Ha, this is just beautiful!
William Timmons, the Washington lobbyist who John McCain has named to head his presidential transition team, aided an influence effort on behalf of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein to ease international sanctions against his regime.The two lobbyists who Timmons worked closely with over a five year period on the lobbying campaign later either pleaded guilty to or were convicted of federal criminal charges that they had acted as unregistered agents of Saddam Hussein's government.
During the same period beginning in 1992, Timmons worked closely with the two lobbyists, Samir Vincent and Tongsun Park, on a previously unreported prospective deal with the Iraqis in which they hoped to be awarded a contract to purchase and resell Iraqi oil. Timmons, Vincent, and Park stood to share at least $45 million if the business deal went through.
Timmons' activities occurred in the years following the first Gulf War, when Washington considered Iraq to be a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism...
As if all that's not bad enough, Timmons currently lobbies for groups ranging from the American Petroleum Institute to Bristol-Myers Squibb Co. to Freddie Mac! And John McCain named him to head his presidential transition team? So much for John McCain the "reformer," if that hoary old myth wasn't dead already. So much for not being corrupted by Washington. And so much for the McCain for President campaign, circa 2008.
P.S. Can you imagine if Barack Obama had hired someone who lobbied for Saddam Hussein at a time when Iraq was considered "a rogue enemy state and a sponsor of terrorism" (not to mention the Freddie Mac and Big Oil angles)? My god, I can just hear the right-wingnuts now!