John McCain lost his maverick image long ago, and his character followed shortly thereafter. With morals and decency out of the way, the Republican nominee can do anything he chooses without taking into account the ethics of any relationship or money that comes from that. Harry Sargeant has made the news before with his interesting fundraising ideas but this story harms more than just his representation and that of his friend McCain.
From ThinkProgress:
International Oil Trading Company, which ships oil into Iraq for use by U.S. forces, “appears to have engaged in a reprehensible form of war profiteering,” according to the House Oversight Committee. The company is run by Florida businessman Harry Sargeant, who has raised at least $500,000 for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ). From Rep. Henry Waxman’s (D-CA) letter to Defense Secretary Robert Gates:
[T]he prices IOTC has charged the government are not “fair and reasonable.” A “price negotiation memorandum” assessing the company’s June 2004 contract concluded that the price charged by IOTC, $2.10 per gallon of jet fuel, was at least 36 cents per gallon too high. … Of the $210 million in profits received by the company, at least one third — $70 million — appears to have benefited a single individual: Mr. Sargeant.
This corrupt bastard, who makes money from Bush's failed war is simultaneously robbing our treasury and paying a small percentage back to politicians like McCain to ensure his blood money keeps flowing in. Republicans can talk all about what Ayers did forty years ago when Obama was in grade school, but this corrupt fuel sale arrangement is going down right now and no one is doing anything about it, least of all John McCain.
|