Revisiting McCain's Keating 5 history

Seattle Times ^ | 4 Sep 2008 | Staff W. Riter

[Titus Quinctius Cincinnatus]

At one time, John McCain said the worst thing that ever happened to him, Vietnam included, was the so-called Keating 5 scandal. "The Vietnamese," he would say, "didn't question my honor."

Among McCain's earliest benefactors in Arizona was Lincoln Savings and Loan chief Charles Keating Jr., who filled McCain's campaign coffers with more than $100,000 and hosted the McCains multiple times at his vacation home in the Bahamas.

Keating expected his largesse to be rewarded, and when federal regulators began looking into Lincoln's questionable lending practices and investments in the late 1980s, he turned to five senators whose coffers he had lined — Alan Cranston of California, Donald Riegle of Michigan, John Glenn of Ohio and both Arizona senators, Dennis DeConcini and McCain.

McCain attended two meetings with regulators at Keating's request. McCain's view was that he was seeking information on behalf of a constituent who was an important employer in his state. The regulators' view was that they were being pressured to act favorably for Keating.

Lincoln's collapse, the biggest of many savings and loan failures, cost taxpayers $2.6 billion. Keating spent four years in jail, before his sentence was overturned on a technicality, and the Keating 5, as the senators came to be known, lived under an ethical cloud for years.

[Mr. K]

Despite what you think about McLame (I DONT WANT HIM IN OFFICE) he had nothing to do with the Keating scandal

I was 4 democraps and the only Republican was MCCain- who was ACQUITTED

Even the prosecutor of the case asked for him to be removed from the indictment (if I recall correctly- see Ann Coulter’s article on this - and SHE DOES NOT like him either)

[Will88]

At one time, John McCain said the worst thing that ever happened to him, Vietnam included, was the so-called Keating 5 scandal. "The Vietnamese," he would say, "didn't question my honor."

It's been my experience, that the more a person talks about their honor, the less of it they have. Those who really have it are usually very uncomfortable talking about it.

[Tallguy]

I believe John Glenn got off with the same ‘punishment’ as that given to John McCain — a congressional statement to the effect that they acted “inappropriately”.

We’re not necessarily talking about legal violations here. They were under an ethics investigation. It therefore seems to me that “inappropriate” activities equal “ethics violation”.