The Rick Davis Scandal... (will Mccain's campaign manager have to resign?)

I've been saying all week that i believe this emerging scandal explains some of the meltdown in the mccain camp and how it's going to snowball into a massive problem. We're talking about Mccain's campaign manager perhaps having to quit at the most crucial moment in the campaign.



For those just catching up on this, here's my rough layperson's sketch...

- Rick Davis is Mccain's campaign manager. The guy in charge of day-to-day stuff.

- Mccain's campaign has been running ads attacking Obama for having ties to "Fannie Mac" (Mccain's campaign has already had 3 co-chairs step down for their own lobbying ties)

- Rick Davis' lobbying firm had a contract with Fannie Mac dating back from 2000-2005 for $30,000 a month.

- As recently as last Sunday (the 21st), Mccain was on 60 Minutes arguing emphatically that his campaign manager, Rick Davis, had cut all ties with Fannie Mac 3 years ago. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nGxLBEMQhNw

- On tues, NYTimes and Newsweek were running stories about how Rick Davis' lobbying firm had been receiving monthly payments of $15,000 as recently as last month. The Mccain campaign responded that Davis had "left" the firm and had received no salary or dividends from the contract. Exact words. " separated from his consulting firm, Davis Manafort, in 2006." "Rick is no longer affiliated with the firm."

- By Weds, reports further stated that Rick Davis remained treasurer & a corporate director of this lobbying firm. Rick Davis then canceled lunch meetings with reporters. http://www.newsweek.com/id/160713

- Sarah Palin went on with an interview on Wednesday with Katie Couric who immediately brought it up. Sarah Palin was simply repeated the lies, adding "i would hope that is the case." When directly confronted with the issue of conflicts of interest, she almost became speechless. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpxMwOghLiY

:P Enjoy Rachel Maddow's comments from that day (with Isikoff)... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fAN7f9-xnM

:P Enjoy Olbermann's comments http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kPKaoTs1SmM

- Newsweek's Isikoff claims that Davis ASKED for a consulting retainer contract with Fannie Mac, to be maintained even after his "leave of absence."

- Mccain's campaign releases a statement saying Davis "left the firm and stopped taking salary in 2006." They also pushed the idea that "nothing was done" for the money, as if that makes it better.

- Newsweek unveiled that in July 2007, when Mccain declared that his top campaign officials would forgo salaries... apparently the Mccain campaign just simply started funneling $20,000 a month to this same lobbying firm that Davis now claims to have "no relationship with." HIS CAMPAIGN MANAGER SALARY GOES TO IT.

- It's also turned out that another Davis company, 3eDC does $971,860 worth of web stuff for the Mccain campaign. This company happens to be located in same office building as the lobbying firm. Mccain's campaign responded that Davis was "only an investor" in this company. http://www.newsweek.com/id/161218

- The Associated Press is running a story indicating attempts by lobbyists to setup shady meetings between Freddie Mac and the Mccain campaign. http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jnhZ5ehM97b5g022vv1cHSheTh1gD93F6BO00


QUESTION: Did Davis know about the contract with Fannie Mac at any time this year?

QUESTION: Did Mccain know about Davis Manafort's ongoing consulting gig with Fannie Mac?

QUESTION: If Davis asked to be paid through Davis Manafort, how can he claim there is no conflict of interest?

QUESTION: Will Mccain fire Davis?

QUESTION: If Rick Davis is fired, what are the implications for the campaign?

QUESTION: If Rick Davis is not fired, what are the implications for the campaign?


Personally, it's my belief that Mccain takes ethics and his honor extremely seriously, which is why he fired 3 co-chairs already. I believe that Mccain never knew about these ongoing ties nor about how much Davis' web firm was being paid. I suspect Mccain flipped out on Tuesday night or Wednesday morning and that this story is partially why we've seen the campaign in a total meltdown. I think Mccain's about 90% ready to fire him.

Anything that is a perceived scandal doesn't really end up sticking well so far. More then anything I'd love to see the McCain campaign go down like the Titanic.

Given that the Mccain camp has now been caught making FALSE STATEMENTS on Davis' relationship to his firm, and given that he's apparently paid by Mccain through this firm... it's hard for them to deny a real conflict of interest.

They can say it's the past, but it's going to buzz... and Mccain has drop kicked several people for less.

