I heard something about this a while back, but a new story came out today in the NY Post.What did Fred Thompson's son, Daniel, do to earn the more than $170,000 that his firm, Daniel Thompson Associates, was paid from his father's federal political action committee, the Fred D. Thompson PAC?
The records suggest he did next to nothing.
The elder Thompson, an undeclared presidential candidate, left the Senate at the start of 2003. He started The Fred D. Thompson PAC with $378,601 transferred from his senatorial campaign committee.
I'm no attorney, but from the story makes it clear that it's commonplace for a former public official to deposit remaining campaign cash into a PAC. That $ can be used to support candidates in future races. In this Thompson case, however, very little of this dough went to politicians. Instead, the bulk of the money found its way to Daniel Thompson.
More quotes:
Daniel Thompson did not reply to efforts to contact him. From the month the PAC started (April 2003), Daniel Thompson Associates began drawing a monthly retainer of $4,000 for "management consultant services."
To date, the PAC has paid $176,000 to the son's firm, $46,000 for federal races, $35,000 in other political donations and $62,700 to charity. The senator's son, in other words, accounts for more than half the outlays. The FEC ruled that a campaign could hire a family member "at market value for bona fide campaign services."
But it's hard to find any evidence of bona fide work done by Daniel Thompson Associates for his father's PAC. Presumably, Fred Thompson made the decision about what money would go to candidates - especially since many of them were his former colleagues.
The PAC appears to have had no office, no phone and no employees other than Daniel Thompson. Minor amounts went for spot telephone and Internet bills, and for an accountant.
Interestingly enough, Daniel Thompson is now a professional fund-raiser for Lawson Associates in Nashville. According to the firm's Web site, he consults with clients all over the country to raise funds for non-profit groups in their capital and endowment campaigns. Too bad he couldn't help Dad raise money, too.
Too bad my dad wasn't in the line of politics like Fred. $4000/month for "management consultant services" without needing an office , phone, or other employees to provide said services? Maybe this isn't the entire story. But, it sounds like a sweet deal to me. This type of cash ($176K) would help me pay off my mountain of student loans.
The author, Dick Morris, can't stand Hillary. From today's news, he has some issues with Fred. If I remember right Dick likes Rudy. The last story I read by him on Mitt wasn't completely positive.
Update I: I found this story after browsing around Mitt Report. I learned a few new things about Thompson. It's an angle Fred fans wouldn't appreciate. I'm not saying it's Gospel truth, but it's one person's point of view.
Update II: conservative bloggers continue to give Fred a pass about his abortion lobbying
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