According to the Washington Post:
He said two prominent Democratic lawyers are doing the same thing. He said Robert Bauer, the top legal counsel for the Kerry campaign, also is the attorney for an independent group, America Coming Together, that has been mobilizing voters in support of Kerry. In addition, Ginsberg said, Joseph Sandler is a lawyer for both the Democratic National Committee and for the independent group MoveOn.org, which has run advertisements attacking Bush.
Given the relative numbers of 527 organizations that support the Democrats verses those that support the Republicans, I wouldn't be a bit surprised to find quite a few more Democrat lawyers with ties to a 527 and the DNC.
The article also says:
Other election lawyers agreed that the fact that Ginsberg, who also was active in Bush's 2000 campaign, has been giving legal advice to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth does not violate campaign finance law prohibiting collusion between campaigns and independent groups. But Ginsberg's dual roles complicate the Bush campaign's effort to rebut as "frivolous" Kerry's complaint that it is behind the Swift boat ads.
If it isn't wrong for Democrat lawyers to have ties between the Kerry campaign and 527 organizations, then it isn't wrong for Republican lawyers, either. The converse is also true.
Don Simon, an election-law expert with the campaign finance watchdog group Democracy 21, said Ginsberg's dual role "is not per se coordination" between the Bush campaign and the veterans group. That would occur only if Ginsberg has been transferring information between the two -- a question that likely would not be resolved before the election even if the FEC chooses to investigate the matter. But, Simon said that "as a matter of common sense, it certainly raises questions."
Larry Noble, who runs the Center for Responsive Politics watchdog group, said the Ginsberg situation is not by itself improper, but "when you're looking at common lawyers, it adds another level to it."
Current Events » in reply to No one is clean in this - check Robert Bauer.....
And Joseph Sandler
The whole thread (14 posts)
- Those rascally Republicans - "Bush-Cheney lawyer advised anti-Kerry vets"
- re: Who cares. It's freedom of speech. And its political speech at that.
- Bush-Cheney lawyer resigns
- And now, the Rest of the Story...
- And how is that different from...
- No one is clean in this - check Robert Bauer..... (n/t)
- They should have used one of Kerry's attorneys?
- What is the point? That is politics. I WOULD be surprised if one of Bush's lawyers were advising an ANTI-BUSH group. (n/t)
