looming report, that he’s been working behind the scenes, urging the NYT not to run the article. As proof, Drudge cited “newsroom insiders.” The headline read: “McCain Pleads with NYT to Spike Story.”<\/p>\n
It’s hard to get too excited about an article that may or may not exist, so I ignored the rumor, figuring the article in question would either run or it wouldn’t. It’s especially easy to put the allegation aside when one remembers that Drudge has had an unhidden disdain for McCain for years.<\/p>\n
But there very well may be more to this story<\/a> than just a rumor on a gossip site.<\/p>\n On Thursday, John McCain responded to an unsubstantiated story on the Drudge Report that alleged his campaign was trying to convince The New York Times to spike a story on legislative favors for a lobbyist.<\/p>\n At a press conference in Detroit, McCain defended his record of integrity, while confirming that his staff has been in contact with the newspaper, according to The Associated Press. But, McCain said, “I have not been in talks with The New York Times.”<\/p>\n However, Politico has confirmed that McCain himself had one conversation with Times Executive Editor Bill Keller, in which the senator expressed concerns with how the story was being reported.<\/p>\n And Washington power lawyer Bob Bennett has confirmed to Politico that he is providing counsel to McCain.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is a little confusing. If there’s no controversy, McCain seems to be going to quite a bit of trouble over nothing … which makes it seem like there must be a real controversy. “It is unfortunate that rumor and gossip enter into political campaigns. John McCain has a 24-year record of serving this country with honor and integrity. He has never violated the public trust, never done favors for special interests or lobbyists, and he will not allow a smear campaign to distract from the important issues facing our country.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Of course, that’s one of those odd denials that doesn’t deny anything. (It’s also odd that McCain’s campaign would insist that he’s “never” done favors for special interests given his role in the Keating 5 scandal<\/a>.)<\/p>\n But the explanation took an even more surprising turn when we learned that a) McCain has contacted the NYT about a story; b) McCain personally confirmed that his staff has been in contact with the paper; and c) McCain has hired one of Washington’s most high-profile defense attorneys.<\/p>\n “What is being done to Sen. McCain is an outrage,” Bob Bennett said. “I have nothing further to say at this time.”<\/p>\n OK, but what’s being done to him?<\/p>\n
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\nShortly after the Drudge story ran, the campaign issued a denial.<\/p>\n