Fred Thompson 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, the law firm based in Washington where Mr. Thompson worked part-time from 1991 to 1994, he charged the organization, the National Family Planning and Reproductive Health Association, about $5,000 for work he did in 1991 and 1992. The records show that Mr. Thompson, a probable Republican candidate for president in 2008, spent much of that time in telephone conferences with the president of the group, and on three occasions he reported lobbying administration officials on its behalf.
Whether or not this story damages Thompson’s standing with social conservatives is one thing — Ben has explained how it could — but as Outside the Beltway says, the real scandal here is Thompson’s dishonest response to the allegations:
As I’ve noted from the beginning of this controversy, the issue would seem to be Thompson’s lying in denying it rather than hypocrisy. Indeed, it’s rather clear that his actual “lobbying” activity on the part of the group was rather minimal — a mere 3.3 hours. But it’s simply implausible that one would fail to recollect 22 phones calls with the woman making the accusations one is denying.
The story itself is rather innocuous; that his first instinct was to lie about it, though, says something about the man’s character.
Update: Marc Ambinder has a round-up of what conservative blogs are saying about this. Interesting how many of them don’t seem to mind being lied to.
Something to say?
