Fred Thompson linked to Libyan terrorists

[ButterflyBlood]

A little over three years after Pan Am Flight 103 blew up over Lockerbie, Scotland, Fred D. Thompson provided advice to a colleague about one of his law firm’s new clients: The man representing the two Libyan intelligence officials charged in the terrorist bombing.

The colleague, John Culver, a partner at the Washington firm of Arent Fox Kintner Plotkin & Kahn began advising the two suspects’ Libyan lawyer in February 1992. Mr. Thompson, according to a memorandum from that era written by his secretary, held “discussions with Culver re: Libya” that same month.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/09/us/politics/09thompson.html?_r=1&ref=politics&oref=slogin

ha, can you imagine how awesome of an attack ad this would make for our nominee?

[draft_mario_cuomo]

1. If FT wins this may singlehandedly take the "Dems are soft on terror" meme out of the equation

Thompson-Romney, Romney-Thompson? :evilgrin:

[Kelly Rupert]

2. Thompson's got all sorts of shady dealings, but this doesn't stand on its own.

<baritone announcer voice>
"Fred Thompson once advised a man...who advised a man...who defended a man...who was linked to Lockerbie."
</voice>

I could see this being useful in a FUD campaign regarding his amoral willingness to lobby/defend/attack anything and everything under the sun--"In 1992, Thompson was involved in the defense of the Lockerbie terrorists" would be best used as part of an overwhelming barrage of true-but-perhaps-misleading statements regarding his lobbying career.


As the centerpiece of an ad? Not so much.

[acmavm]

3. I posted this yesterday. I didn't get one response. Good luck.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=3507164&mesg_id=3507164

[DU9598]

4. Is this Gov. Chet Culver's (D-IA) dad?

I think it is.

[peacetalksforall]

5. What expertise would he have to advise a lawyer of a lawyer defending the Libyans?

Perhaps there is more stuff coming out on Thompson – here is a brief timeline of what he was doing when he advised the Pan Am defendent's lawyer / lawyer. Question of interest? Was it his 1980-1981 appointment to Senate Foreign Relations as Counsel that made him such an expert? I think this is very curious. Who recommended him?

1967 – admitted to bar in Tennessee
1969-1972 – Asst U.S. Attorney
1972 – campaign manager for Howard Baker
1973-1974 – co-chief counsel for Senate Watergate Committee
1975 to now? lobbyist – insurance company fighting asbestos, pro-S & L deregulation, family planning (abbreviated)
1980-early 1990’s – attorney with offices in Nashville and Washington – white collar crime – personal injury
1980-1981 – accepted appointments as Special Counsel to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
1994 – 2003 – Senator – Republican
2002 – started an acting career in the last months of being a Senator

2007 – May – left acting to consider run for President

OH YEAH – Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and a Visiting Fellow with the American Enterprise Institute, specializing in national security and intelligence .

Helped guide the appointment of John Roberts to the not-so-supreme Supreme Court.

Much more – Wikipedia, for what it’s worth.