As we noted earlier, sweatshop-loving senate candidate Bob Schaffer held a fundraiser today in Grand Junction with Vice President Dick Cheney. So far Schaffer has refused to answer any questions about the Mariana Islands or why he wants to bring their scandal-ridden immigration system to the states. But today …
Asked during a press conference following Cheney’s visit about Denver Post reports that link him to an effort by jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff to quash labor reform in the Mariana Islands in 1999, Schaffer was visibly angry.
“I am really disgusted with the tone and tenor and direction of The Denver Post stories. I have had no contact with the individuals in the story, particularly Jack Abramoff,” Schaffer said. “It’s a matter of fiction. That’s all I’m going to say about it.”
In other words, he’s still apparently unwilling to answer any questions. But he’s disgusted and very angry.
Not Even Late Update: You’ll notice that Schaffer says he has “had no contact with the individuals in the story.” Now, in the nature of things that’s a pretty bold statement and one of fairly dubious accuracy. One of the key figures in the story is Benigno Fitial, now Governor of the Marianas and through Jack Abramoff’s go-to guy (and vice versa) in the islands. And as TPM Reader EL points out, look at this passage from a 2001 article in the Saipan Tribune (emphasis added) …
The Covenant Partyâs gubernatorial aspirant Benigno R. Fitial disclosed the “good news” yesterday to Northern Marianas College students, faculty and staff during a forum organized by the Associated Students.
Fitial said he learned from his friends in the US Congress that the CNMI will be receiving a substantial amount of financial assistance from certain departments in the federal government.
“I talked to my friend Cong. Bob Schaffer over the phone and he told me that this assistance will be coming very, very soon,” said Fitial.
And a year earlier, Schaffer was one of five members of Congress that Fitial’s delegation met with when they visited Washington.
Late Update: And there’s more. Apparently there’s no video of that exchange. Or we haven’t found it yet. But another reporter from local station KREX Channel 5 got this brush off …
