Thompson’s campaign said the candidate was not aware of the multiple criminal cases, for which Martin served no jail time. All are described in public court records.
Karen Hanretty, Thompson’s deputy communications director, said Saturday that “Sen. Thompson was unaware of the information until this afternoon. Phil Martin has been a friend of the senator since the mid-1990s and remains so today.” Thompson communications director Todd Harris added that Martin was not subjected to the campaign’s standard vetting process because “he’s a longtime friend.”
“There’s not a campaign in the world that has the ability to research every one of its supporters going back more than 20 years,” Harris said.