About Your Blogger Let's not waste too much time on stats. So very briefly:
I was a corporate attorney at a mega-firm in NYC. Now I work at a middle-market family-run independent insurance agency. I live on the Upper West Side of Manhattan with my brilliant wife, who also happens to blog at Rosmania. (Check it out.)
Disclaimers Nothing contained on this site should be construed to be legal, business, insurance or tax advice. If you need professional legal advice, find a professional. There are plenty of them out there. If thet’re good, I think that they ultimately pay for themselves.
Also, the views and opinions expressed on this site are mine and mine alone. They should not, under any circumstances, be attributed to anyone other than me. (Not that anyone is trying to take credit for them.)
Today's big news story is that Benjamin L. Ginsberg, the Bush campaign's top outside lawyer and a major player in the Florida recount, admitted that he has given legal advice to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the political group that has been attacking Senator John Kerry's Vietnam War record in high profile television spots. This is being used by democtrats to show another close tie between the Bush-Cheney campaign and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.
What shouldn't be news is that Benjamin L. Ginsberg is a partner at Patton Boggs LLP. Despite acknowledgement in the NYT headline that Mr. Ginsberg is the Bush campaign's top outside legal counsel, no where in the story does the name of Mr. Ginsberg's firm appear. A review of other news sources reveals a similar reticence to name the firm that Mr. Ginsberg works at.
But is is publicly available information. Mr. Ginsberg is prominently featured on the firms website as is his role in the Bush-Cheney campaign and his representation of various PACs:
"In both the 2004 and 2000 election cycles, Mr. Ginsberg served as national counsel to the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign; he played a central role in the 2000 Florida recount. He also represents the campaigns and leadership PACs of numerous members of the Senate and House, as well as the Republican National Committee, National Republican Senatorial Committee and National Republican Congressional Committee."
So why all the secrecy? My guess is that not all of Mr. Ginsberg's partners agree with Mr. Ginsberg's political views and asked not to have the firm tied to this controversy. Still, why have all of the news outlets complied?
But maybe I'm wrong -- the firm does seem like the perfect fit for Bush -- a man of privilege who masquerades as a man of the people. This is from the firm's "About Us" page:
"We're not a traditional law firm in either appearance or operation. From the museum-quality art on our walls to attorneys who don't feel compelled to button their jackets in meetings, you'll see that we enjoy what we do."
