Thomas Edsall catches an interesting exchange. Fred Thompson is talking to Sean Hannity. Hannity mentions the reports that Thompson had lobbied for a pro-choice group several years ago. Thompson’s response is telling
:”You need to separate a lawyer who is advocating a position from the position itself.” Hmm. Then: “They will probably come at me, in 35 years of law practice, with some people, I represented criminal defendants. I was a prosecutor. I had a general practice. So that in and of itself doesn’t mean anything anyway.”
If ever an answer demanded a follow-up, this fit the bill. As both former Watergate counsel Thompson and news crusader Hannity know, Thompson’s “you need to separate a lawyer who is advocating a position from the position itself” indicates that something is going on that needs a little more exploration.
As Esdall notes, Thompson’s implied admission contradicts the flat denials by his campaign:
In the July 7 LAT story, Thompson spokesman Mark Corallo firmly rejected charges that Thompson had lobbied in support of the pro-choice group. “Fred Thompson did not lobby for this group, period,” he said
In response to a Huffington Post inquiry today [[July 11]] however, Corallo was more equivocal: “He said he has no recollection of doing any work and does not recall lobbying anyone on it.”
If I’m Sam Brownback, I’m all over this.
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[...] may claim not to remember whether he lobbied on behalf of a pro-choice group, and his campaign may deny it, but according to the New York Times, the records prove it: According to records from Arent Fox, [...]
Left by The Right’s Field » Records Confirm Thompson's Abortion Lobbying
July 19, 2007 at 10:04am