McCain aides forced to quit over ties to Burmese junta
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Two top aides to the Republican presidential nominee John McCain have been forced to resign over their ties to the Burmese military junta, providing yet another embarrassment for Mr McCain who is trying to present himself as the scourge of special interests in Washington.
Douglas Goodyear, who had been chosen to run the 2008 Republican convention, said he was resigning "so as not to become a distraction in this campaign" after it was revealed he was connected to a lobbying firm that has represented Burma's military leaders.
Newsweek reported at the weekend that the DCI Group, a lobbying firm, represented Burma until last year. Mr Goodyear, its chief executive, "was paid $348,000 in 2002 to represent Burma's military junta, which had been strongly condemned by the State Department for its human-rights record and remains in power today," the magazine said.
Mr Goodyear had been given the important task of running the Republican convention in Minneapolis this summer and the controversy threatened to highlight the role of lobbyists in Mr McCain's campaign.
While Mr McCain publicly portrays himself as a crusader against special interests, many of his closest advisers are former or current lobbyists. Doug Davenport, another McCain aide and former DCI chief executive, has also quit.
The legendary Washington operative Charlie Black, who is Mr McCain's campaign chief, recently resigned from his lobbying firm. Mr Black was chairman of BKSH Worldwide, a subsidiary of Burson-Marsteller which is run by Mark Penn, Hillary Clinton's former chief strategist, who resigned after another lobbyist controversy.
The McCain campaign links between DCI and Burma and the Republicans were first reported in Harper's magazine some months ago, but it became a toxic issue after the Burmese government mishandled relief efforts after the disastrous cyclone nine days ago.
Today Mr McCain's campaign website carries a strong condemnation of the military junta in Burma.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments