Oh, yeah, John McCain went there.
Senator McCain's campaign released a Web video today discussing his GOP primary opponent J.D. Hayworth's connections to disgraced Washington D.C. lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Check the video out here.
We had a feeling bringing up Jack Abramoff would create a political pissing match over which candidate has the slimiest friends (McCain used to pal around with a guy named Charles Keating, in case anyone forgot) so we reached out to both campaigns to let the pissing begin.
"It's hard to believe that a guy [McCain] who played in the Bahamian surf with Charles Keating is going to be giving lectures on ethics," Hayworth's PR flak, Jason Rose, tells New Times.
The McCain campaign says it's not worried about any potential Keating jabs because the senator has re-gained any trust that may have been lost with two decades of service since the scandal broke.
"Arizonans made a judgment about JD Hayworth's ethically questionable role in the Jack Abramoff scandal when they voted him out of office in 2006," McCain's media coordinator, Brian Rogers, tells New Times. "By contrast, the people of Arizona have overwhelmingly re-elected John McCain on numerous occasions -- judging him worthy of their continued
trust and support."
The McCain camp's video is calling on Hayworth to disclose donors to his FIT Trust, which he set up to help him pay legal bills he racked up defending himself from any potential criminal links to Abramoff.
Hayworth was never charged with anything, but his lawyer fees mounted as he prepared for potential charges.
The McCain campaign says that this week Hayworth refused to immediately disclose the names of the donors, but Rose says there are procedural steps that prohibit the immediate release of the names.
Apparently you can't just hand over a list, as simple as it may sound.
Rose says the names will be released by April, 30.
To counter the latest McCain video, Rose gave New Times a sneak-peak at the campaign's latest anti-McCain ad. Check it out here.
