Op-Eds for Sale: Doug Bandow Resigns-$ From Abramoff for Articles

DECEMBER 16, 2005 • Editions: N. America | Europe | Asia | Edition Preference

NEWS ANALYSIS
By Eamon Javers


Op-Eds for Sale
A columnist from a libertarian think tank admits accepting payments to promote an indicted lobbyist's clients. Will more examples follow?


A senior fellow at the Cato Institute resigned from the libertarian think tank on Dec. 15 after admitting that he had accepted payments from indicted Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff for writing op-ed articles favorable to the positions of some of Abramoff's clients. Doug Bandow, who writes a syndicated column for Copley News Service, told BusinessWeek Online that he had accepted money from Abramoff for writing between 12 and 24 articles over a period of years, beginning in the mid '90s. Advertisement

"It was a lapse of judgment on my part, and I take full responsibility for it," Bandow said from a California hospital, where he's recovering from recent knee surgery.

After receiving BusinessWeek Online's inquiries about the possibility of payments, Cato Communications Director Jamie Dettmer said the think-tank determined that Bandow "engaged in what we consider to be inappropriate behavior and he considers to be a lapse in judgment" and accepted his resignation. "Cato has an excellent reputation for integrity, and we're zealous in guarding that," Dettmer said.

Bandow has written more than 150 editorials and columns over the past five years, each identifying his Cato affiliation. His syndicated column for Copley News Service is featured in several hundred newspapers across the country. Bandow's biography on the Cato Institute Web site says he has also appeared as a commentator on all the major television broadcast networks and the cable news channels.
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/dec2005/nf20051216_1037_db016.htm

libertarian but really isn't.

..."a lapse in judgement..."

Sounds like 12 to 24 "lapses" to me.

So much for the "free market" eh Cato...

... means, "I should have covered my ass better, so I wouldn't get caught."