SwiftVets.com

[integritycounts]

MoveOn.org and DNC uses the same lawyer FWIW...and in the media its not worth anything unless its a Republican.....this is the end of this story...except for BS innuendo

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Bush Lawyer Quits Re-Election Campaign
Lawyer Advising President Bush and Veterans Group Running Anti-John Kerry Ads Quits Campaign

The Associated Press
WASHINGTON Aug. 25, 2004 — An election lawyer for President Bush who also has been advising a veterans group running TV ads against Democrat John Kerry resigned Wednesday from Bush's campaign.
"I cannot begin to express my sadness that my legal representations have become a distraction from the critical issues at hand in this election," Benjamin Ginsberg wrote in a resignation letter to Bush released by the campaign.

"I feel I cannot let that continue, so I have decided to resign as national counsel to your campaign to ensure that the giving of legal advice to decorated military veterans, which was entirely within the boundaries of the law, doesn't distract from the real issues upon which you and the country should be focusing."

Ginsberg's acknowledgment Tuesday evening that he was providing legal advice to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth marked the second time in days that an individual associated with the Bush-Cheney campaign had been connected to the group, which Kerry accuses of being a front for the Republican incumbent's re-election effort.

The Bush campaign and the veterans' group have said repeatedly that there is no coordination.

Lawyers on the Democratic side are also representing both the campaign or party and outside groups running ads in the presidential race. Ginsberg's dual role has drawn attention because of an ad the Swift Boat Veterans group ran accusing Kerry of exaggerating his Vietnam War record, an issue that has dominated the campaign since early August.

Kerry has fired back by accusing Bush of using the group as a front to run a smear campaign for him. Democrats have jumped on any tie, even if legal, to back up that claim.

Ginsberg said he never told the Bush campaign what he discussed with the group, or vice versa, and didn't advise the group on ad strategies.

The group "came to me and said, 'We have a point of view we want to get into the First Amendment debate right now. There's a new law. It's very complicated. We want to comply with the law, will you keep us in the bounds of the law?'" Ginsberg said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. "I said yes, absolutely, as I would do for anyone."

Ginsberg said he had not yet decided whether to charge the Swift Boat Veterans a fee for his work.

On Saturday, retired Air Force Col. Ken Cordier resigned as a member of the Bush campaign's veterans' steering committee after it was learned that he appeared in the commercial.

Kerry, meanwhile, is the subject of complaints by the Bush campaign and the Republican National Committee accusing his campaign of illegally coordinating anti-Bush ads with soft-money groups on the Democratic side, allegations he and the groups deny.

Neither campaign has produced proof of coordination on the part of its rival.

Joe Sandler, a lawyer for the DNC and a group running anti-Bush ads, MoveOn.org, said there is nothing wrong with serving in both roles at once.

In addition to the FEC's coordination rules, attorneys are ethically bound to maintain attorney-client confidentiality, Sandler said. They could lose their law license if they violate that, he said.

Ginsberg represented the Bush campaign in 2000 and became a prominent figure during the Florida recount.

He also served as counsel to the RNC in its unsuccessful lawsuit seeking to overturn the nation's campaign finance law, which banned the national party committees from collecting corporate, union and unlimited donations known as soft money and imposed stricter rules on coordination involving parties, candidates and interest groups.

Larry Noble, head of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics campaign watchdog group and former FEC general counsel, said it's true that serving as a lawyer for both a campaign and a soft-money group isn't considered automatic evidence of coordination under commission rules, but added that it doesn't mean the FEC won't look at it.

"I think there's a valid question about when you're talking about strictly legal advice and when you're talking about policy issues and strategic issues," Noble said. "It's fair to ask what the advice is about."

[RocketFett]

Yeah this is total and complete garbage. The guy did pro-bono advice only to SBVT and that is not illegal under campaign campaign finance reform, even if he did do real work for the campaign or administration. It's a pathetic accusation to make in the first place, and I really admire Ginsberg for going ahead and quitting rather than even have the appearance of something wrong. That's Biblical after all. "Avoid even the appearance of evil". kerry's people, the liberal 527, and those who fund them are all in bed together and have no quams about being evil. It is who they are.

