Salon/Conason: The GOP's not-so-impartial hit man

Desperate to denigrate John Kerry's war record, Republicans have trotted out a "nonpartisan" Navy Vietnam vet -- who was a protege of Nixon dirty trickster Charles Colson and whose law firm is closely tied to the Bush White House.

Houston attorney John E. O'Neill, the Navy veteran who has emerged recently as a harsh and ubiquitous critic of John Kerry's military service, tells reporters that he has never really been interested in politics and isn't motivated by partisan interests. In the media, O'Neill is often described simply as a Vietnam vet still enraged by the antiwar speeches Kerry delivered more than 30 years ago. That was when O'Neill first came to public attention as a clean-cut, pro-war protégé of the Nixon White House's highest-ranking dirty trickster (aside from the late president himself), Charles Colson.

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Now O'Neill has emerged from those decades of silence, roaring denunciations of the man who will become the Democratic nominee for president this summer. "I saw some war heroes," he told CNN's Wolf Blitzer on Tuesday. "John Kerry is not a war hero."

To establish his nonpartisan credentials, O'Neill assured the CNN anchor that he was "never contacted" by the Bush-Cheney campaign. What he didn't mention, however, is that his law firm boasts long-standing and powerful connections with the Bush White House.

With an oil and litigation practice focused on the defense of major energy and industrial firms, the dozen partners in Clements, O'Neill, Pierce, Wilson & Fulkerson have clout that exceeds their firm's small size. Their corporate clients include Exxon Mobil, General Electric, Reliant Energy, Koch Industries and Eastman Kodak. More important, among the name partners is Margaret Wilson, the former general counsel to George W. Bush during his second term as Texas governor. (She succeeded Alberto Gonzales, who currently serves as White House counsel.)

In 2001, Wilson went to Washington with the new president, who appointed her deputy general counsel in the Department of Commerce. During her tenure as Bush's counsel in Austin, she was implicated in the Service Corporation International funeral home scandal. State government whistle-blower Eliza May accused Wilson of participating in an effort to "intimidate" her from pursuing an investigation of SCI, a major Bush campaign donor.

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http://salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/04/23/o_neill/index.html

he is a disgusting, war-profiteering piece of garbage.

John McCain came out and said that John Kerry had earned the right to speak out against the government. I believe McCain is in greater standing than John O'Neill.

They are trying to sell this guy as something that he is not. He is a right wing Bush activist, nothing less. Don't let CNN get away with their lies!

A friend just sent me a form e-mail that was sent to him by an "ex-executive, ex-marine." The letter is allegedly written by Zell Miller and it's Zell Miller's opinion that the 9/11 hearing is partisan and that it is ripping this country apart. The final conclusion is that it doesn't matter anymore why we're in Iraq, but now that we're there, we need to make the best of it.

Anyway, I wrote back and let the guy know that Zell Miller is so "bi-partisan" that the Democratic voters are trying to kick him out of the party.

This guy O'Neill is right out of Acme Supply!