:kick:

http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/sep/27/housing-giant-dropped-meeting-with-mccain-advis-1/

Last March, a consultant to Freddie Mac arranged a meeting between the top economist in John McCain's campaign and Hollis S. McLoughlin, a prominent Republican and top executive at the failing housing giant that is central to the nation's credit crisis.

The scheduled meeting with McCain economic adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin never took place because a number of Freddie Mac executives objected that it would have been inappropriate, according to three people familiar with the episode.

The consultant who arranged the meeting, Harry Clark, is the founder of a Washington lobbying firm. Out of a special account that McLoughlin controls, the Freddie Mac executive has been paying Clark more than $10,000 a month. McLoughlin has been using the same account to pay $15,000 a month to the lobbying firm of Rick Davis, McCain's campaign manager, according to the three people.

(snip)


"Hollis protected Harry Clark and Rick Davis by intentionally moving their contracts into an account that Hollis controlled and had to review and approve," said one of the three people familiar with the financial arrangements.

I added it to the OP, but i keep chewing on this one and wonder if there's more to it.

If i read this correctly:

* There was a guy at Freddie Mac who coordinated lobbying, Mr. Mcloughlin.

* Mclaughlin took direct control over funding lines being dished out to folks like Clark and Davis.

* Mclaughlin tried to reach out to the Mccain camp this spring through Clark

* Execs forced the meeting to be canceled, concerned with the appearance of political bias


I'm not sure there's real teeth or conflict in this story if that's all there is...

paint the financial problems now as being solely the product of the creation of Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae in an attempt to take the focus off of deregulation and the gaming of the system by financiers and their lobbyists on the Hill.

Second, I disagree with you about McCain's honor. While he tries to maintain his "maverick reformer" brand--a facade at best, his is corrupt and craven to the core. He is not a man of principle. Witness the whiplash about-faces he has pulled throughout his career. He was also a man willing to stand by silently while a bully like * allowed his people to savage McCain's daughter in the South Carolina primary. He is a hollow man and needs to be exposed as such.

I think he truly sees himself as the sheriff of Congress and prides himself on all his fancy claims about being above lobbyist influence. I do. I think he takes it very seriously.

I think he's got a very big ego and any threats to his integrity flip him out.

That's why i also think he blew up his campaign on weds, partially because this news must have really ticked him off.

He has no real integrity and he didn't really learn anything from Keating 5.

* Co-Chair Phil Gramm, kicked out in june, was a lobbying for foreign banks on the mortgage issue, trying to avoid regulation due to fiscal crisis - at the same time he was on Mccain's campaign and helping to form fiscal policy.

* Co-Chair Thomas Loeffler, resigned in may, with ties to saudi arabia ($15 million lobbyist contract) along with tons of others including European Aeronautic Defence and Space Co.

* Co-Chair Jim Courter, resigned in july, after the FCC slapped his company with a $1.3 million fine for failing to disclose information about its contracts in Haiti and various agencies began further investigations into his dealings.

Hence my question. :)

role is to connect his hateful, bitter, unmovable talking points (if you've seen him, you'll connect the dots) to his face.

Many swing voters who are informed and watch the talkers will recognize him.
Keep posting those pics, DU. I suggest at least one with every Davis related post, seriously.

THIS is the guy you've seen on TV who is up to his neck in both the Mccain campaign and Freddie Mac muckery. Let's see that swing voters have that "Oh, wow, THAT'S who they are talking about?" moment:

A. Focus on Davis.
B. Focus on Mccain's judgment.

And we wonder why he's so comfortable attacking the media. :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ff5ebi1VPn8

lying about being out of the lobby business
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nODxzscj7I

on supporting bush 95% of the time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OthxP4MVLHQ

chris wallace nails him to the wall on the sarah palin credibility issues...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_eAm1ydgRlY

davis calling palin "fallin" during discussion of vetting process :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qP6TdgjVKAQ

davis on not campaigning with bush
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSlBz1rXIc0

Call every local talk radio show...write a LTTE to every local paper. Post blogs on every local news channel. Plant the seed of doubt. Going "viral" is the key. Sens notes to your friends about it. Spread the word.

The Rick Davis story was a hot story then disappeared after McCain's "suspending my campaign/going back to Washington" press conference hit the news cycle.