[minnie presley]

will someone please tell me where are the swiftvetsa why are they not down in crawford disputing what clelland and rasmussan are saying, I cannot beleive this they should have someone down there, this is so upsetting, please someoneplease respond how this happened, and why there was no response

[JonMoseley]

This is the silliest issue I've ever heard. I am a lawyer in Northern Virginia (as well as a mortgage consultant). Lawyers by definition have MULTIPLE clients. Can you imagine a lawyer staying in business by having only one client? It is well-established law that a lawyer serving Client A and also serving Client B does not create any connection between A and B.

In fact, the ethical rules and legal requirements governing attorneys REQUIRE attorneys to keep the confidences of Client A entirely separate and secret from the confidences of Client B. This is standard.

Therefore, Ginsberg COULD NOT legally discuss the legal issues or strategies of the Bush campaign with the SBVT or the reverse.
_________________
Read first chapter of COLD PEACE for free at www.ColdPeace.com

[Frogg]

Well, guess what. Mr. Ginsberg isn't the only lawyer who is working for a 527 with another job on the side.

Neil Reiff is listed as the contact person for MoveOn.org's 527 organization, as can be seen on the actual form submitted by MoveOn.org to the IRS here (PDF).

But Mr. Reiff seems to have another job. According to his firm's website, he's also the Deputy General Counsel for the Democratic National Committee:

From June, 1993 until May, 1998, Mr. Reiff served as Deputy General Counsel of the Democratic National Committee, and will retain this title in his new firm. In this capacity, Mr. Reiff has been responsible for assisting the DNC General Counsel in all legal matters affecting the national party. Mr. Reiff's major field of expertise is federal and state campaign finance laws. In that regard, Mr. Reiff advises and represents the DNC in all matters before the Federal Election Commission and state election agencies.

TruthLaidBear


(Fixed very long link to bring the page back into width)

[Guest]

(from Boortz)

There is a story circulating out there that a Bush campaign attorney also advised the Swift Boat Veterans. The left (including the media) is screaming "gotcha!" But wait, it turns out this is more of a case of the pot and the kettle. The acknowledgment by attorney Benjamin Ginsberg is being cited as supporting The Poodle's complaint that Bush is coordinating with the Swiftees. But Ginsberg says the group came to him only for advice on how to properly follow the wretched disaster known as the McCain-Feingold campaign finance legislation. There are only so many lawyers that know how it works, and he is one of them.

Since the media won't tell you about it, shall we highlight the extensive ties between The Poodle's campaign and the Bush-bashing Moveon.org? The lawyers for the DNC are doing the same thing. That's right...you have all this outrage on the left over all this supposed "coordination" but the Democrats are doing the exact same thing. You want a name? We have a name! The lawyer's name is Joe Sandler, and he works for both the DNC and Moveon.org.

Let's recap, shall we?


The Swiftees go to Benjamin Ginsberg, an acknowledged expert on McCain-Feingold, and asks him for advice on how to abide by the law as they run their ads. The Kerry campaign cites that as proof of collaboration between the Bush campaign and the Swiftees, and the media jumps right on board.
Joe Sandler works for both the DNC and Moveon.org, and the media ignores it. In neither case is a law or rule being violated. When the Democrats do it, it's fine. When the Republicans do it, it's evil.

[JonMoseley]

People might also consider some other points. An attorney is forbidden (under the internal rules of the profession) from representing two clients simultaneously who have conflicting positions, unless both consent in writing. When clients start out being neutral to each other and then suddenly it emerges that there is a legal conflict (not necessarily animosity, just divergent legal interests), then the attorney is obligated to withdraw.

As soon as a (truly bogus) complaint was filed with the FEC charging illegal collaboration between the SBVT and Bush-Cheney, Ben Ginsberg was OBLIGATED to withdraw as Bush-Cheney's attorney.

So Ben Ginsberg's move was more about covering Ben Ginsberg than anything else.

Notice that these are internal rules within the legal profession. There is nothing legally wrong with what Ben Ginsberg did. However, as proper conduct within the profession, one is obligated to withdraw when simultaneous clients turn out to be at odds with each other. Once again, this applies regardless of how the clients feel about each other and regardless of how incredibly improbable the FEC complaint is. Even if Ginsberg (like all other legal observers) think that the Kerry lawyers should be disbarred for filing a frivolous complaint with the FEC, Ginsbeg's obligation as an attorney is to eliminate even the possibility -- no matter how remote -- of prejudicing either client by being in the middle of them, with access to confidential information of both.

So, it is a mistake to read so much in to this.
_________________
Read first chapter of COLD PEACE for free at www.ColdPeace.com