'NYT,' After McCain Criticism, Hits Campaign Manager Again

By: E&P Staff A New York Times story on Monday revealing that John McCain's campaign manager had drawn nearly $2 million working for a firm that helped defend Freddie Mac drew an angry attack on the paper from the candidate's chief strategist. How would the paper respond in its coverage?

Tonight it posted on its site another probe of the campaign manager -- and his money related to Freddie Mac.

Executive Editor Bill Keller yesterday had responded to the almost unprecedented charges from strategist Steve Schmidt by saying that the paper would continue to cover the campaign in a strong, ethical way. Schmidt had declared that the Times was no longer even a "journalistic" entity but simply an Obama cheerleading squad.

Now the Times has come up with another damaging piece which places the payments to Davis as continuing to almost the present day -- contrary to statements made by Davis.

Here is how it opens, at www.nytimes.com
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One of the giant mortgage companies at the heart of the credit crisis paid $15,000 a month from the end of 2005 through last month to a firm owned by Senator John McCain?s campaign manager, according to two people with direct knowledge of the arrangement.

The disclosure undercuts a statement by Mr. McCain on Sunday night that the campaign manager, Rick Davis, had had no involvement with the company for the last several years.

Mr. Davis?s firm received the payments from the company, Freddie Mac, until it was taken over by the government this month along with Fannie Mae, the other big mortgage lender whose deteriorating finances helped precipitate the cascading problems on Wall Street, the people said.

They said they did not recall Mr. Davis?s doing much substantive work for the company in return for the money, other than speak to a political action committee of high-ranking employees in October 2006 on the approaching midterm Congressional elections. They said Mr. Davis?s firm, Davis & Manafort, had been kept on the payroll because of Mr. Davis?s close ties to Mr. McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, who by 2006 was widely expected to run again for the White House.

Mr. Davis took a leave from Davis & Manafortfor the the presidential campaign, but as a partner and equity-holder continues to benefit from its income. No one at Davis & Manafort other than Mr. Davis was involved in efforts on Freddie Mac?s behalf, the people familiar with the arrangement said.

A Freddie Mac spokeswoman said the company would not comment.

Jill Hazelbaker, a spokeswoman for the McCain campaign, did not dispute the payments to Mr. Davis?s firm. But she said that Mr. Davis had stopped taking a salary from his firm by the end of 2006 and that his work did not affect Mr. McCain.