Martinez says his staffer produced Schiavo memo

THE WASHINGTON TIMES ^ | April 6, 2005 | Brian DeBose and Stephen Dinan

[neverdem]

---

The Washington Timeswww.washingtontimes.com

---

Martinez says his staffer produced Schiavo memo

By Brian DeBose and Stephen Dinan
THE WASHINGTON TIMES
Published April 6, 2005

---

Sen. Mel Martinez said tonight that he passed the anonymous political talking-points memo on the Terri Schiavo situation to Sen. Tom Harkin, doing so after Mr. Harkin had told reporters earlier in the day that his Florida colleague was the source of the memo.

    Mr. Martinez, a Republican, said that unbeknownst to him, one of his staffers had produced the memo and it came into his possession. He said the staff member, whom he did not name, has resigned.

    He said though, in response to repeated inquiries by The Washington Times, that he did not know he even had the memo or had passed it on until Mr. Harkin told him about it today. Mr. Martinez said he had meant to give Mr. Harkin a document describing Mr. Martinez's bill to prolong Mrs. Schiavo's life while federal courts reviewed her situation.

    "Until this afternoon, I had never seen it and had no idea a copy of it had ever been in my possession. I have vehemently denied the memo and its sentiments, as has my staff," he said in a statement released tonight.

    "As I have stated numerous times, I vehemently condemn this memo's sentiments. This memo in no way reflected my motivations for being involved in this legislation whatsoever," Mr. Martinez said.

    He said an internal office investigation determined that "a senior member of my staff was unilaterally responsible for this document."

    "It was not approved by me or any other member of my staff, nor were...

[CAluvdubya]

damn.

[Royal Wulff]

Crap.

[Texas_Jarhead]

"He said the staff member, whom he did not name, has resigned."

One of the other articles pinned it on his counsel and I believe his name was provided.

[maine-iac7]

This isn't the first time something like this has happened - rogue staff...sometimes I wonder is some of them aren't plants

[thoughtomator]

Thus ends this round of "who wants to be the next Buckhead?"

[passionfruit]

Ok, Ok, it was a rookie mistake by a staffer. I will have forgotten about it tomorrow, as we all should. The dems are awfully forgiving whenever one or their own does something stupid. When was the last time you heard a dem blowing off steam about Sheets Byrd's past with the KKK, or his "white ni&&3r" statement. When was the last time you heard a dem rant about Kennedy offing a young woman at Chappaquidick.

We conservatives have a habit of eating our own if they stray from the straight and narrow. I think we should take a page from the oppositions play book on this one.

[CAluvdubya]

What worries me is that Mel is one of the good guys. The dems will grab onto this with all their might, just like they do with Delay. I hate to give them more fuel for the fire.

OTOH, maybe we should just say "That's our Mel and his staff" like Bubba did with Sandy Burglar.

[passionfruit]

See, there was another memo scandal recently, where the dems were posting their personal private for dem eyes only memos in a place where any senate staffer could read them. What MORONS! What they were saying was explosive stuff too!

Some of the memos went public, and guess who they blamed? The republicans! The dems got all red in the face. Jumped up and down and had their little temper tantrums, and I think a republican staffer resigned over it. Nobody cared except the idiots that screwed up in the first place. The scandal should have been over the content of the memos!

[Captainpaintball]

See, there was another memo scandal recently, where the dems were posting their personal private for dem eyes only memos in a place where any senate staffer could read them. What MORONS! What they were saying was explosive stuff too! Some of the memos went public, and guess who they blamed? The republicans! The dems got all red in the face. Jumped up and down and had their little temper tantrums, and I think a republican staffer resigned over it.

Republican'ts seem to be the frist... er, first, to apologize whenever Democrats do something wrong.

[FranklySpeaking]

Mel was and is one of the very 'good' guys.

What's happening with DeLay's investigation?

Do we need another spearheader?

Frist is another Greer......."deny" "deny".

[FreeManWhoCan]

Hey Mel! ?Que vola brothe!? Its OK man. The cubans in Miami still support you like always brothe! !No te preocupes brothe! !Que se vallan al carajo al que no le gusta acere! Tienes Licol, y Iliana alli. You in good hands man. You guys see Ileana on Bill Marr a few weeks back? She kicked ass.

[DakotaRed]

I wouldn't be too concerned over this. If a Dem can make an honest mistake of stuffing his pants and socks full of classified documents and shredding some, then get a minor slap on the wrist, having a junior staffer resign over an unauthorized memo should be small potatoes, right?

Somehow, I doubt they will accept another "honest mistake," especially from a Republican.

[OneTimeLurker]

From the AP Story:
Martinez, in his statement, said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, had asked for background information on the bill ordering a federal court to review the Schiavo case.

He said he pulled a one-page document from his coat pocket and handed to Harkin. "Unbeknownst to me ... I had given him a copy of the now infamous memo."

He said Harkin had called him earlier Wednesday to say he believes the memo had been given to him by Martinez. The Florida senator said he then ordered an internal investigation in his office.

He should have come up with a better one than this. Sounds like Harkin nailed him and he concocted the story about not knowing what he handed to Harkin. He hadn't seen it but had it in his pocket? Oy.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050406-1916-schiavo-senatememo.html

[OneTimeLurker]

From the AP Story:
"Martinez, in his statement, said Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, had asked for background information on the bill ordering a federal court to review the Schiavo case.

He said he pulled a one-page document from his coat pocket and handed to Harkin. "Unbeknownst to me ... I had given him a copy of the now infamous memo."

He said Harkin had called him earlier Wednesday to say he believes the memo had been given to him by Martinez. The Florida senator said he then ordered an internal investigation in his office."

________
He should have come up with a better one than this. Sounds like Harkin nailed him and he concocted the story about not knowing what he handed to Harkin. He hadn't seen it but had it in his pocket? Oy.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/nation/20050406-1916-schiavo-senatememo.html

[CyberAnt]

I agree with you. Sometimes when a Senator's term is up - the staff shuffles around.

Looks like the repubs better start screening their staff better.

[L.N. Smithee]

I agree with you. Sometimes when a Senator's term is up - the staff shuffles around. Looks like the repubs better start screening their staff better.

One of the reasons why I have always thought that Karl Rove is luckier than he will ever be good is because by the grace of a Gore campaign worker with a conscience, he survived a leak of George W. Bush's debate strategy material to a Gore staffer.

[CyberAnt]

A Gore staffer with integrity - not many of those.

[L.N. Smithee]

We conservatives have a habit of eating our own if they stray from the straight and narrow. I think we should take a page from the oppositions play book on this one.

The opposition's play book is to overestimate the importance of conservatives' missteps. That's why while Sandy Berger got a slap on the wrist, the media liberals are gnashing their teeth over Jimmy Carter not being on the plane to see the Pope lying in state.

[thegreatbeast]

Open your eyes and ears, for God's sake! Where were you when the letter to Ted Kennedy from the NAACP asked him to torpedo a confirmation? ...It was turned into Memogate and REPUBLICANS were made the bad guys. Martinez deserves an ass-whipping for being bag-of-rocks stupid.